Navistar pulls out all stops for Lisle move proposal
Navistar officials and the company's supporters certainly got a chance Saturday to have their say.
During a marathon meeting of Lisle's planning and zoning commission, Navistar officials spent more than seven hours discussing their plans for moving to the village amid rousing support from business leaders, union chiefs and residents.
The truck and engine manufacturing giant is looking to relocate its international headquarters to the former Alcatel-Lucent complex at 2600 Warrenville Road. The company wants the commission's approval of its design plans ahead of a final vote by the village board.
Meanwhile, opponents of the plan likely will have to wait through two more hearings before they get a chance to voice their displeasure. Saturday's hearing was adjourned until 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Mark Daniel, an attorney for the opposition group Citizens for Healthy Development, will continue his cross-examination of Navistar's witnesses. It's doubtful opponents will get a chance to speak against the proposal until a May hearing.
Navistar officials spent the first half of the hearing explaining what improvements would be made to the 87-acre site and how the project would not create any additional noise or air pollution, stormwater problems or lighting issues. Hired experts also walked the crowd through the inner workings of the much-maligned technology center that will be built on the campus if the project is approved.
The scaled-down version of a previous proposal reduces engine-testing stations from more than 60 to just six. Navistar powertrain lab manager Casey Pyzik explained that two stations will be devoted to hybrid technology while the other four would feature traditional engines.
The testing stations would be in use about 10 hours a day for six days of the week, but Pyzik noted engines would only be running in five of the stations about half the time they were being used. One of the stations that focuses on fuel economy would have engines running about 85 percent of the time the station is operational, he said.
Other experts said emissions from those engine tests would have a negligible impact on people who live and work near the facility.
One of the hurdles the project must overcome is space constraints versus parking demands. The company is seeking a variance to construct a new parking deck at the site, but its size would violate the village's allowable building area. If the deck isn't built, the complex would be short nearly 100 parking spaces.
Supporters pleaded with the commission to back Navistar's proposal because it is expected to add 1,600 jobs to the area, some of them new. In addition, trade unions are clamoring for the $100 million Navistar is pledging in new construction and refurbishment at the site if it moves from its current home in Warrenville to Lisle.
"I don't need to tell you what the economic climate is like," said Richard Brink, chairman of Lisle's convention and visitor's bureau. "For us, this is not a recession. This is a depression. Navistar is already a good friend, they're a good neighbor. They just need a bigger house."
Opponents are mainly made up of residents who live adjacent the property and others who oppose a special taxing district Navistar is seeking from the village board. Neighbor Julie Schnell said written assurances the company's research and development uses at the site won't grow in the future would go a long way to appease many naysayers.
"I'd be much more comfortable seeing restrictions in the size and uses," she said. "I am also concerned that people think that Navistar is here to save the world. They're not going to put all those people's children to work. They're not going to bring dignity to every union worker. They're here to make money."
Some opponents also complained about the hearing going all day on a Saturday, calling the meeting an "undue burden" on residents.
Opposition attorney Daniel said the two sides have never met face-to-face to discuss restrictions on future growth at the site. In the limited time he had to cross examine some of Navistar's experts Saturday, Daniel focused on stormwater testimony that did not take into account necessity of a new 100-space parking lot for adjacent ball fields. T
he project adds about seven to eight acres of impervious surfaces to the site, not including the ballfield parking lot. But Navistar's stormwater expert John Brown contends even with the company's proposed additions there is more than enough capacity left in the site's detention ponds to handle stormwater from a 100-year flood event.
Saturday's meeting was far less contentious and boisterous than previous incarnations in November and December. That was due in large part to the presence of retired Appellate Court Judge Thomas Homer, who was selected by the village to moderate the hearings. He will not vote on the proposal.
Homer warned the standing room only overflow crowd of close to 200 that he wouldn't stand for any shenanigans and kept witnesses and speakers on point throughout the hearing.
"There was a sense the public had a perception that the way meetings were being run before wasn't fair to both sides," said Lisle village attorney David Silverman on Homer's appointment.
Daniel and Navistar attorney Russ Whitaker both said they were pleased with how the meeting was run.
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<li><a href="/story/?id=372854">Navistar's Lisle property road deal back on track <span class="date">[04/13/2010]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=371194">Land deal for Navistar proposal clears hurdle <span class="date">[04/07/2010]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=367471">Those scrutinizing Navistar move question proposed tax incentives<span class="date">[03/21/2010]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=363677">Navistar unveils newest plans for Lisle move <span class="date">[03/05/2010]</span></a></li>
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