Shorewood trucking company’s plans to relocate to Channahon denied

The Channahon Village Board of Trustees heard and responded to the outcry from already-frustrated east side residents Wednesday when they denied TransChicago’s plans to relocate its Shorewood semi-trailer truck dealership and service center to east of I-55 in Channahon.

The meeting lasted more than three hours, and almost 160 residents attended.

Community Development Director Mike Petrick said TransChicago presented a plan known as the Channahon 68, a proposed commercial development on 68 acres of land located at the northeast corner of U.S. Route 6 and South Thomas Dillon Drive at the Monday, Nov. 13 planning and zoning commission meeting.

“The application includes a preliminary plan for the shopping center, which is anchored by a motor vehicle dealership,” Petrick said. “Also, out lots along Thomas Dillon Drive which are zoned C-3 in nature so they could be anything from drive-thru restaurants, sit down restaurants, a hotel or retail. C-3 is one of our widest-ranging local business districts.”

There were three parts of the plan, according to Developer Kyle Schuhmacher from Ketone Partners. The drainage pond and TransChicago’s dealership would be built first, and the northern 15 acres of land would be given to the village to prevent further development.

Schuhmacher said the C-3 lots to the west of the dealership have not yet been marketed, but the plan would be to look for restaurants, hotels and retail stores to fill the locations. These lots would be sold, not leased.

Before any of that happened, there were a lot of community concerns TransChicago would have to answer to, first and foremost why the identity of the dealership wasn’t disclosed until the meeting on Wednesday.

Attorney Ken Carlson said this was not done out of any need for secrecy.

“The operator is currently located in a neighboring community of yours with a lease and we wanted to be sure we had a place ready to go before that became totally public,” Carlson said. “Because that obviously can have some business repercussions nobody was intending to create.”

Schuhmacher and TransChicago President Doug Cayce provided a presentation to smooth over the community’s concerns, with plans for stormwater management, additional square footage and setbacks of over 300 feet.

The plan also set aside more than 53% of the total land to remain as an open space, and had the building fully fenced in with plans in place to limit sound and light pollution.

The presentation didn’t persuade the village board or the concerned residents, many of whom were returning after the Nov. 13 planning and zoning commission meeting.

Channahon residents Steve and Mary Ann Cook both spoke at the meeting, with Steve Cook presenting multiple overhead shots obtained from Google maps showing what TransChicago’s Shorewood location currently looks like.

“We’re requesting that you look at this proposed property through the lens of homeowners, and realize that a truck sales and service business does not fit nor support the residents of the area of the Channahon 68 Project,” Steve Cook said. “We found out tonight that it’s TransChicago, and this is an aerial view current on Google.”

“Pictures tell a thousand words and just like the conceptual drawings we saw tonight, they speak to us,” he said. “But this is reality, and it doesn’t fit in this neighborhood.”

The residents of the neighborhood around the Channahon 68 Project are all still on well water, and Mary Ann Cook said she was concerned with the effects this development could have on that.

“Any issues with diesel from trucks or leaks could cause major problems for our water supply,” she said. “I urge you to carefully consider this aspect before making this decision.”

Bryan Goodman cited the village’s municipal code to explain his concerns about waste materials from the trucking site getting into wells.

Chapter 93, section 10, subsection Q of the city code reads “corrupting drinking water: to corrupt or render unwholesome or injure the drinking water in any hydrant, spring, stream, pond or lake,” he said.

Gabe Friend also voiced his concerns, as his property is just 430 feet away from the proposed development. His major concerns include water and soil contamination.

Friend’s other concern, as well as a concern for many other residents, is the air quality. Friend said diesel fumes will be emitted, and trucks idle.

Aside from environmental concerns, residents expressed other issues about the overall development of the community.

“When my husband and I decided to start a family, we moved over to the east side where we currently live, not realizing just how vastly different of a city Channahon is on the east side compared to the west side,” said Danielle Revels, a lifelong Channahon resident.

Revels said she felt, as did many other residents, that they were met with hostility at the planning and zoning committee meetings.

“We’re trying to understand what’s coming to our backyards,” she said.

Patricia Venziano said residents of the east side live in fear of the next project, assuming it’ll again disrupt their neighborhoods and could reduce the value of their properties.

Venziano said the city pushed out a trailer park on Route 6 with the idea of shopping, restaurants and a hotel coming to the area. Instead, Channahon got a truck stop and multiple truck-related businesses.

She was one of many residents who expressed concerns of semi-trailers going on Frontage Road alongside I-55 whenever there’s a backup on the interstate.

More than 20 people spoke out against the project and the trustees received a standing ovation when they unanimously voted to deny the project.