After a marathon of Planning and Zoning Commission meetings with public hearings and testimony from more than 500 speakers, a decision on the Islamic Center of Naperville’s proposed 248th Avenue location looms large as the topic is headed to the Naperville City Council for consideration at Tuesday’s meeting.
About the Project
Construction of the 121,000-square-foot facility, if approved, will feature a mosque, school, multipurpose hall and gym.
Discussion of the project became contentious over almost 10 months, with people drawing concerns about the location, traffic and noise at public meetings.
Ultimately, the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission approved the project last month in a 6-1 vote.
But the Naperville City Council will have the final say about whether construction can proceed.
The plan commission’s approval did not come without a set of conditions. Those include an interim left-turn lane on 248th Avenue, limits of 457 people in the worship space through phase four to ensure enough on-site parking, administrative review and approval of parking plan before construction of phases two through four, a limit on construction beyond phase two until after a proposed 248th Avenue road expansion is complete, a safety review from the fire department for each phase, a ban on external speaker systems or amplifiers at the property, and other various traffic, safety, and city review rules.
Next Steps
Officials are anticipating that construction of 248th Avenue will begin in 2024.
The Islamic Center of Naperville requires the city’s backing as the project would require a conditional use permit and a variance before the city will allow the facility’s buildout to move forward.
Naperville News 17’s Megann Horstead reports.
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