Naperville residents plead for quiet from Mariano's deliveries, trailer
The new Mariano's in Naperville has been so busy since opening May 10 that it can't find space inside the building for all the food it plans to sell, prompting complaints from nearby residents about noise from a refrigerated trailer left outside — and the early start of daily deliveries.
The city of Naperville has cited the store for accepting deliveries before 6 a.m. — the start time set when Mariano's gained approval of its plans to demolish a former Dominick's and construct a new store at 1300 S. Naper Blvd.
The store had been receiving deliveries as early as 4:30 a.m., and a sign by its loading dock listed drop-off hours beginning at 5 a.m., said Bill Novack, the city's director of transportation, engineering and development. Noise from running the refrigerated trailer, however, is within the city's standards between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. as long as it's shut off outside those hours.
“What's going on out there isn't acceptable ... Something needs to be done,” city council member Paul Hinterlong said after visiting a house behind the store, where he said trailer noise was loud and noticeable from the street. “Everyone is happy that they (Mariano's) chose Naperville, but there is a problem that needs to be addressed.”
Spokesman James Hyland of Mariano's parent company Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., said store employees are making sure to turn off the refrigerated trailer by 7 p.m. and not turn it on again until 7 a.m. The company is ensuring that no deliveries arrive before 6 a.m. and that all delivery trucks turn off their engines instead of idling.
The store also hired an audio engineer to find ways to limit sound behind the building, which backs up to houses to the east on Hunter Circle.
City council member Patty Gustin, who was chairwoman of the planning and zoning commission when the panel reviewed Mariano's plans at length, said use of the refrigerated trailer is a surprise.
“I'm concerned because what was presented at the hearing is not exactly what's occurring now,” Gustin said. “The refrigerated truck wasn't a discussion at that hearing.”
Because of brisk sales at the store, which Hyland said has been “enthusiastically received,” Roundy's has been dropping off a trailer with a refrigerated load each day to meet demand. The trailer stays in the loading dock and is emptied after the store closes at 10 p.m.
“Based on the volume the store is doing and the capacity to hold refrigerated product, there is no way to unload and store this product until after the store has closed,” Hyland said.
Once one trailer's food has been taken in, it's hauled away and a new one is delivered.
With so many deliveries, Hyland said there's bound to be the occasional mix-up, but Mariano's continues to educate its delivery drivers on the 6 a.m. start time and noise requirements in Naperville.
“We are working diligently to further reduce external noise levels,” he said.