Project leaders behind a new business park in DeKalb moved one step closer to reality this week after preliminary approval by a city commission.

At the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday, officials voted 4-0 to establish the DeKalb Commerce Center, anchored by a Pilot Travel Center gas station and convenience store. Other tenants have yet to be made public for the new business park on about 114 acres at the southeast corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive.

The City Council still has the final say, however. A vote is expected Monday.

The commission was briefed on plans presented this week by Jerry Krusinski of JJK 343 LLC, the same entity behind the massive new data center that was approved by the council in December.

“Pilot is extremely excited to be in this community and partner with DeKalb in order for this travel center [to] come to fruition,” Krusinski said. “But it’s really a perfect location for them and for the proximity to I-88.”

The proposed site of the Pilot Travel Center is zoned for agricultural use and requires rezoning upon annexation to the city, city documents show. The lot sprawls across 10 acres at the southeast corner of Peace Road and Fairview Drive.

The layout for the entirety of the site is not set in stone.

A second lot proposed for the business park may feature two restaurants with drive-thrus, city documents show. No site users have been made public.

City documents show right-in and right-out access points proposed along Peace Road that will serve the Pilot Travel Center, the second lot and the rest of the development.

City Planner Dan Olson said the project lays the groundwork for a much-needed use.

Plans for a Pilot Travel Center are in conformance with the city’s comprehensive plan, city documents show.

“It will kind of dictate the rest of the area growth,” Olson said.

Richard Larson, who lives along Fairview Drive, urged the commission to consider imposing conditions on the project in the interest of protecting the public from sound, light and traffic concerns.

He questioned whether the city cares about hearing the public’s concerns.

“Do we care about those folks, or do we just let these things kind of roll over them?” Larson said.

Denise Weinmann, of RVG Commercial Real Estate Services, said she believes project leaders are trying to be good neighbors.

For one thing, she pointed to some of the ways the development strives to be a good neighbor.

She said she is supportive of the project and how ”it was very mindful of getting trucks off of [Interstate] 88 safely and onto Peace Road,” as well as the alternative it provides.

The business park requires additional approvals to be done in phases, city documents show. Before any construction may begin, project leaders must submit a final development plan for consideration.

Commissioner Thomas Fellabaum asked how the Pilot Travel Center would compare with others.

There’s a nearby Pilot Travel Center in Rochelle.

Jack Rymer, senior project manager of construction development for Pilot Travel Center, said it’s comparable.

“I’d say [it’s] middle of the road for what we do,” Rymer said. “It’s larger based off the size, the size of the site.”

City staff said they support the requested waivers for the maximum site coverage and the height and size of ground signs for the project.

Krusinski said project leaders look forward to continuing talks with the city to spur development in the business park.

“We’ve worked in conjunction with staff in the city,” Krusinski said. “We’ll continue to do so as the park progresses. We are very fortunate.”