'Place For Cats And Cat Lovers To Find Each Other' Hopes To Open In This Suburb

WHEATON, IL — A cat adoption center is seeking to open at 923 Roosevelt Rd. in Wheaton. To open, the Kat Lounge would require a special use permit and a zoning variation. Members of the city's planning and zoning committee will discuss the proposed development in a public hearing at their May 28 meeting.

Currently, the area is zoned R-R-3, for "more intense" mixed-use developments along the Roosevelt Road corridor. It had been zoned C3 for general business district developments until it was rezoned in 2024. With this rezoning came a multi-tenant building, a storefront of which the Kat Lounge seeks to occupy, between Moves Dance Studio and Subway.

Per city documents, R-R-3 zoning has 19 special use designations, with "a kennel" being the "closest existing special use" for the Kat Lounge's needs. The petitioner seeks to have the zoning text amended to add a special use for a "cat adoption agency."

The proposed adoption agency aims to include a sales and reception area, lounges for potential adopters that will have pre-packaged drinks and snacks available. To accommodate the adoption center's cats, there will be playrooms, a boarding room and a litter box room. A break room and restroom will be available for employees.

At Wednesday's public hearing, petitioners Candle of Hope, Inc. will share more about their project with commissioners and residents, including the number of cats they hope to house and how many employees and volunteers they plan to have onsite.

A letter from Wheaton Staff Planner Tracy L. Jones said, "lt is staff’s opinion that the proposed Cat Adoption Agency is compatible with the other existing special uses in the R—R—3 District. As such, staff would recommend approval of the text amendment request, and the special use permit request, provided the applicant sufficiently addresses the special use permit standards at the public hearing."

According to city documents, The Kat Lounge's mission is to "provide a safe, welcoming place for cats and cat lovers to find each other. We envision happy cats looking for a loving home while having a fun, interactive environment in which people can come and spend time with them while enjoying some lounge time and perhaps gathering with friends and family."

The May 28 public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. in the council chambers of Wheaton City Hall.