Crystal Lake turned down NVA’s truck terminal expansion. But that’s not likely the end of the story.

A trucking expansion could be possible without a rezoning request

A truck terminal expansion could still be happening in Crystal Lake, despite the city council denying the rezoning request made by NVA Transportation.

The city council unanimously denied NVA Transportation’s preliminary plans for an expanded truck terminal last month. However, NVA Transportation currently is pursuing building permits and another planned-unit development that works within its current zoning, NVA attorney Mark Daniel said.

That means the transportation company wouldn’t need city council approval to expand.

NVA owners have reached out to the city since the rezoning denial, Crystal Lake City Planner Elizabeth Maxwell said.

The city plans on reviewing any revised plans the company submits, she said. So far, no new documents have been submitted, Maxwell said. Both Maxwell and Daniel declined to comment further on the matter.

NVA Transportation, at 7013 Sands Road, originally requested the construction of a freight terminal on its 22-acre property that would have been 28 feet tall and about 36,200 square feet with 328 truck parking spaces. The proposal for the new structure included seven service bays, indoor loading docks and areas for storage, offices and a warehouse.

In a letter to the city council dated Feb. 12, prior to the city’s denial of NVA’s plans, Daniel said NVA could consider a “larger warehouse and distribution facility” within current zoning confines.

“This plan would place a taller building closer to the north lot line than the proposed plan and feature a use that does not involve as much over-the-road hauling as currently engaged in by NVA or planned by NVA in the future,” Daniel wrote. “This plan is not submitted as a threat of any kind, but NVA’s witnesses uniformly testified that there are far more intrusive plans available under existing zoning regulations and that most of these plans would not require a distinct zoning approval.”

City council members made it clear they were only denying the rezoning and said they support NVA Transportation continuing its business in Crystal Lake.

“The petitioner has rights on what they can put there,” council member Brett Hopkins said at a February meeting.

NVA might still need city council approval, depending on the proposal, even if it’s within zoning allowances, Crystal Lake Community Development Director Kathryn Cowlin said at the February city council meeting. “Freight terminal is only allowed as a special use in an M (manufacturing) zoning district,” she said.

Warehousing distribution is permitted in manufacturing zones, according to city documents.

Major concerns of nearby residents include increased traffic, effects on well water, potential flooding, and noise and light pollution. Residents have continued to organize against the expansion, creating the website SaveSandsRoad.com and an online petition with more than 1,900 signatures.

Nearby resident Tim Jackowiak said neighbors plan to continue weekly meetings to go over any documents they find through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Jackowiak and other neighbors still feel the effects of NVA’s rezoning attempts and the removal of trees on the property in 2022. He hopes to replant some trees and install a fence to block noise and light coming from Route 14 that the trees once blocked.

“We can take a breath for a moment,” Jackowiak said of the city’s vote against rezoning. “We’re well aware that this could be far from over.”