Oswego Board Unanimously Vetoes Self-Storage Facility Off Orchard Road

OSWEGO, IL — The Oswego Village Board vetoed a developer's proposal for a self-storage facility on a long-vacant site off Orchard Road.

Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to deny a special use permit for the proposal submitted by petitioner Phil McAlister, with PMC Investment Partners. Plans outlined six storage structures with a main parking lot along the east end of a 7.5-acre plot of land at Lewis Street and Station Drive.

Village President Ryan Kauffman made the motion for denial, citing "the application does not meet the standards for issuance of the special use permit," he said.

Self-storage facilities require a special use permit in the M-1 General Manufacturing and B-1 Regional Business Districts.

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The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-2 to recommend approval of the special use permit. The nay-voters said the petitioner did not meet the required minimum standards for a special use permit.

Concurrently, village staff believed the storage facility did not meet the intent of the Orchard Road development, saying typical uses generate customers and can create cross-activity between the various businesses, according to documents. The proposed use would have "low customer volumes that may not generate customer interactions between the other uses in the center."

The land parcel has not worked for retailers since it's set back from the corridor — better retail sites exist, McAlister shared in a proposal at the meeting.

"I think staff was absolutely right to say that didn't fit with the original intention, but we were able to convince PZC of ... times have changed and this is probably the best use for that property that we're going to be able to find for quite some time," McAlister said.

McAlister argued the project would fill a need, saying Oswego is "dramatically under-supplied for self-storage relative to a balanced market." He said the facility would also provide between $80,000 and $90,000 in annual property tax revenue.

Trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange said the product would be great in the village but not in the proposed location. Karen Novy echoed her opinion.

"I want to encourage you to find another space because I just think that we need it," McCarthy-Lange said. "It's just that I'm not in favor of it there, and I apologize because I know you put a lot of work into that, and I appreciate your due diligence."