Pressed By Residents, Burr Ridge Rejects Truck Stop Again

BURR RIDGE, IL – With its chambers overflowing with residents, the Burr Ridge Village Board voted Monday to stick to its original opposition to a truck stop just outside its boundaries.

More than 60 people attended the Village Board's monthly meeting. They showed up to oppose a QuikTrip truck stop southwest of 91st Street and Route 83.

Two QuikTrip representatives made their case, offering concessions that they said addressed the village's concerns.

Early in their presentation, residents jeered one of the points the representatives made about the effects on traffic.

Mayor Gary Grasso slammed the gavel.

"I'll tell you one thing we're not having, it's that," the mayor said.

It did not happen again.

The proposed truck stop would be next to an unincorporated neighborhood of townhouses, where residents objected.

But residents of nearby Burr Ridge subdivisions also expressed concern.

They noted truck traffic, noise and fumes from the truck stop. And a Burr Ridge School District 180 member said the truck stop would be dangerous for children at the nearby Anne Jeans Elementary.

However, QuikTrip attorney John Simpson said everyone can agree that the land in question, which includes a strip mall that would be demolished, is zoned for commercial uses.

"We have taken your objections listed (in your resolution in June) and addressed every one of them," Simpson told the board.

Some neighbors said the businesses in the strip mall provide a valuable service. Demolishing it, they said, would make the area a "food desert."

In response, Simpson said he had no "delicate way" of putting it, but the businesses are tenants. The landlord, he said, could always end their leases.

The DuPage County Board has the final say on the truck stop because the project would be in an unincorporated area.

But if Burr Ridge, as the closest town, objects, then the truck stop must pass the County Board with a three-fourths vote, not just a simple majority.

Trustee Russell Smith said the area in question struggled with the aftermath of Sterigenics. That company's Willowbrook plant closed a few years ago after studies showed it emitted cancer-causing pollutants for years.

"The last thing we need is more semi-trucks, more traffic, more congestion in these areas," Smith said. "You have homes all around it. It's not fair for these people to sit there next to a fueling station and listen and smell the fuel trucks. It is not something we would want."

Trustee Guy Franzese agreed.

"I wouldn't want that in my backyard. Why would I want that in my neighbor's backyard?" Franzese said. "We're trying to put 10 pounds of popcorn in a 5-pound bag. It's just not working out. This may be the wrong site for your type of facility. This is best for an interstate interchange."

The audience loudly applauded the trustees.

After those comments, Andrew Smith of QuikTrip offered to remove the diesel pumps from the proposal – in other words, making it a gas station, not a truck stop.

The mayor said such a plan was not on the agenda for Monday, so the Village Board could not vote on it.

The board voted 6-0 to stick with its June resolution against the truck stop.

Two gas stations are already in the area on Route 83. Another one is coming.

The townhouses on Carrington Circle in an unincorporated area next to Burr Ridge would be behind a proposed truck stop. (David Giuliani/Patch)

This strip mall at 91st Street and Route 83 would be demolished to make way for a proposed QuikTrip truck stop. (David Giuliani/Patch)