Hearing airs plans for plant on Hwy 14 site

The Aurora Planning Commission approved three requests from the Aurora Development Corporation on the future of the Mission Critical Subdivision south of Aurora during its meeting Monday night.
During a nearly hour-long meeting at City Hall, commissioners approved and sent recommendations to the Aurora City Council on a preliminary plat involving 136.49 acres at Mission Critical, a parcel located just east of Highway 14 on the I-80 corridor (by the “Welcome to Aurora” sign). Planners then proceeded to approve a final plat of the Mission Critical First Addition as well as a request from the ADC on behalf of Brandt Consolidated Inc. for a conditional use permit.
Jim Ediger, ADC president, spoke first about the overall plan dating back 13 years to attract businesses to Hamilton County at the Mission Critical site.
“We wanted a master site plan for the entire property, not just this one company,” Ediger mentioned.
After a quick approval on the preliminary plat, ADC Executive Director Kelsey Bergen got into the nuts and bolts of a final plat involving what she called an “anchor tenant,” which is looking to build a plant on 20 acres in the Mission Critical First Addition, located in the southern half of the subdivision adjacent to Highway 14.
“We went through a target industry study to decide what types of businesses would fit in our area,” Bergen explained. “That helped guide the plat for the entire site. The only reason we’re doing a small portion for the final plat tonight is because we want to have the ability to change where needed moving forward.”
Headquartered in Springfield, Ill., Brandt is an ag-based company which plans build a facility in Aurora to handle production and distribution of micronutrients used for crop production and protection.
With the planning commission’s approval Monday, those plans face one final round of approval, which was to be on the city council’s agenda Tuesday night.
The planning commission unanimously approved the final plat before discussing potential annexation into Aurora’s city limits.
In order for ADC to set the site up for future development, Bergen said it would make the most sense to annex the 20-acre parcel now.
“That would include streets, water and any drainage necessary so that we don’t negatively impact our neighbors,” Bergen said. “It makes sense for us to be partners with the city to get this prospect to land here.”
When the Mission Critical site was purchased by the ADC in 2010 the original plan was to recruit a large data center.
“In the three years I’ve been here there’s been a lot of interest in the site that under the current zoning guidelines could have just located there without a public hearing,” Bergen said.
That’s not how the ADC wanted to proceed, she added, instead taking time to search for a business that fit the community better. After further research, Bergen said the ADC board concluded that a large data center was determined not to be a good fit for the community.
“Brandt fits all of the checkmarks the development corporation wants,” Bergen said. “Ag is the leading industry in this county and we think Brandt will be good for other businesses and the community.”
Conversations between Brandt and the ADC began more than a year ago, steadily ramping up as the months wore on. The ADC did its due diligence with two trips, one including two members of the Aurora Planning Commission, to Brandt’s headquarters in Springfield, Ill., as well as to a production plant similar to the one proposed in Aurora which is located in nearby Pleasant Plains, Ill. Those visiting were looking for any concerning issues, including potential odors and noise levels.
“We know this will be a visually pleasing building and there will be no sound or odor issues,” Bergen said. “It’s important to us to maintain the quality of life for neighbors and property values.”

Conditional use permit
Discussion then began on a conditional use permit for lot four of the Mission Critical First Addition, which is where the Brandt plant would be built, if approved.
Commission members Keith Wasem and Wayne Brehm visited Brandt’s headquarters last week, coming back with positive reviews.
“It is a well-run, state-of-the-art facility that is mixing, blending, bottling and packaging,” Wasem noted. “We were not disallowed in any part of the facility.”
Wasem reported that in one of the areas he would have considered to be the dirtiest based on assumptions, he noted it was very clean.
“There were no specific odors or sound issues,” he confirmed. “They want their buildings to look nice and are proud. It’s an industrial site, yes, but you didn’t see anything flying around or gathering in the road. It was a real clean operation.”
When asked about having any concerns if he were to live in close proximity to such a facility, Wasem said he had none.
Brehm continued, noting that without actually going inside the building, no one would suspect what goes on, speaking again to the neatness.
“There’s no noise, no smell, no dust,” Brehm noted. “You could walk in there and talk, it wasn’t loud. I don’t think you’ll find a better neighbor with what they’re doing.”
The ADC also met with neighbors to the Mission Critical site, crossing Ts and dotting Is to address any and all concerns.
“When the site grows, we want it to benefit everyone,” Bergen added.
In a letter from Brandt’s executive vice president, which was provided to all commission members, it was stated this project will bring 20 jobs, creating traffic of anywhere from five to 20 trucks per day, depending upon the season. The operation will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with no off-hour work.
Bergen reported that Brandt’s interest in Aurora came from its location, near the east-west I-80 corridor and north-south Highway 81 roadway, as well as to the amount of soybeans grown in the area.
A question was raised by Laurel Marlatt, a neighbor to the south of the Mission Critical site, about potential guidelines as far as noise or lighting.
Things got briefly tense between Marlatt and chairperson Jeff Morris as Marlatt tried to share a personal story from 13 years ago when the ADC first purchased the property and announced plans to develop it.
As Marlatt attempted to talk, Morris quickly shut those discussions off, asking if she had any concerns about the conditional use permit, since that was the issue on the agenda. Marlatt said she had none and left the room.
The consideration for requiring conditions as part of the use permit was discussed in committee prior to Monday’s meeting, including a possible treeline along the south side of the plant. That condition was eventually approved by unanimous vote.
The only other input offered during Monday’s meeting came from Gary Moody, who owns adjacent property. Moody said he is not necessarily against the project, but raised concern about the potential of Brandt selling the plant down the road to an international buyer.
Bergen and Wasem both responded that there is no way to control the future, but noted Brandt’s history as a family-owned company.
Watch for additional coverage on this issue in next week’s Aurora City Council report.