The city of Aurora has cited a new community garden and small wedding venue on Aurora’s far West Side for ordinance violations.
But owner Matt Marquez, also owner of the successful Company 251, an all-encompassing wedding venue in downtown Aurora, said he has followed the rules for the one event at the property so far.
He said he looks to be vindicated at an Aug. 17 hearing before a local ordinance violation judge.
“Nothing happened,” Marquez said. “I had a party. I’m waiting to see what they do.”
Right now, the situation is a bit of a “he said, she said” situation involving the new property Marquez bought at Prairie Street and Edgelawn Drive on the city’s far West Side. It is in a largely residential area, although it is across the intersection from the Aurora Country Club.
Marquez bought the somewhat well-known property that includes a Spanish-style mansion with a second house on a total of 13 acres.
He intended to use it as it is for small gatherings, such as small receptions and rehearsal dinners, somewhat as an extension of his Company 251 business.
He also put a community garden in the large front lawn of the property, both for community use and to grow food for Company 251.
“I placed the community garden there to involve the community,” he said.
Marquez brought his idea to a city of Aurora meeting of the Development Services Team, which is made up of city development officials and sometimes includes elected officials. Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, whose ward includes the property, was at the meeting.
“I literally told them what I hope to do,” Marquez said.
Franco agreed that after he laid out his plans for the property, city officials said he did not need a zoning change or any kind of conditional use.
“He said he’d like to do a community garden, and we said, well, you didn’t need to ask us for that; you can do that,” Franco said.
But there is a difference of opinion about what happened after that.
Marquez said the daughter of his baker had a last-minute cancelation of her wedding venue, and Marquez offered the new location. Franco said when Marquez told them he wanted to use it for a “small wedding venue,” Franco suggested he send a letter to neighbors explaining the use.
Marquez said he did that, but when the event happened, neighbors were unhappy, largely with the number of cars parked on the property. City officials said the cars were parked on the grass, which is not allowed in a residential area.
City officials also said Marquez was selling things from the site, which is not allowed in a residential zone.
According to John Curley, the city’s Development Services director, the city cited Marquez for violating the R-1 residential district by establishing an assembly and food service and you-pick garden uses, in addition to parking and signage violations.
The signage violation was painting “Feast Farms” on a stone fence at the driveway entrance to the property.
Marquez agreed he painted the sign, but did not think that was a violation.
As for the parking, he has said he wanted to put in a gravel parking area. But city officials have said if he puts in any kind of parking area – gravel or paved – he would need to submit a plan, and that would possibly require either a conditional use or zoning change.
Marquez said he might be able to accommodate parking on the driveway that exists on the property, which is long and winds from the streets to both houses on the site.
But he added he feels the city is looking to him to solve flooding in the area through whatever kind of parking he puts in.
As for selling things at the property, he said “I’m not selling anything.”
“I won’t be selling anything from there,” he said.
Franco said Marquez has already been advertising the space on the company’s website, but Marquez said city officials are referencing a website that involves his Moveable Feast company in Wheaton, and not the site in Aurora.
“It’s not even the same company,” he said.
Marquez said the Aurora site can only accommodate 100 people, at the most, and events there would likely be smaller than that. He said all music would be inside, and he has tested that and said it would not bother the neighborhood.
“I walked around the perimeter of the property, and you can’t hear anything,” he said.
He said it seems the city is making it too difficult for what would be “a nice place” in Aurora, and that other communities would welcome it.
“I’m trying to appease everybody,” he said.
Franco said for the future, he would be OK with the facility if Marquez can convince the neighbors. When the one event took place there, Franco fielded numerous calls from the neighbors who were upset, and felt the event was not as Marquez had portrayed it to be.
“I would go with the neighbors, but I think there’s a lack of trust there right now,” he said.
