Wheaton approves Aldi expansion plans

WHEATON – Wheaton City Council members on Aug. 1 approved expansion plans for Aldi, although the grocery store will not be able to install as large a monument sign as it had originally proposed.

Aldi will build a 3,300-square-foot addition on the east side of the store at 20 W. Loop Road that will allow the store to sell more retail products to meet consumer demand. The store was built in 1991, and the addition's exterior would match the materials and colors of the building, Wheaton engineering director Paul Redman previously said.

As part of the project, Aldi wanted to build a larger monument sign to improve the visibility of the sign from Naperville Road. The current sign is 30 square feet in size and 7 feet in height, and Aldi wanted to build a sign that is 76 square feet in size and 12.75 feet in height.

The city's zoning ordinance allows a sign that is 48 square feet in size and 7 feet in height. City staff recommended the monument sign be no larger than the maximum allowed by the zoning ordinance.

City Council members approved an ordinance amending the existing planned unit development to allow for the construction of the addition but requiring the proposed monument sign to be no larger than allowed by the current zoning ordinance.