By Jason Crane
The North Aurora Village Board meeting Monday, through the Zoom video conference platform included Village president Dale Berman’s notice that the January 18 Board meeting will be his last.
Berman recently won a seat on the Kane County Board for District 2. He has been the Village president for 16 years after 14 years as a North Aurora Village trustee.
Berman said it’s time to retire from the Village Board and luckily Village Trustee (Mark) Gaffino is waiting in the wings.
“It really has been fun,” he said.
Berman who serves on numerous Kane County committees has been married to his wife, Mary, for 62 years. They have four daughters and eight grandchildren.
Gaffino announced his intention to run for North Aurora Village Board president in 2019. Several trustees thanked Berman for his commitment and congratulated him on his retirement from the North Aurora Village Board.
The Board approved the following agenda items:
• A special use permit for Verilife, the cannabis dispensary at 161 South Lincolnway (Route 31).
Information on the Village’s website shows that recently Community and Economic Development director Mike Toth explained that Verilife was looking to expand its business 3,500 square feet into existing space in its building to address demand.
He said they have a right to conduct business in their current space but the expansion would require a special use approval.
The Plan Commission reviewed the special use application at their December 1, 2020 Board meeting and unanimously approved of it with the conditions added by Village staff members that included gating the garbage enclosure, specifying no accumulation of refuse and that the property owner would regulate traffic on site.
• A special use permit for Chapelstreet Church, formerly Cornerstone Church, at 307 Banbury Road.
Director Toth explained they are looking to add approximately 3,000 square feet to their existing building, which requires a special use permit for the expansion and because the extension is greater than 25% of the existing square footage also triggers a site plan approval.
The current church building is 6,000 square feet on a 2.19 acre lot and the addition would be 3,000 square feet, which would be built primarily on top of an existing basketball court. The addition would be connected to the existing building and constructed of similar materials and appearance with the goal to match the existing church as much as possible. The original section of church would undergo about 5,000 square feet in renovations and the new addition would include a kid’s area, flex room, storage space, and new youth ministry classrooms, which are not for daycare.