Elmhurst OKs Controversial Warehouse; Some Officials Express Reservations

ELMHURST, IL – Neighbors renewed their criticism Monday of a proposed warehouse in Elmhurst, arguing it would create too much traffic, noise and pollution.

But the City Council approved the project. One alderman dissented.

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Houston-based Alliance Industrial Co. plans to build a warehouse on Riverside Drive, near Salt Creek Elementary School. This would require demolishing Clarion Inn.

"This is not a typical industrial zone," resident Mark Drysch told the council. "You can't just drop a 140,000-square-foot warehouse box on this site and assume it will have little to no impact on the traffic, noise and air pollution."

Another resident, Frank Vasquez, said the city has scored many wins over the years. But he said the warehouse wasn't one of them.

"The only entity that is winning here is the developer," he said. "It is objectively a multi-decade failure of our civic institutions to take this area seriously and give it the attention it deserves. This area holds so much promise."

The zoning would allow up to 28 truck docks.

A proposed warehouse was approved Monday for 933 S. Riverside Drive in Elmhurst. It would require Clarion Inn's demolition. (David Giuliani/Patch)

Ward 3 Alderman Chris Jensen, who heads the committee that signed off on the project last week, said the truck traffic from the warehouse would be nothing compared to Route 83, which is 200 feet from the school.

Citing state data, Jensen said 5,500 trucks travel Route 83 each day. At the same time, he said the warehouse was estimated to involve 62 truck trips a day.

"The dominant emission source that's a concern for the school is the highway, not a warehouse 700 feet away," Jensen said.

He noted the concerns about the nearby five-legged intersection known as "The Bulb," which includes Route 83, Riverside Drive and Frontage Road.

"Let's be honest about that: That intersection is awful," he said.

But he noted the city's plans for improvements in a couple of years.

Ward 7 Alderman Mike Brennan, who represents the area in question, said he pushed for conditions behind the scenes to help address residents' concerns.

Such conditions include truck-routing restrictions and more landscaping to buffer the warehouse from the school and residents.

"I know this will be unpopular to many," Brennan said. "I think it's the prudent path to take."

The other Ward 7 alderman, Rex Irby, said conditions are fine, but they should not be a way to avoid the central question: "Does this warehouse belong here at all?"

"I worry we are moving toward what conditions would make us comfortable before deciding whether the project is compatible," he said.

He noted the project was considered speculative. In other words, the developer hasn't lined up tenants.

While the developer says the warehouse will be "low-intensity," Irby said, the city has no way to verify that description without known tenants.

Ward 3 Alderman Michael Bram was blunt about the warehouse, saying he agreed with residents.

"If I were living nearby, would I want this to go from a hotel to a warehouse? Of course not," he said.

But he said he would support it, given the conditions, zoning regulations and the facts laid out to the council.

"I do agree that this area needs to be re-evaluated, but I would also make that comment about a lot of the city of Elmhurst that we should evaluate the land use," Bram said.

Ward 5 Alderman Dan Virgil also had reservations.

"Is this industrial use a good land use for this site? Actually, I don't believe it is," he said. "But our zoning code has determined this is an industrial area."

"So I will support this, but I think there's much more we need to do in order to reform our land use and our zoning," Vigil said.

The council voted 12-1 for the project. Irby was the lone dissenter, while Ward 4 Alderwoman Noel Talluto was absent.