Aurora Tree Service Hoping to Move to Montgomery

A longtime Aurora businessman plans to move his operation to next year. And, with a couple of reservations, trustees were all for it Wednesday night.

Bill Xinos has owned Aurora Tree Service, at 1500 Mountain Street in Aurora, since 1981. His company removes unwanted trees from his customers’ property, cuts those trees up into smaller pieces, and then sells it for firewood. Xinos stores that wood for up to two years at his fenced-in yard on Mountain Street. 

With his lease set to expire in December of next year, Xinos is hoping to start the process of moving Aurora Tree Service to property he owns at 1100 Lake Street in Montgomery. 

The only problem is this: the lot is zoned for industrial use, and village staff can’t find a particular category this company would fit into. On Wednesday, they put the question to the Committee of the Whole: allow Aurora Tree Service as a permitted use, or as a special use?

The difference, according to Village Attorney Steve Andersson: a permitted use is easier, but offers less village control; a special use is a longer and more involved process, but allows for more restrictions.

Trustees picked the second option, and told Xinos a couple of their conditions, centered around keeping up the appearance of the Lake Street entrance to the village

Trustee Pete Heinz suggested some form of covering for the fence on the Lake Street side, and Trustee Bill Keck suggested stacking some of the better-looking wood pieces along the Lake Street fence, to block construction equipment from view.

“It’s a manufacturing district, and it doesn’t back up to housing,” Keck said. “I don’t have a basic objection to it, but it is an entrance into the village, and we want to maintain a certain level of appearance.”

The special use process means Xinos must first approach the plan commission for approval. Andersson said the board could waive some of the more restrictive requirements of a special use in this case, if they wished.

Xinos said he would like to start moving wood over to the new lot by March of next year.