Land deal for Navistar proposal clears hurdle

Saying they don't want to hinder Lisle's decision on whether to allow Navistar to take over the former Alcatel-Lucent complex, DuPage County Forest Preserve commissioners Tuesday reaffirmed plans to sell district-owned property for the development.

Navistar is seeking Lisle's permission to acquire 88 acres along Warrenville Road and transform it into the company's international headquarters. A public hearing on revised plans for the project is set for April 17 before the village's planning and zoning commission.

But Navistar needs to know before that meeting if it can gain control of a ring road on three acres at the north side of the vacant Lucent campus.

An agreement calling for the forest preserve district to sell the ring road to Lisle and DuPage County was approved last fall but expired March 31.

Lisle approved the agreement again Monday and the forest preserve signed off Tuesday.

"All we are doing is letting the process proceed," forest preserve President Dewey Pierotti said. "This is not the end of the process. People will be given ample opportunity to give their viewpoints to Lisle when they have their meetings."

Indeed, if DuPage County approves the intergovernmental agreement on April 13, it simply gives the county and Lisle the chance to buy the ring road for $1.5 million and turn it over to Navistar. The forest preserve can't sell property to a private entity,

Residents opposed to the project say forest preserve commissioners should have sought a written commitment from Navistar that its redesign of the $100 million project won't be modified in the future.

"I think the forest preserve district missed an opportunity to impose conditions to protect the district," said MaryLynn Zajdel, a founding member of Citizens for Healthy Development, a group formed to fight Navistar's move. "Hopefully, they'll be vigilant and aware of what's going on the next couple of weeks with these (Lisle) hearings."

This week, officials from a nearby school for autistic children, Giant Steps Illinois Inc., endorsed Navistar's revised plan because it moves diesel engine testing and fuel storage to the other side of the campus, farther away from the school and residents. Navistar also scaled back the number of engine-testing "cells" and says it will operate them only during regular business hours.

Jeff Bowen, Navistar's vice president of special projects, said the company is committed to the safety and well being of its employees, visitors and the surrounding community - a statement that he said is supported by a recently submitted environmental impact study.

"There is no negative environmental impact as a result of this project," Bowen said. "The proposed facility will conform to all performance standards and will comply with all environmental laws at the state, federal and local level. The bottom line is that this campus is a safe campus."

Forest preserve officials on Tuesday hired a consultant to analyze Navistar's environmental impact study.

Meanwhile, Bowen said Navistar's proposed relocation to Lisle "represents tremendous economic opportunity" for the village, county and state.

Nearly 1,600 new jobs will be created if the move goes through, officials say. Navistar currently is headquartered in Warrenville and houses 1,500 employees, but the company is adding the 1,600 posts to the new headquarters. Company officials said the Lisle building has a capacity for more than 4,000 employees.

Among the dozens of Navistar supporters who attended Tuesday morning's forest preserve meeting were representatives from the Lisle, Naperville and Illinois chambers of commerce.

"Getting our economy moving again should be a number one priority of every elected official and business leader," said Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce President John Schmitt. "Our fortunes are joined at the hip, and we have a long way to go. But we must work together - the public and private sector - to capture every opportunity to provide for the citizens of DuPage County and the state of Illinois."