In a 5-1 vote and in front of a full house of residents voicing their objections, the Cary Village Board approved the Seasons at Cary development on Route 31.

Trustee Anthony Stefani was the sole no vote. The development was the only action item on the special meeting’s agenda, following a five-plus-hour meeting on Oct. 21, much of it taken up by residents voicing their opposition.

Although one resident attempted to reopen the public comment at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting, officials had already said they would take no further comments, and Village Attorney Scott Uhler reiterated Tuesday that it was not the board’s intent to hear from residents again.

“The meeting’s been continued to today to allow the board to clear its head ... taking up all of the information the developer has presented, the planning commission presented, and you the residents have shared with the board,” Uhler said.

Seasons of Cary calls for 5 acres of retail space along Route 31 and 360 apartment units. The development will connect to the neighboring Cambria subdivision via New Haven Drive, which will be extended to Route 31 – the sticking point for many of the nearly 100 residents attending Tuesday evening’s meeting.

Tony DeRosa, vice president of Fiduciary Development, went through changes made to the proposal following last week’s discussion at the behest of residents and the Village Board.

Some of the alterations included increasing setbacks between commercial buildings and adjacent property lines. Proposed pickleball courts in the housing section were removed to expand a pond, and overall commercial space was increased to 5.9 acres.

Fiduciary Development’s original plan called for New Haven Drive to have two-way traffic in and out of the Cambria subdivision. The local planning and zoning commission, which gave its nod to the project previously, asked that the roadway’s connection to the subdivision be uni-directional, meaning traffic would not be able to go both in and out of the neighboring housing development from the extended road.

But the plan as approved this week allows for two-way traffic, and Fiduciary Development will work with the village to install – at the developers’ expense – traffic calming signage, striping and infrastructure inside Cambria.

That could include a traffic circle between Seasons of Cary and Cambria, narrower roads to discourage speeding, and other bump-outs to narrow crosswalks and slow down potential traffic, Village Manager Erik Morimoto said.

DeRosa’s company wants the connection to the neighboring homes to give them a better chance that the Illinois Department of Transportation will approve a fully signalized intersection at Route 31 and New Haven. Without the additional traffic from those homes, IDOT would not find the intersection warrants a signal light, he explained.

Without a signal light, national fast-casual or sit-down restaurants, or other retailers, would be less likely to locate there, he added.

The board has heard neighbor concerns, Trustee Ellen McAlpine said prior to the vote.

“This is not an easy task, nor are we taking safety lightly,” she said.

At the same time, she added, Cary has been trying to get the section of Route 31 developed for the past 30 years – with that connection to New Haven.

The approved development will be done “as proactively and safely as possible for our residents,” McAlpine said.

Construction is set to start in the spring, with the first units opening in Spring 2027, and the final units in Spring 2028, DeRosa said.