The Normal Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on plans for a new fire station at its meeting on Thursday. The 10,000-square-foot station will be located at Hershey and Shepard roads. The commission also holds a public hearing the same day for a planned expansion at Rivian.
The meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. at Uptown Station.
The town council approved contract negotiations for the $5 million east side fire station project in April 2023. The southwest corner of the Blackstone subdivision, formed in 2009, was rezoned for the project in 2019. A neighborhood meeting on the project was held in the Blackstone subdivision in April.
The town says “this is part of a larger relocation plan for all the town’s fire stations aimed at providing better response times across the community.” The relocation plan has been in development since 2009, when the Blackstone subdivision was created.
The site plan for the single-story facility includes 18 parking spaces and a single EV charging station, as well as 20% green space consisting of trees and shrubs concentrated on the proposed building’s north and east sides. This amount of green space is required by town codes.
The town says it identified the areas surrounding the location as presenting “challenging emergency response times,” adding that placing a new station there has been “a high priority.”
Town officials add that they don’t “believe the development of the fire station per the proposed plan would adversely impact nearby people or properties. Rather, a fire station in this location would provide incredible emergency response times to those in the nearest proximity.”
Rivian on agenda
The commission also will hold a public hearing on Thursday for a proposed amended site plan at the site of Rivian Automotive. The site has been amended five previous times for Rivian.
This proposal would add 208,000 square feet to the Rivian plant site for the electric automaker to add a new building and employee parking lots.
The new building will be 1.14 million square feet. The height of the building would be between 30 and 45 feet. It would be located beyond the distance required from the nearest wind turbine.
The new parking lots would contain 1,127 spaces and 1,418 spaces, respectively. The proposal also would expand an existing southwest employee lot, while a new inventory lot for constructed vehicles is proposed on the northeast side of the property.
Six new wayfinding signs also would be added as part of the amendment. The signage would direct vehicles, identify gates, and direct pedestrians.
The proposal also updates Rivian’s facilities to include 32% green space and update bicycle parking.
