The Downers Grove Village Council signaled it will approve a Dutch Bros. Coffee drive-thru at Ogden and Saratoga avenues, expressing support during the proposal's first reading Wednesday, Aug. 5, according to Patch. The move comes despite the Planning Commission's 5-1 denial and more than 800 resident signatures opposing the project.

The council's stance reverses course from the village's Planning and Zoning Commission, which voted 5-1 in early July to recommend denial. Ninety-five residents submitted written objections ahead of that hearing.

Council member Martin Tully said the site "certainly deserves redevelopment" and framed the TIF district location as central to the decision.

"This was specifically designed for this type of business because of what Ogden Avenue is, because it's a TIF district and because there's an intersection there that has a signal," Tully said.

Mayor Bob Barnett said commercial development helps keep property taxes low and that the economic benefit cannot be separated from the discussion. He added that he wants more information on how to ease impacts for residents south of the site.

Council member Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt said the developer worked extensively with staff and neighbors to address concerns and praised changes made to the plan. She acknowledged school pickup traffic near Herrick Middle School but said the congestion is a District 58 responsibility, not a reason to block the project.

Residents push back on traffic, safety

The project drew pointed opposition at the meeting. Renee Mazour, a Saratoga Avenue resident, told the council she already contends with heavy traffic during Herrick pickup and described the Naperville Dutch Bros. near Ogden and Iroquois as regularly drawing 50 cars that spill into surrounding lots.

"We're talking large shopping centers that can accommodate that kind of traffic," Mazour said, arguing the Downers Grove site is too small for a drive-thru chain.

Attorney Pat Provenzale spoke on behalf of his brother Don, a dentist at 4336 Saratoga Ave. just south of the proposed site, and their mother Mary Ellen, a part owner of the lot where the dental office sits. Provenzale said no pedestrian traffic study has been conducted near the schools and called the site a compact location that cannot be compared to other Dutch Bros. sites in larger shopping centers. He also argued the rear lot is the only accessible parking for his brother's dental patients.

What the project includes

The two-lot development would demolish the existing building and construct a Dutch Bros. shop in Phase 1, then add an approximately 4,000-square-foot multi-tenant retail building in Phase 2. Petitioners are seeking a planned unit development, a special use permit for the drive-thru, an alley vacation and a zoning map amendment.

Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation President Brian Gay told the council the site was chosen for its size, traffic controls and parking availability. Gay said he met with superintendents of Districts 99 and 58, and neither expressed concerns about the project.

What's next

The proposal still requires a second reading and final vote. The council meets on the first, second and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. at the Downers Grove Civic Center, 850 Curtiss St. The second reading date has not been publicly confirmed, but the next regular meetings fall on Aug. 11 and Aug. 18.