Lockport Urging Romeoville To Press Pause On Latest Annexation

The mayor of Lockport is urging the Mayor of Romeoville to put the brakes on a logistic center. Romeoville is set to have public comment and vote tonight on Duke Reality Airport Logistics Center along Renwick Road across from Praire Bluff Golf Course. Lockport Mayor Steve Streit says the truck terminal will add more truck traffic on Renwick Road. Mayor Streit says that will bring more truck traffic to downtown Lockport.

In a letter to Romoeville, Streit writes, “The City of Lockport is urging Romeoville Mayor John Noak and the Trustees of Romeoville’s Village Board to press the pause button and wait for the completed Will County/CMAP truck traffic study in order to make thoughtful deliberate decisions on how these warehouse developments can be developed in consideration of the impact on the surrounding neighboring communities.”

Read full letter below:

June 16, 2020 

Via electronic submission to: 

Honorable John Noak, Mayor of Village of Romeoville, [email protected] Village of Romeoville Board: Trustee Linda Palmiter, [email protected] Trustee Jose (Joe) Chavez, [email protected] Trustee Brian A. Clancy Sr., bclancy@romeoville.org Trustee Dave Richards, [email protected] Trustee Lourdes Aguirre, [email protected] Trustee Ken Griffin, [email protected] 

In Re: ORD20–1644, Ordinance Approving an Amendment to the Special Use Permit for a Planned Unit Development 

– General Development Plan for Duke Realty Limited Partnership (Airport Logistics Center) ORD20–1647, Ordinance Authorizing the Execution of an Amendment to an Annexation Agreement (Duke Realty Limited Partnership) 

Dear Mayor Noak and Village Board of Trustees, 

The purpose of this letter is to urge the Village of Romeoville Board to defer the approvals of the above-referenced ordinances relating to the Duke Realty development on Renwick Road that are before the Village Board at its meeting on June 17, 2020. The amendment to the annexation agreement along with the companion amendment to the special use permit for this site would allow for a truck terminal to be built for Road Runner Transportation Systems. The size of this truck terminal was described by the Village’s Planning and Zoning Commissioner Scieszka as “very excessive” and the terminal would inevitably add more truck traffic on Renwick Road. The proposed plan would add the number of trailer space from 387 to 532 and the impact of the increase in traffic is so significant to require the intersection of the private road and Renwick Road to be signalized. 

The late Will County Executive Larry Walsh, Sr. aptly penned the following in his letter opposing the North Point Compass Business Park: 

“With each municipality approving different logistics projects without any multi-jurisdictional planning, our county has been faced with a unique challenge: how do we address the issues we have and how can we accommodate future growth? We need to keep Will County moving forward, but we must come together in order to do so.... 

Moving Will County is a taxpayer-funded study that brings together municipalities with other officials, land use planning experts, engineers, stakeholders, and our residents. Because this study is so comprehensive, we expect it to take 18-24 months to complete. This time is necessary to assess the current situation, obtain input, and create a plan that can be successfully implemented. 

Municipalities should not consider projects that would compromise the integrity of this taxpayer funded study – including mega warehousing projects like North Point Development’s Compass Business Park. After reviewing the current and past plans, North Point Development would undoubtedly destroy our area. Recklessly approving this project would cause monumental consequences, inhibit future growth, and cause irreparable damage to our county.” 

Although the addition of this truck terminal in the Duke Realty Airport Logistics Center may not be as colossal as North Point’s Compass Business Park, there will still be a significant increase in the number of trucks and truck traffic on Renwick Road that was not built to take such heavy truck traffic. The impact is significant enough for the Village of Romeoville to receive $450,000.00 from the developer, Duke Realty, if the proposed plan is approved. But the increase in heavy truck traffic also directly impacts the surrounding communities including the Village of Plainfield, the City of Crest Hill, and the City of Lockport that do not receive any impact fees for absorbing the increase in truck traffic on Renwick Road, particularly straight through the heart of Lockport’s historic downtown. 

All the communities in Will County are part of the largest inland port in North America, therefore, we all must be mindful of the balance between economic development, natural resource protection, multi-modal connections, congestion relief, and quality of life/community character goals of our residents. Because of the increased truck traffic coming from the Dayton Freight, Old Dominion, Fed Ex, and Amazon facilities in Crest Hill and Romeoville, the City of Lockport was forced to fund Phase I and Il engineering to widen 159th street. Lockport also recently committed funds for engineering to connect the Bruce Road-Caton Farm bridge road directly to 1-355. 

In 2017, the Lockport City Council voted down a 109-acre warehouse development to be located between 163rd Street and 167th Street, east of 1-355. Although the new development would have been economically beneficial to Lockport, We believed it irresponsible to annex new property into the city for industrial use when a nearby property currently zoned for such use wasn’t even fully built out yet. 

Therefore, I as the Mayor of the City of Lockport, urge you, Mayor Noak and the Trustees of Romeoville’s Village Board to press the pause button and wait for the completed Will County/CMAP truck traffic study in order to make thoughtful deliberate decisions on how these warehouse developments can be developed in consideration of the impact on the surrounding neighboring communities. 

Since the proposed truck terminal at the Duke Realty site requires a public hearing on the amendment to the annexation agreement, I respectfully request that this letter be submitted into the Village’s record as an objection to the amendment to the annexation agreement at the public hearing set for the Village’s Board meeting on June 17, 2020. 

Sincerely, 

City of Lockport Mayor Steve Streit 

Cc: 

Ben Benson, City Administrator City Council of the City of Lockport