Normal’s Planning Commission on Thursday issued its recommendations on two development plans – another addition to Rivian’s plant in western Normal and a new fire station in the northeast part of the city.

The change to Rivian’s site plan would be the sixth such adjustment during the development of the facility. This time, the electric car maker plans to expand a building and build a new one.

The plan expands the plant’s footprint by about 208,000 square feet, while the new building would be 1.14 million square feet. The project has two approved variances from standard general zoning regulations for manufacturing. The maximum building height has been increased to 65 feet (normally 45), and directional signs on the property will be larger than normally allowed.

City planner Mercy Davison said Normal is already considering raising height limits for industrial zones, and many other communities already have higher limits.

Rivian representatives attended the meeting to answer questions from the commission, saying the new space would streamline the painting process, provide more space for products and help the company meet production targets for the launch of the R2 model in 2026.

The plan also includes about 2,500 new parking spaces for employees, in line with the hiring boom the company expects in the coming years.

The city has set two conditions for the project. First, the results of a hydrological study and a traffic study must be approved to ensure proper stormwater management and minimal disruption to vehicular traffic. The results of both studies are expected in the next few months.

Tony Sanger, vice president of facilities at Rivian, said the project remains committed to sustainable development and will make extensive use of local labor.

“The right way to look at a project like this is, ‘It takes a village.’ We’re going to find local contractors who have a lot of work to do, a lot of local tradespeople who can do it,” Sanger said.

“But we also need people from St. Louis, Chicago or Indianapolis to reach the number of people we need to get this done in the time we need.”

Sanger says the project could be completed in 14 to 18 months.

New fire station

The Normal Fire Department has long hoped to relocate its crews to the northeast part of the city, where city officials report “difficult response times.”

On Thursday, the Planning Commission unanimously approved a recommendation for a new station at the corner of Hershey and Shepard Road. The site was rezoned for public use in 2019 and was already earmarked for the construction of a fire station at the time.

The site borders the Blackstone neighborhood, whose development began in 2009. About half of the neighborhood is already built, including the part closest to the planned station.

Some concerns have been raised about light and noise from the building, including one citizen commenter at Thursday’s meeting, who admitted, however, that she does not live in the development. Commission member Jessica Woods said she lives next door to another Normal fire station and was pleasantly surprised that there were no disturbances there.

“I was concerned when we moved into the house that it would be disruptive, but that’s not the case,” Woods said.

“The fire department does a great job of not turning on their sirens at night when it’s not necessary. They have the lights on. They try to consider the neighborhood and the people around them.”

Woods added that she was glad there were emergency services nearby to treat cases like her neighbor’s heart attack.

Fire Chief Mick Humer attended the meeting. He said the new station will be staffed with existing firefighters and equipment and he is excited to improve response time in an area close to nursing home patients and Normal Community High School.

“Since we bought the property and didn’t build it (the station), we’ve had two structure fires there. In one of those, an elderly resident had to be rescued by her neighbors because the fire department hadn’t arrived yet. It takes about nine minutes to respond to Blackstone,” Humer said.

Construction could begin in October, Hume said, and take about a year, depending on winter conditions, but the timeline is only valid if the city council approves the plan.

Both the Rivian and fire station plans are scheduled to go before the City Council on August 19.

For disclosure: WGLT Director General RC McBride is a member of the Normal Planning Commission.