TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Dustin Anderson, Director of Community Development
SUBJECT:
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Public Hearing for a Resolution Approving an Annexation Agreement for 580 Caton Farm Road (A-5-25)
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BACKGROUND:
The petitioner and contract purchaser, Project Development Group LLC, requests approval of the annexation of 580 Caton Farm Road, classification to B-1 (neighborhood business) zoning, and the Preliminary Planned Unit Development of 580 Caton Farm. The purpose of the Planned Unit Development is to create a three-lot commercial center for a day care facility and several retail and service uses. The Planned Unit Development will establish the site layout, landscaping, and other design elements for the entire property. The preliminary Planned Unit Development will be reviewed with the annexation request; future review of a final Planned Unit Development will still be required. The annexation request includes an annexation agreement that addresses public improvement requirements. The annexation agreement must be reviewed at a public hearing at the City Council meeting.
The 5-acre subject property is located within unincorporated Kendall County and currently contains a vacant farmstead. The property is located on the south side of Caton Farm Road across from Autumn Fields Boulevard. Clublands Subdivision is located to the southeast of the property, and Autumn Fields Subdivision is located to the north across Caton Farm Road - both have R-2 (single-family residential) zoning. Adjacent to the west and south of the property is an undeveloped 18-acre parcel with R-B (restricted business) zoning on the north and R-2 (single-family residential) zoning on the south. Adjacent to the east of the subject site is a residential homestead within unincorporated Kendall County.
The preliminary Planned Unit Development of 580 Caton Farm creates three commercial lots and one detention lot on the 5-acre site. Proposed Lot 1 is planned for a day care facility with a 10,000-square-foot building and 5,000-square-foot outdoor play area. Proposed Lot 2 would contain an approximately 12,000-square-foot commercial building for several retail tenants. Proposed Lot 3 would contain a 2,000-square-foot commercial building for a restaurant tenant. Lot 4 would contain stormwater detention for the entire development and would be collectively owned and maintained by all lot owners. The requested zoning classification for the property is B-1 (neighborhood business) zoning, which allows retail and service uses that serve and are compatible with nearby residential development.
A Planned Unit Development request typically includes architectural plans for the proposed buildings. Elevations and floor plans that meet the City’s Non-Residential Design Standards are included for the proposed day care facility on Lot 1. The petitioner has not determined specific users for the commercial buildings on Lots 2 and 3, so staff is not requiring those building plans at this time. The petitioner will need to amend the PUD in the future, through the Plan Commission and City Council process, once those design plans are available. The current site plan includes the building footprints for Lots 2 and 3 and has been designed to accommodate future drive-thrus for these buildings. Since the users are unknown, the petitioner cannot yet apply for drive-thru permits for these lots but will need to apply in the future as needed. If a future drive-thru approval changes the site plan, the petitioner will need to amend the PUD to reflect those changes.
The development is required to provide access to the adjacent properties to the west, south, and east in order to minimize access points to Caton Farm Road. To provide future access to the adjacent properties to the east and west, the development will include cross access easements along the east-west drive aisles on the north side of the site. At staff’s request, the development includes a new north-south street that would provide access to the residentially-zoned property to the south if it were ever to develop. The new street will be aligned with the existing section of Autumn Fields Boulevard to the north and will be dedicated to the City as public right-of-way. The Public Works construction ordinance requires local streets to have a right-of-way width of 66 feet. The petitioner is requesting a variation to allow the new street to have a reduced right-of-way width of 60 feet. Staff is not opposed to this request, as the right-of-way will still be an adequate size to serve the PUD and the adjacent undeveloped parcel. The right-of-way will not include space for public sidewalks; however, Lot 1 will include a sidewalk within a public sidewalk easement along the west side of the new street.
The proposed site plan includes adequate parking for the proposed uses. The day care lot would contain around 60 parking spaces while Lots 2 and 3 would collectively contain around 66 parking spaces. The site may lose 3 to 4 parking spaces in the future if the access to the property to the east were extended at the northeast corner of the parking area.
A preliminary landscape plan is included with the Planned Unit Development submission. The petitioner is requesting a variation to reduce perimeter landscaping from 30 feet to 10 feet along the north property line adjacent to Caton Farm Road. According to the petitioner, the site cannot accommodate the required parking and circulation for the proposed uses if the plan includes a 30-foot-wide landscape area. The petitioner was required to include the new right-of-way between Lots 1 and 2, which removed around 18,000 square feet of usable area from their site plan and also impacted the circulation requirements. The landscape plan includes the required 5-foot landscape areas along the west and east sides and the required 15-foot landscape area along the south side adjacent to residentially-zoned property. There is also landscaping around the detention pond and on the parking islands as required.
The City’s landscaping regulations also require a 30-foot landscape area adjacent to the new public right-of-way (Autumn Fields Boulevard). The petitioner requests a variation from this requirement to reduce the landscaping from 30 feet to 0 feet along the east side and from 30 feet to 4 feet along the west side. Staff supports these variation requests due to the site constraints created by the addition of the new public street, which at this point in time will only serve the 580 Caton Farm development. The new street is designed to connect to the adjacent undeveloped 18-acre parcel, zoned R-B (restricted business) and R-2 (single-family residential), if it were ever to develop. The adjacent parcel is not owned by the petitioner and there are no known development plans for that parcel at this time.
At their meeting on November 20, 2025, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a Special Use Permit to allow a day care facility at 580 Caton Farm Road. The City’s Zoning Ordinance requires that day care facilities not be located within 40 feet of other lots with residential zoning. The Planned Unit Development includes a variation from this spacing requirement to allow the outdoor play area to be within 40 feet of the lot line shared with the undeveloped residentially-zoned property to the south. Staff supports this variation because it allows for a safer and more practical site layout, and the petitioner is still providing a 15-foot buffer between the play area and the adjacent lot.
While the developed area directly around the subject site is residential, there are existing commercial developments on Caton Farm Road at the intersections with Ridge Road to the west and County Line Road to the east. The northeast corner of Ridge Road and Caton Farm Road contains a three-lot commercial subdivision with B-3 (general business) zoning, and the southwest corner of County Line Road and Caton Farm Road contains a multi-tenant commercial center with B-1 (neighborhood business) zoning. Additionally, Plainfield South High School is located west of the subject site at the southeast corner of Ridge Road and Caton Farm Road.
The proposed development will be required to connect to City water and sewer, which are available in the area. Public improvements will be required per the Subdivision Regulations and Public Works Department and will include a 10-foot bike path along Caton Farm Road, improvements to the south side of Caton Farm Road along the property frontage, and dedication of the new public right-of-way (Autumn Fields Boulevard). The final PUD and record plat will need to include a right-of-way dedication for a portion of Caton Farm Road. Final engineering details will be addressed as part of the final Planned Unit Development.
Approval of the annexation, classification to B-1 (neighborhood business) zoning, and the preliminary Planned Unit Development of 580 Caton Farm will allow the developer to proceed with finalizing plans to create a commercial subdivision with a day care facility, retail uses, and restaurant uses.
PLAN COMMISSION MEETING:
The Plan Commission reviewed this matter at their meeting on November 20, 2025. Nate Washburn, attorney with KGG LLC, and Bill Caton, real estate broker, represented the petition. Two members of the public spoke in opposition to the petition. Meeting minutes are attached.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE PLAN COMMISSION:
Jason Cox moved that the Plan Commission recommend approval of the annexation of 580 Caton Farm Road, classification to B-1 (neighborhood business) zoning, approval of an annexation agreement, and Preliminary Planned Unit Development of 580 Caton Farm, located at 580 Caton Farm Road.
Mike Eulitz seconded the motion, which passed with six (6) aye votes and no nay votes. Voting aye were: Cox, Eulitz, Kella, Martin, Roehr, and Turk. Voting nay were: none. Absent were: Crompton, Perez, and Radakovich.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff concurs with the recommendation of the Plan Commission and recommends that the Mayor and City Council approve a Resolution Approving an Annexation Agreement for 580 Caton Farm Road.
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