Big Elmhurst Truck Hubs? Officials Say No

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst officials want to head off new distribution centers from being built.

On Monday, members of a City Council committee voted unanimously for rules to make it tougher for such centers to come.

Distributions centers involve large warehouses and semi-trucks.

The Development, Planning and Zoning Committee supported regulations that would require all industrial properties to provide enough area for on-site truck maneuvering, rather than use city streets.

The rules would also prohibit cross-docking, where trucks deliver the goods on one side of the building and customers pick them up on the other.

Alderman Bob Dunn said distribution centers are not a good fit for Elmhurst, with the look seen as unacceptable.

Alderman Mark Mulliner said the industrial park was designed for light industrial, not heavy truck traffic.

"The streets won't be able to take the abuse," he said.

In a memo last May, Dunn, Mulliner and Alderman Jacob Hill asked the city to look at its regulations with distribution centers in mind.

They said Elmhurst's closeness to O'Hare and major highways makes it attractive for distribution centers.

"Today's (centers) tend to have a large footprint and are three stories or more, generating a lot of truck traffic," the aldermen said. "They have limited employees to shop in Elmhurst and generate negligible sales tax since many are cross-dock operations."

They pointed to a current development at Lake Street and Grand Avenue as an example of such an operation.