NAPERVILLE, IL — Residents raised some concerns about vehicle access, fencing and light exposure during a public hearing meeting about a proposed Casey's General Store on Ogden Avenue in Naperville.
Developers are proposing to replace the Bucky's gas station at 20 E. Ogden Ave. with a 3,218 square foot convenience store. The proposal comes four years after Casey's General Stores acquired the Bucky's chain in 2021.
A zoning variance is being sought "to allow the developer to replace three light fixtures "within a major arterial setback," according to city documents."
The public hearing was held Wednesday night as part of the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, with commissioners voting unanimously to recommend approval for the requested zoning variances.
The new building is designed to stand at 24 feet and five inches, with six-foot high stockade fences on the property's west and south sides.
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During Wednesday's meeting, Ray Wileman, who owns property near the Ogden Avenue site, told commissioners he'd prefer a taller fence that is maintained regularly.
Wileman said, “The existing fence is garbage. I know that you’re planning to tear it down and put a new one up. I just want to make sure that it’s going to be maintained. For the last four years, it’s half falling down.”
He said that with the current six-foot fence it's hard to see anything at nighttime other than "Bucky's, all lit up."
“What I would like is something bigger than an eight-foot fence," Wileman said.
He added, "The new Casey’s is going to be a lot taller, so I’m just asking for a bigger fence."
Resident Gary Leavenworth brought up concerns about vehicle access to the Casey's General Store.
“I couldn’t wait for the Casey’s at Ogden and Naper Boulevard to open," Leavenworth said, "only to find I couldn’t get in and out of it."
“If you’re going north or south, you can’t get into it. If you’re going west, you can’t get into it and so people are doing bonehead moves trying to make it work," Leavenworth said.
“Washington and Ogden Avenue is another very, very busy intersection," Leavenworth said, adding, "I want to just make sure you’re looking at that access to this site."
Commissioner Wright, who lives nearby, said, "I too, agree with you on the traffic piece."
"I'm really intrigued by the removal of that first entranceway," he said. "I've almost been rear-ended there multiple times, so I think it is a real improvement to this."
Wright continued, "It will maybe make people pay more attention because you're moving down Ogden a little bit farther before you turn in heading east."
Council Chair Oriana Van Someren said she, too, has had issues while driving along Ogden near the Bucky's and believes removing the entrance will help mitigate traffic problems.
The zoning request now moves to the Naperville City Council for review.