An Aurora City Council committee has recommended plans for a new gas station and restaurant on a near northeast side corner in the city.
Aldermen on the Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee on Wednesday recommended final plans and a conditional use for a 5,100-square-foot building on .75 acres on the southeast corner of Indian Trail and Route 25.
The development would include a gas station and a restaurant with about 25 seats and a drive-thru window. According to developers, the restaurant would be the 17th location for Cilantro Taco Grill, and the gas station tenant is yet to be determined.
The property for years was home to a Mobil gas station which stood vacant for a while before being torn down in 2018. This new development would include a new lot that was next door to the old gas station and once contained a house.
Because it is on additional land, the developers would get rid of the four access points, two on both Route 25 and Indian Trail, and replace them with two access points, one each on both roads.
Each access would be further away from the intersection, which is busy and carries a lot of traffic, officials said.
While aldermen on the committee recommended the plans and the conditional use, they also requested that the developer and the city come to the May 7 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting with plans to include sidewalks on the property.
The plans did not include sidewalks, according to Ed Sieben, the city’s planning and zoning director, because there are no sidewalks anywhere else on that side of the street.
He pointed out that the shopping center to the east of the property is 50 years old, and was approved at the time without sidewalks.
Ald. Michael Saville, 6th Ward, said he has “philosophical” problems with no sidewalks because it makes it difficult for pedestrians in the area. He said someday there could be redevelopment along there that could include sidewalks.
“I can’t remember the last time we granted a variance without sidewalks,” he said.
Other aldermen on the committee agreed, and a spokesman for the developer said they are amenable to changing the plan to include sidewalks.
slord@tribpub.com
