Truck Freight Terminal Proposed For Renwick Road Draws Opposition

PLAINFIELD, IL — Neighbors have launched a grassroots effort to oppose a trucking terminal that would be located along Renwick Road west of I-55, potentially bringing hundreds of semi-trucks in and out of the facility daily. GP Transportation Co (also known as GP Transco) is looking to bring the facility to the 22000 block of Renwick Road on a property that was annexed into Plainfield in 2012 and is currently zoned for office, research and light industrial use.

Known as the Collins property, the site is currently owned by resident Pat Collins of Collins Enterprises Partners, but GP Transportation has a contract to purchase it, according to Plainfield Economic Development Director Jake Melrose.

The company's request for a special use permit was set for the July 16 village board meeting, but has been rescheduled for Aug. 6. It will also be on the agenda for discussion at the board's July 23 meeting, and members of a group opposing the plan are pushing for a big turnout at that meeting.

Resident Jeff Sniegowski, who voiced concerns about the proposal at a June 19 Plainfield plan commission meeting, said the facility would impact a handful of homes located in unincorporated Will County along Renwick Road.

"It's going to be right in our backyard," Sniegowski said. He said he and his neighbors — whose homes are not in the Village of Plainfield — feel like they don't have a voice or representation in the negotiations. "I still live next door and I'm in Will County," he said.

At the June 19 plan commission meeting, Melrose said GP Transportation's proposal estimates 152 inbound semi-trucks daily and 134 outbound, for a total of 286 daily. Melrose said no more than 13 semi-trucks would be entering or exiting the facility during any one-hour period.

Those numbers are based on the traffic at GP Transportation's existing operation in Darien/Lemont, which has 110 trailer storage stalls. The Renwick Road facility as proposed "shows a future trailer storage capacity of 312 stalls" and "GP Transco has indicated that a potential capacity of 500 stalls may be desired in future," according to a traffic study submitted to the village.

The facility would also have 101 employee parking spaces, and the proposal calls for a 20,000-square-foot office building and a 13,860-square-foot truck/freight maintenance building.

Neighbors of the proposed facility — located at 22419, 22531 and 22537 Renwick Road — have established a Facebook page to oppose the project called Citizens United Against Trucking Terminal On Renwick Rd. An online petition established last week had 457 supporters towards a 1,000 goal as of Monday morning.

The petition claims the trucking terminal would add to the danger of an already dangerous stretch of road:

We acknowledge that Renwick Rd. is an already very dangerous and congested road, and that the added amount of semi-truck traffic, and added other vehicle traffic in that area under this proposal, would greatly increase the danger of the road, add to the present gridlock of traffic that happens in that area many times throughout the day, and further inhibit the quick passage of emergency vehicles.We also acknowledge the imminent harm it would cause the thousands of motorists who use Renwick Rd. in order to commute to the Village of Plainfield or elsewhere; who visit the forest preserves in the immediate area; and who patronize the various businesses in the Village and surrounding areas.We are also concerned with the environmental harm it could cause the wetlands and creeks in the area, the air quality, and the nearby forest preserves.

The Facebook page urges residents to contact Plainfield trustees and voice their opposition to the proposed facility.

Sniegowski said he's concerned with the impact the added truck traffic could have on gridlock at the nearby Canadian National railroad tracks — already the site of long delays due to lengthy trains — and the nearby Lake Renwick Preserve Heron Rookery. In recent years, projects such as improvements along Route 30 have been scheduled around regulations that prohibit construction near the rookery during the March 1 to Aug. 1 heron breeding season.

According to documents submitted to the plan commission, under GP Transportation Co's proposal, "There may be some encroachment into the wetland buffer areas." The company adds, "We would request to be allowed to build in the buffer area with water quality improvements." GP said it has completed wetland, traffic and environmental studies.

On June 19, the plan commission voted 3-2 in favor of sending the special use permit request — as well as applications for rezoning and annexation of a portion of the property still in Will County — to the village board.

According to the June 19 plan commission documents, GP Transportation Co. will also be requesting a tax abatement on the property.

Photo of 22419 W. Renwick Road via Google Maps Streetview