Trucking facility plan concerns Elgin residents

Residents who live near a proposed new trucking and warehouse facility on the southeast side of Elgin oppose the plan, saying it will increase traffic and noise in the neighborhood.

Europe Holding LLC, which has a location at 1147 Timber Drive on the west side of Elgin, wants to build a new, bigger facility on an empty industrial lot at 980 Lambert Lane, just south of Route 20 near the border with Bartlett, city documents state. That's adjacent to homes in the Castle Creek subdivision, whose owners plan to address the city council on Wednesday.

"There's a lot of opposition to this," said Elgin resident Frank Picha, who lives about a block away.

Forty-seven homeowners, out of 54 occupied homes in Castle Creek of Elgin, signed a petition against the plan, Picha said. Another petition at change.org had 126 supporters, including residents of Castle Creek of Bartlett, as of Monday afternoon.

The plan requires city council approval only because Europe Holding agreed to modify its original plan, at the request of city staff members, to minimize impact to the neighborhood, Mayor David Kaptain said.

Under the current plan, the 43,750-square-foot building would be on the south end of the property to act as a buffer between residences and truck activity. The original plan called for a building on the north end of the property, with truck traffic closer to residences.

"They didn't have to do that," Kaptain said. "And they could go back and say, 'Well, we could build it the way we originally intended it.'"

The plan calls for fencing, berms and landscaping to shield residences from industrial activity, and includes zoning setback deviations that require council approval.

Two residents spoke at a Nov. 2 public hearing before the planning and zoning commission, which recommended approval of the plan. The majority of the neighborhood didn't find out until afterward, Picha said.

"We're very concerned about the impact of the operations seven days a week, causing congestion from the trucks and an increase in accidents from semis," he said.

There were no studies done regarding the plan's effects on traffic safety, home values and the sewer system, Picha added. "There are planned development review standards for suitability, and we feel they haven't been met."

A representative of Europe Holding did not respond to a request for comment.

Castle Creek residents hope the city council will reject the proposal, Picha said. At a minimum, he said, residents want modifications to the plan, including requiring Europe Holding to share an entrance off Lambert Lane in use by two other businesses, banning any outdoor PA system, requiring additional landscaping, and prohibiting traffic through the Castle Creek neighborhood.

"We ask they give this a little pause, a little timeout," he said, "because of the atypical location of this facility so close to residents."