Crystal Lake residents continue fight against trucking firm's expansion
A group of Crystal Lake residents continue to oppose a trucking firm's proposal to expand its operations closer their backyards.
Crystal Lake-based logistics and truck repair company NVA Transportation wants to expand its operations at 7013 Sands Road by more than 20 acres. The proposal includes parking spaces for more than 300 semi-trailer trucks and a new 33,000-square-foot building.
“It's ridiculous that we're having this conversation, when they are three to five feet from a neighbor's house,” resident Kevin McVearry said.
The initial proposal called for a 50-foot landscaped buffer between the business and adjacent homes, and a company representative said they're willing to negotiate on that point, but the residents' concerns remain.
McVearry acts as an unofficial leader of the group. They hope to show the proposed expansion would create air, water and noise pollution, along with traffic and safety impacts.
NVA Trucking was scheduled to appear before the Crystal Lake planning and zoning commission on Wednesday, but asked for a delay to create a revised plan that will include a traffic study. The next meeting is Nov. 15, Crystal Lake City Planner Elizabeth Maxwell said.
This is the second delay NVA has sought. The company originally was scheduled to appear at a September meeting. McVearry thinks it's the company's attempt to make residents lose interest.
“That's the tough part,” he said. “We're trying to rally everybody together.”
NVA attorney Mark Daniel said the company needs the extra time to present a revised plan that addresses resident concerns.
“We'll have some fencing and landscaping that they'll be able to see that's enhanced compared to the last plans that were submitted,” Daniel said.
NVA also will offer testimonials and reports on the expansion's environmental impacts, Daniel said.
“It'll be in compliance with all (Environmental Protection Agency) standards and any county and local standards,” he added.
Neighbors started an online petition in July before the company presented a rezoning request to allow the expansion to the city. The petition has more than 1,200 signatures.
Despite months of delays, the neighbors continue to organize. Along with weekly meetings, they communicate on a Facebook group and created a website called SaveSandsRoad.com.
Neighbors first felt the effects of the proposed expansion when the woodlands behind their homes were removed last October by the company, they said. More than 150 trees were removed to clear space for the proposed expansion.
“We have a swing set in the back, we have little kids, we have pets,” resident Jen Walker said. “We were just, for lack of a better word, traumatized by this.”
After the Nov. 15 meeting, NVA Transportation will hold a separate public meeting to connect with neighbors to further the conversation, Daniel said.
“We should have that meeting so the people have a full understanding, whether or not they agree with the project,” he said.