With new business activity like the Fox Haven Square entertainment district and the redeveloping of Charlestown Mall, the eastern corridor of St. Charles is changing fast.

Worried about certain types of businesses not matching the “community’s vision,” one alderperson proposed a moratorium on select proposals – namely new car washes, gas stations, self storage facilities, drive-through fast food joints and banks.

While the proposal didn’t gain enough support from fellow City Council members, it was agreed the city’s comprehensive plan should be reviewed, with extra attention on new business proposals in the eastern corridor in the meantime.

During the committee of the whole meeting on March 2, Alderperson Jayme Muenz proposed a temporary moratorium for specific land uses along the Illinois Route 64 eastern corridor.

She said the extra time granted by the moratorium would provide the opportunity to better understand “what our residents want in this corridor.” Muenz said she was concerned about recent zoning land use proposals stretching all the way to the downtown.

“The eastern corridor represents a significant gateway into St. Charles and several development opportunities are emerging that will shape this area for decades,” Muenz said during the meeting. “Before these projects move forward, it’s important to ensure our planning documents are accurately reflecting the community’s visions for that corridor.”

While several Council members said they could always exercise their ability not to approve new businesses they feel do not fit the character of the community, they were mostly in opposition to Muenz’s proposal.

“A moratorium will send a message that St. Charles is closed for business and development, and we need that for our economic vitality to support our tax base,” Alderperson Bryan Wirball said during the meeting. “I think we need to be flexible with the market.”

He said he was worried a moratorium would “scare off” businesses throughout town because of the planning uncertainty it would cause.

Alderperson Bob Gehm said while he is also concerned about too many car washes in town, he supports a citywide comprehensive plan review, while giving heightened attention on new business proposals in the meantime.

Muenz said the businesses she wants to see paused should not be built on an important commercial thoroughfare, arguing such land uses limit other development opportunities, do not provide job growth and generate little sales tax.

She said once these businesses are approved, the city is stuck with them for decades because it’s too hard to redevelop the site without a teardown.

“Car washes are very difficult to remediate when they go out of business. They are popping up and then going out of business almost as quickly, and you just can’t turn that into something else,” Muenz said.

She pointed to recent moratoriums adopted in Batavia regarding developments along Illinois Route 25, and Aurora pausing data center developments. She said the pause allows the city to study character, traffic impacts, land availabilit, and economic impacts of new businesses.

Muenz said a moratorium could be a “temporary tool to support responsible planning” to “remove the pressure of any pending development proposal.”

“We don’t really have a need to take the first proposal or first application for a site. We have the opportunity to say no and wait for the right thing for that particular segment of town,” Muenz said.

Alderperson Vicki Spellman said she supports Muenz’s proposed moratorium because a complete revision of the city comprehensive plan could be lengthy. The plan is set to be revised for the 2027-28 fiscal year, according to city staff.

“We could do that much more quickly and have a significant impact on what is becoming a really lively area in development with Fox Haven Square that will hopefully spur some greater interest and help us with Charlestown Mall,” Spellman said during the meeting. “I don’t want anything to slow down potential interest there as we’re revitalizing those efforts.”

Spellman said some of the new business proposals are “not great for our community and we already have something like 10 car washes in the area.”

She said Muenz’s proposal highlights a national issue with private equity-funded car washes being put into communities because their subscription services are profitable for owners but not the city. Spellman said responsible planning could better fit the town’s needs.

Muenz said thoughtful planning could help ensure traffic congestion along Route 64 does not turn into Illinois Route 59, which has four lanes in each direction but is frequently “slow-moving.”

“We have most of our traffic coming into our downtown, our historic city, through that corridor. What do we want that to look like for our visitors?” Muenz asked.