Plan Commission - Regular Meeting

The meeting will please come to order. This is a duly advertised meeting of the Joliet Zoning Board of Appeals. In our capacity, we hear petitions for relief from the strict provisions of our city ordinance. In matters of this type, the decision of the board is final. In respect, it does not go to the mayor or the city council for any further action. If you do not like our decision, you do have recourse in a court of record. We also hear petitions for variations of land use. In matters of this type, we act as an advisory committee to the mayor and city council, making a recommendation either for or against it. The final decision on land use is made by the mayor and the city council. Secretary, call the roll.

Mr. Bias? Here. Mr. Noctrebe? Here. Ms. Rudakovich? Here. Ms. Schmig? Here. Mr. Stiff?

Here.

Chairman Hennessey?

Here. All right. First on the agenda is approval of the April 16, 2026 Zoning Board of Appeals minutes.

Motion to be in order.

Motion.

Full report.

Mr. Byas? Ms. Radakovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? I wasn't present, so I can't vote. Mr. Stiff?

Aye.

Chairman Hennessey?

Aye. Okay, motion carried. Next on the agenda is citizens to be heard on agenda items. This section is for anyone wanting to speak regarding agenda items and are allowed a maximum of four minutes. It is not a question and answer period, and staff and the Zoning Board of Appeals members do not generally respond to public comments. I'm going to note that everything on the agenda today is a public hearing, so if you have something to say and you would like your What you want to say be part of the record of the public hearing? It would be probably more appropriate to speak then but if you would also like to speak now This is the time Okay seeing none we're gonna move on to old business public hearing of which we have no agenda items which brings us to new business public hearing and The first petition is 202623, which is, the applicant is GIXI 2700 Ellis LLC, also with Venture One Real Estate LLC, and the status of the applicant is the owner. This is 2700 Ellis Road again is the location and the request is a series of variations to allow truck trailer parking on the short side of a building with a double row. The applicant is requesting the following variations. The first is a variation to allow truck trailer parking on the short side of the building, and the second is to allow truck trailers to be parked in a double row. The Zoning Board of Appeals makes the final decision on these variation requests. For site-specific information, the subject property is approximately 53 acres in size and contains an existing over 600,000 square foot industrial building that was built in 2006 as part of the Cherry Hill Business Park West Industrial Subdivision. The building has been vacant for several years, but the applicant recently entered into a lease agreement with a tenant for the building's west unit, which is Unit 1, that would operate a pallet distribution, delivery, and administration business within the western half of the building. The east half of the building is still vacant but continues to be marketed to prospective tenants. The conceptual site plan that is included with the application shows that the building is divided into two units, split long ways down the center of the building. Each unit has a separate proposed access for truck traffic out to Ellis Road. Shared passenger vehicle access to serve both units is located between the western and eastern truck access points. The applicant maintains that to promote pedestrian and vehicular safety within the property, it is necessary to separate semi-trailer and automobile parking for the two units. A security fence gate is proposed to be built between the two trucking areas to prevent cross-access between the two trucking areas. The subject variation requests concern trailer parking for the western unit, Unit 1. This unit currently has 154 trailer parking stalls located along the property's west side. The applicant recently submitted plans to add 95 trailer stalls on the south side, which is also a short side of the building, in an area that is currently covered with grass. 33 stalls would be adjacent to the building's south side. An additional 62 stalls would be located further south in a double row. The eastern unit of the building can currently accommodate 456 semi-trailers. Section 47-17.17.N.29 of the City's Zoning Ordinance states that double stacking or parking semi-trailers in a double row is prohibited. The ordinance further states that all parking areas intended for use by semi-trailers, wheeled containers, or tractor-trailer combinations that are located immediately adjacent to the structure to which the parking is accessory may only be located along the two longest sides of the structure. The requested variations are necessary to allow the proposed additional semi-trailer parking as proposed by the applicant. For surrounding zoning land use and character, the subject property is surrounded by I-1 light industrial zoning on all sides. The comparable industrial warehousing uses can also be found adjacent to the subject property. For applicable regulations, again, we have the section 47-17.17.n.29, off-street parking regulations pertaining to semi-trailer parking, and then section 47-19.8, findings of facts supporting a variation, which you can refer to your attachment in the staff report packet. For analysis, approval of the requested variations would allow the applicant to add 95 semi-trailer stalls south of the western unit of the subject building. Section 47-19.8 of the city's zoning ordinance details the findings of fact that need confirmation to support the requested variations. While the building, when built, may have been right-sized to accommodate future semi-trailer parking needs, Staff believes there is a practical difficulty with the existing trailer parking arrangement that allocates three-fourths of the site's trailer parking to the eastern unit. Staff believes there is a health, safety, and welfare interest in keeping truck and passenger vehicles or vehicle parking separate, and staff would not support a parking proposal that would involve adding trailer stalls to the north side of the building. Public works staff has reviewed the proposed parking plan and does not believe it will be problematic. Staff do not believe that the requested variations will alter the essential character of the general area as the proposed trailer stalls will be located at the building's rear, away from Ellis Road viewshed. And furthermore, the surrounding area is largely industrial in nature with a preexisting high volume of truck traffic. for recommended action. Staff recommends the Zoning Board of Appeals approve the following requested variations at this location. The first is a variation to allow truck and trailer parking on the short side of the building, and the second variation is to allow truck trailers to be parked in a double row. And then staff does recommend that you consider these two variation requests separately, and so we would suggest doing separate motions for the two requests. And that concludes staff's report.

Sorry. Matthew Good, 1550 Crabtree Lane in Deerfield, Illinois. Well, first of all, thank you guys for having us. Thank you, staff, for working with us and taking the time on this variance. So I'm Matt Good. I'm with Venture One Real Estate. We are a local Chicago-based industrial investor and developer. So we're excited to be here in Joliet, in the community, working to bring good tenants and good companies to the buildings we own. So we're a privately held, locally owned business. Our specialty is really value-add industrial. So in this case, I don't know how familiar everybody is with the building. We purchased 2700 Ellis about a year ago, a little more than that. It's a building that was built for CommScope in the early 2000s, and it's really never been utilized to its capacity. Comscope left pretty soon after or was underutilizing it pretty soon after they built it. It was on the market for lease and sublease for many years and just, again, sort of underutilized for that time period. Like I said, we bought it about a year ago. We've invested a significant amount of money into the building already, so I think we'll spend somewhere in the range of $7 to $8 million in total on building improvements, some of those speculative, some for our tenant. As a result of those improvements, and despite this building sitting for as long as it did, we were able to secure a really great international company in Chet Pallet, so they're really excited about the opportunity to occupy this building. They've been in the same space in Cook County for maybe the last 20 years, so we're bringing them down to Juliette. And as part of their use requirement, they need these additional trailers. It's our perspective, and we've talked to staff and worked with staff on sort of the best layouts that from a logistical standpoint, from an ingress and egress standpoint, and from a security standpoint, um keeping these trailers south and on the west side of the building chep is going to occupy the west half of the building it's the best layout for the building and for the area again in our experience with industrial having separation between two tenants we will be seeking an additional tenant for the east side it's best to separate those tenants you know just access in and out it's possible that we'll have cars on the east side so we like that car truck separation so this keeps a really distinct uh separation between cars and trucks depending on what happens on the east side of the property so we think that this is the best way to divide the property and adding these trailers to the south again i think as staff mentioned is is consistent with other buildings in the area and we really think the best place for them so like i said we're really excited about the opportunity to be working with you guys on on this building and bringing the best tenants that we can And we think this provides us the best opportunity, A, for CHEP to give them the right layout, and then for this next future tenant that's going to occupy the east side, the best security and ingress and egress.

Okay, any questions on the board?

Yeah, I have a question. How would double-row trailer parking affect emergency vehicle access and fire lane clearance during the peak operation?

So I think I didn't hear every word, but I think you were asking whether how the double row would affect fire lane. So it's it's actually from an ingress egress standpoint. It's really good. You can see there's pavement on this plan. It's a little harder to see, but there's pavement that does go to the east. That's a gate there that so though it's secured that gates open. So for fire and life safety trucks would be able to pass through. So I actually think it's it's optimal. You'll have two distinct drive lanes and access in two different areas in the South side there. Yeah.

Yeah, for CHAP, this will just be for parking of trailers. Yeah.

Oh, sorry. The outside area. So the additional pavement will be for parking. Inside the building, we'll be processing, storing pallets. Yeah. Cleaning.

Thank you. Now we're good.

Now you're in trouble. Any other questions by the board? Is there anybody in the audience wishing to speak in favor of this petition? Anyone opposed? Chair closes petition to the floor and asks the board for discussion and a motion.

Thank you, guys. Motion.

Second. We have a motion and a second to approve the petition. You want these separate?

We would advise it, I mean, just in case. There's two questions at hand. The first is the variation to allow truck parking on the short side of the building, and then the second would be would you allow a variation for trucks parked in a double row.

Okay, so we already have a motion.

Motion for the parking on the short side of the building.

In a second, pull the board.

Mr. Dockovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? Aye. Mr. Stiff? Aye. Mr. Bias?

Aye.

Chairman Hennessey?

Aye.

Okay, motion carries for that one.

Yeah, let's read the second one now.

Yep, the second variation is to allow truck trailers to be parked in a double row.

Motion to approve.

Second. I have a motion and a second to approve. Pull the board.

Ms. Schmig. Aye. Mr. Stiff. Aye. Mr. Bias. Aye. Ms. Radakovich. Aye. Chairman Hennessey. Aye.

Okay. All right, next on the agenda, several petitions all kind of lumped together, is petition number 202624, 202625, 202626, and 202627. the applicant for these petitions is whimsy juliet llc with clayton rule as the representative status of the applicant is the property owner which is whimsy again lls whimsy juliet llc the location is 2 3 6 5 6 South Hobalt Road and There are again four requests the first which is 20 26 24 is a special use permit to allow a truck parking facility with mobile compressed natural gas as an accessory component The second is a variation of use so this is case number 25 variation of use to allow above-ground fuel tanks in the i-1 light industrial district and The third is case number 26, a special use permit to allow container storage and stacking up to three high. And then case number 27 is a variation of use to allow container storage and stacking up to three high in the I-1 Light Industrial District. The petitioner is requesting a special use permit to allow a truck parking facility for their local freight carrier company at 23656 South Hobalt Road. Per the City of Joliet zoning ordinance, carting, express, and hauling establishments may be allowed as special uses in the industrial zoning districts by the mayor and city council with the advice of the Zoning Board of Appeals in accordance with section 47-5.2. The petitioner has submitted a corresponding petition to annex the subject property to the City of Joliet with a requested zoning classification of I-1 Light Industrial District. The annexation petition is scheduled to be reviewed by the Planning Commission at their meeting later this afternoon on May 21, 2026. The petitioner is proposing mobile compressed natural gas, also known as CNG, this fueling as an accessory component of the facility. The mobile fueling station, which consists of a fueling system mounted on a trailer, will contain CNG storage cylinders. Per the zoning ordinance, no flammable or explosive liquids, solids, or gases shall be stored in bulk above ground except in the I-2 General Industrial District and I-3 Heavy Industrial Zoning Districts. Therefore, the petitioner would need a variation of use to allow mobile fueling unit containing CNG cylinders to be parked on site in the I-1 district. The variation of use request must be considered by the City Council following the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals. The petitioner is also requesting the storage and stacking of cargo containers on the site. The zoning ordinance allows the outdoor storage of cargo containers as a special use in the I-2 general industrial or I-3 heavy industrial districts. Therefore, the petitioner needs a special use permit and a variation of use to allow container storage at this site in the I-1 district. Both the special use permit and variation of use requests must be considered by the City Council following the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals. For site-specific information, the seven-acre subject site is located in unincorporated Will County and currently has County A1 agricultural zoning. The lot is 247 feet wide and 1,239 feet deep. There is a petroleum pipeline angled across the rear half of the property. The site previously contained a farmstead and is currently vacant. The subject site is located on the west side of Hobalt Road, which was reconstructed into a four-lane road several years ago when the Hobalt Road Bridge was completed over the Des Plaines River to provide a connection between Interstate 80 and Centerpoint Intermodal Center. The petitioner, Whimsy Juliet LLC, also owns the property to the south of the subject site at 3901 Hobalt Road. In 2022, the City Council approved the annexation of the 3901 Hobalt Road property. classification to the I-1 Light Industrial District and a special use permit to allow a truck terminal. Whimzee subsequently developed the site with an approximately 9.5 acre facility containing a logistics building and trailer parking area. They continue to own and operate this site as the main Joliet terminal for their fleet. For surrounding zoning land use and character, The immediate surrounding area is a mix of incorporated City of Joliet and unincorporated Will County. There are two sites nearby with City I-1 light industrial zoning located to the northeast and south of the subject site. Within a half mile surrounding the subject site are several center point properties that are primarily zoned ITC, which is Intermodal Terminal Industrial Park. This district permits warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing uses. The unincorporated Will County properties on the east side of Hobalt Road are rural residential and zoned County A1 Agricultural. The adjacent parcel along the south side of the subject site is 30 feet wide and contains a driveway for the rural residential property located south of the west side of the subject site. The driveway and rural residential parcels are within unincorporated Will County and zoned A1 Agricultural. Across the 30-foot parcel to the south of the east side of the subject site is the existing Wimsey Terminal at 3901 Hobalt Road. Directly adjacent to the north of the site is a rural residential property in unincorporated Will County with A1 Agricultural Zoning, The rear of the subject site abuts a 77-foot-wide pipeline property with County A1 zoning, and then to the west of the pipeline is undeveloped Centerpoint property zoned ITC. For applicable regulations, we have Section 47-14.2a, Special Uses in All Industrial Districts. We have Section 47-17.10, Outdoor Storage and Waste Disposal. And Section 47-14.10, Outdoor Manufacturing and Storage in Industrial Districts. Section 47-5.2c, criteria for issuance of a special use permit, and Section 47-17.28, variation of use. For discussion, the petitioner, Whimsy Juliet, is requesting a special use permit to allow a truck parking facility for their local freight company, Whimsy Trucking. Whimsy Trucking provides transportation services related to intermodal freight hauling, transferring, and storage. They have headquarters in Mount Prospect, Illinois, and several yards in the Chicagoland area. They currently operate a terminal at 3901 Hobalt Road that includes maintenance, parking, and dispatch operations. The proposed development at 23656 South Hobalt Road would include an office building and trailer parking area. The petitioner is also requesting mobile fueling and container storage at the proposed facility. These components would require additional zoning approvals, which can be considered and voted on separately from the request to allow a trucking facility. According to the petitioner, the proposed facility would serve around 20 trucks from Whimzee's fleet. The petitioner estimates that there would be 90 to 100 truck trips total to and from the site per day. The proposed facility would have an approximately 3,000 square foot office building, nine employee parking spaces, and around 105 trailer parking stalls. The facility would be surrounded by a security fence with an access gate for trucks entering the site. There would be one entrance off Hobalt Road. The office will need to meet the city's non-residential design standards, and the site will need to have perimeter landscaping in accordance with the zoning ordinance's landscape and screening regulations, including a 30-foot landscape area along the east side and a 15-foot landscape area along the north and south sides adjacent to the facility. There is no development planned on the portion of the site south of the pipeline that runs across the rear of the property. Landscape improvements will not be required on or south of the pipeline. The petitioner proposes for the facility to include mobile compressed natural gas. Fueling is an accessory component. The fueling station is intended for use by the petitioner's fleet and is not open to the public. According to the petitioner, it will mainly be used for the trucks that are parked and stored at the subject site, but could occasionally fuel other whimsy trucks from neighboring terminals. The mobile fueling unit would consist of CNG storage cylinders and a compression fueling system mounted on a trailer. The mobile unit would have a similar size and footprint as a standard trailer and would take up the space of a standard trailer stall. Figure 6 in the staff report packet shows one example of a mobile fueling station. The design of the unit differs depending on the provider. The mobile trailer unit would remain in a designated location on the site but could be relocated as needed. The fueling system would be monitored and maintained by a licensed third-party fueling provider and filled several times per week via a CNG tube trailer or other delivery equipment. The system would be required to comply with the International Fire Code, including the installation of protective barriers around the unit. The petitioner needs a variation of use to allow the mobile CNG fueling system on the site because the zoning ordinance only permits above-ground fuel tanks in the I-2 General Industrial and I-3 Heavy Industrial zoning districts. According to the petitioner, the operational impacts of the mobile fueling unit are similar to typical equipment found at trucking facilities and will not cause additional effects beyond normal trucking operations. The fueling system operates at sound levels similar to typical industrial equipment such as HVAC units or shop compressors. The fuel tanks will not be permanently installed on the site and therefore could be removed if site operations were to change in the future. The petitioner is also requesting container storage and stacking on the subject property. Whimsy picks up containers from the Union Pacific and BNSF intermodal terminals in Joliet and Elwood on behalf of third-party logistics providers and shippers and then delivers them to local and regional warehouses and distribution centers. Whimzee is not always able to deliver these containers to their destination on the same day, so the petitioner requests to temporarily store these containers on the site as needed. The current site plan indicates that containers could be stored in any of the proposed trailer stalls, but the petitioner is willing to limit the storage area to exclude the front portion of the site. The petitioner estimates that most containers would be stored for only a day or two, but some could be stored for a longer period of time. Container storage is not permitted by right in the I-1 light industrial district or within I-2 general industrial districts. It's not permitted by right, but it is allowed by special use in the I-2 district. And therefore, the petitioner needs approval of a special use permit and variation of use to allow container storage in the I-1 district. As part of the container storage request, the petitioner is requesting to stack the containers up to three containers in height. Staff does not find that the stacking of containers is appropriate for this location in the I-1 district at this time due to the characteristics of the surrounding area which still includes rural residential uses as well as other I-1 allowed uses. However, staff finds that the storage of single unstacked containers on this site would not be out of character with the area since containers have a similar height and profile as a parked trailer. And therefore, excuse me, and there are also existing warehouse and trucking facilities in the vicinity that include trailer parking on their sites. The development will be required to comply with the city's zoning ordinance requirements, including but not limited to landscape and screening regulations, the non-residential design standards, and parking standards. The trailer parking stalls will be subject to the payment in lieu of taxes program per the terms of the approved ordinance for truck parking facilities. The site will be required to connect to city water and sewer at the time of development Water and sewer connection fees and development impact fees will be required All public improvements will be required for the subdivision regulations and requirements of the public works and public utilities departments. I For recommended action, the petitioner is requesting approval of a special use permit for a trucking facility with additional requests for above ground fuel tanks for a mobile CNG fueling station and container storage and stacking. Staff recommends considering these requests separately and voting on these requests as separate items. For the first case, case number 24, which is a special use permit to allow a trucking facility with mobile compressed natural gas as an accessory component. Staff finds that the truck parking facility meets the criteria for special uses. The establishment and operation of the proposed special use will not be detrimental to the public health and safety, nor will it impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding property. The surrounding area already contains industrial zoning and industrial developments, and the proposal is consistent with existing uses. Additionally, adequate access is provided. City utilities are available in the area, and the site will be required to provide adequate stormwater detention. The site is located along Hobalt road, which provides access to both the Joliet and Elwood intermodal terminals, as well as the Hobalt road bridge. The site would be subject to the yearly fee for each trailer stall through the payment in lieu of taxes program for truck parking facilities. For case number 25, which is a variation of use to allow above-ground fuel tanks in the I-1 Light Industrial District, staff finds the variation of use request for above-ground fuel tanks meets the variation of use criteria. The storage cylinders will not be permanently installed on site but will be part of a mobile CNG fueling station which cannot be located underground. The external effects and appearance of the station are similar to other components of a typical industrial site. The system will be maintained by a licensed fuel provider and will be required to meet applicable building and safety codes. Approval of the variation of use will allow the petitioner to fuel their fleet with an alternative fuel source. For case numbers 26 and 27, the first is a special use permit to allow container storage and stacking up to three high and its companion, a variation of use to allow container storage and stacking up to three high in the Iowa and Light Industrial District. Staff finds that the special use and variation of use request to allow container storage meets the applicable criteria, but the request for container stacking up to three containers high does not meet the criteria staff finds that unstacked containers on site would not be detrimental to the public health and safety nor would it impede the normal and orderly development improvement of the surrounding property there are existing industrial developments in the vicinity with large amounts of trailer parking however staff finds that container stacking would be out of character with the area and with the requested zoning district designation There are sites with container stacking closer to the intermodal yard, but the developed areas immediately surrounding the subject site do not have or allow container stacking. For recommended conditions, for case number 24, if the zoning board desires to approve the special use permit to allow a truck parking facility with mobile compressed natural gas fueling as an accessory component located at 23656 South Hobalt Road, staff recommends that the following conditions would be included. The first is that the property shall be enrolled in the payment in lieu and taxes program. The second is that a landscape plan that meets the city ordinance shall be submitted as part of the building permit plan set and landscaping for the approved plan shall be installed prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. 3 that the special use granted herein per section 47-5.2 E special uses shall terminate and lapse unless a building permit or certificate of occupancy is obtained not later than 180 days of the effective date of this ordinance and the erection or alteration of a building is started or the use commenced within such a period and 4 should the property be declared a public nuisance it may be subject to a rehearing and possible revocation of the special use permit. For case number 25, if the zoning board desires to approve the variation of use to allow above-ground fuel tanks for compressed natural gas fueling in the I-1 Light Industrial District located at 23656 South Holwell Road, staff recommends that the following conditions would be included. And there's one additional condition. It's that should the property be declared a public nuisance, it may be subject to a rehearing and possible revocation of the variation of use. For the last two cases, 26 and 27, if the zoning board desires to approve the special use permit and variation of use to allow container storage and stacking up to three high in the I-1 light industrial district located at 23656 South Hobalt Road as requested by the applicant, staff recommends that the following conditions would be included. One, that container storage be prohibited on the east 200 feet of the site. Two, that the special use granted herein per section 47-5.2e special uses shall terminate and lapse unless a building permit or certificate of occupancy is obtained not later than 180 days of the effective date of this ordinance and the erection or alteration of a building is started or use commenced within such a period. And three, should the property be declared a public nuisance, it may be subject to a rehearing and possible revocation of the special use permit and variation of use. And that concludes staff's report.

Thank you. Petitioner here.

Good afternoon, John. Yes, were you in, sir? Oh, yes.

Yes, where the evidence you're about to reveal is true is under penalty of law. Yes. Name and address.

John Argadelis, 15124 South Route 59, Plainfield, Illinois, 60544. And I am representing Whimzee Trucking this afternoon.

OK, you guys have the floor.

I think that, first of all, thank you, staff. We've been working quite a few months, and I think they did a very good job in vetting everything out. I don't think there's any issues between staff's opinion on this and in our opinion other than this issue of stacking the containers. And the reason we're asking for stacking more than one high is because if we look at that site plan and the property, because of the pipeline, there's about three, four acres of that southwest corner that's just completely unusable. And had we been able to use that, and we tried, we worked with the pipeline to see if we could get an asphalt crossing to get over there so we could use that. That would give us more room to spread things out on the size of this site. It's just that's going to be hard to not stack These containers and again, they would be there 24 to 48 hours but we understand the staffs concerned but We're also agreeable to staffs recommendation that we have a 200 foot setback. So from Hobart Hobart Road there would be 200 feet where there could be no stacking which is Pretty good distance and that's what staff recommended and that's fine with us And if I look at the trend of development around there, even though some of it is still farmland It's it's certainly all trending in this industrial direction so Stacking is allowed in other industrial areas. This is becoming that industrial area if we were to say okay five years down the line when these other undeveloped lands become Develop now all of a sudden stacking would be okay, but that would You know, I think that's where the direction we're going in this area. I don't think it's going to stay undeveloped for too much longer so because of the trend of development because of the handicap of that back corner and also because of the recommendation from staff to keep it 200 feet back and That just limits that area we have for stacking. And my client has been, he requested that we make this request of you to consider allowing the multiple levels of stacking. We've requested three. Two would be better than one. But of course, you know, our request is for the three stacking. I'd be happy to answer any other questions I think staff thoroughly laid out everything else I don't think we have any other issues controversy between staffs a report and the and the applicant but I'll be happy to answer any other questions thank you any questions by the board yeah I can't orient this or is it just south of route 6 all of this land yes it is

Over the pass of this plain river?

Schweitzer Road to the north there.

Yeah, it's on the other side of the river.

And then Millsdale is that road on the south?

Millsdale? Millsdale, you see.

Yeah, I think if you look at the very top corner, you see it says Shanahan. Is that Route 6, I think, up in that corner?

Yeah, Shanahan Road's way up here.

Yeah, yeah. So Shanahan Road is way in that northwest corner of the drawing we're looking at. So this is pretty far south in Joliet, yeah.

Are you going to be the first developments in that area? Are you?

I'm the attorney for the developer, but they already developed the property adjacent to it. So this is, in some ways, just an expansion of what has already been developed. Okay. And actually, the piece to the south is larger. Oh, it is? Yeah.

Mr. Bias, all the property shown in color right now is in the city of Joliet on this map. It's all in Joliet. Anything that's unshaded is not in the city limits. Okay.

Any further questions?

Are you stacking on the adjacent property that Whimsy owns?

I don't know if I have the answer to that that's not been asked me I don't know if staff would know the answer to that we've worked with Miss Miller do you know if we have existing stacking on the other property I don't believe there is an approval for that on that property it's for a truck terminal okay so apparently not yeah so there wouldn't be that wouldn't be available to us for stacking these containers this would be our only spot we could do that

I'm interested in knowing, you mentioned that you would stack 24 to 48 hours, sometimes a little bit longer is what the staff report tells, I mean that's kind of vague. Can you talk to us about that?

I don't have anything more precise than that. What he said there are times, in fact I have an email because I asked for some details so I could be as informative as possible. Give me one second, I think he might have... giving me a little more background on that that is what was been told to us what he did tell me and I can't find the email but I'm going from my recollection which isn't as good as it used to be but anyhow that there are times where it doesn't happen commonly but there are times where just a large number come in at the same time and they just can't turn them around as quickly but commonly and most of the time it's a 24 to 48 hour thing it's so the the vagueness of that is because it's very occasional okay

I'm interested in knowing also, does a fire chief weigh in on things like this as things are proposed? Like I'm concerned about the gas.

Um, so this has to go through the state fire marshal, their review and our, our fire department, um, sees proposals like this at when the staff does at the intake time. So, um, I mean, they, they have this proposal if, if it was approved and built has to go through all regulatory processes. Okay. Yes. So the answer is yes. Okay.

Not, not yet. It has not been done yet.

They are aware, yeah, but the specs haven't been designed for them to review yet.

So if approved, we would still have to be properly licensed and reviewed by all the appropriate authorities, state fire marshal, local fire, everything. Actually, I kind of thought it was interesting, the mobile thing. It's a lot less, you know, even though above-ground tanks are allowed, I think that mobile seems to be more environmentally sensitive. You can get it out of there. It's not just sitting there. That was my thought, uneducated thought, but that's how I looked at it.

We talk about propane, right?

Yes.

Is it normal that it be not on the ground? I mean, this is the first I've heard of it. You actually have a tank that the trucks pull up to?

Yeah, if you could look at, there is a photograph provided in the package. it's just this little trailer that gets hauled around and they they have it in one area where it's uh again properly you see the baller bollards the bollards and things so it has to be properly set up and the truck just pulls up to it just like a fueling station um however that small little truck in the staff report it also said it could be different depending on the provider so this is small is there going to be a larger truck I'm sorry I don't know the answer to that I would imagine that every provider has a different sort of truck I wouldn't think that any of them are very incised they might vary in style and shape but I'm not really an expert on it it's kind of new to me as well okay

I have a question. What setback distances exist between the CNG equipment and adjacent properties or structures?

So where would this lie on the site plan? I think, let me look and see if I can see it. Ms. Bernhardt, I don't know if you're able to point that out.

I think right now they have it indicated at that upper left side but again it would just be determined based on what would be permitted as well I don't think that's a set place So if it's in the upper left that would be the you know the northern edge of it and if I can read that note is that one of those notes on the top of the site plan having a hard time I think right next to the cul-de-sac area okay and the far western northwest corner that's where he hasn't indicated on this but this is again a conceptual site plan so it would be about as far away from Hobolt Road as you can get how far would it be from that house that's north of the property or the Audubon that's far from the Audubon it's far

So it would be south of that pond. It appears to be a pond in the southwest corner. So it's proposed to be tentatively, as Ms. Bernhardt has pointed out, it would be on the south side of that pond. So that pond would be a pond and whatever vegetation is there for that, is it maybe eighth of a mile or a quarter mile before you get to the house? I'm just eyeballing that.

A question. Do they are they leasing this property or do they presently own it?

They bought this property along with the other site that's been developed already. So they bought both parcels. They developed the one and then I think that was 22. And then they're coming back to expand essentially, and develop this parcel. It's the same company, they own the company, they own the land, whimsy trucking, or smaller kind of boutique firm, and not one of the big name firms in the in the world. And their headquarters are in Mount Prospect. So they're relatively local to Illinois. But yes, they bought this land all at one time, did the first piece and now expanding to the second piece.

You mentioned a few minutes ago that you said there was undeveloped land next to this that you felt, that you feel that it was gonna be developed sometimes.

Well, I was just surmising, you know, I'm, I don't know, I'm the mayor of Plainfield as well, I see how this this trend goes. And as in dust center point and other industrial comes in, it seems that eventually, undeveloped land follows that same trend. So I'm suggesting it's most likely that undeveloped land when when the time and price is right, we'll come back before you with similar industrial types of uses.

This is true.

Any other questions? Is there anybody in the audience wishing to speak in favor? Is there anyone opposed? Come forward.

Lower the mic, hon. Lower the mic. There you go.

Do you swear the evidence you're about to present to be the truth under penalty of law? Yes. Name and address.

My name is Kathleen Garthus. I was a former resident of this property of 23656 South Better Road, which is now South Hobo Road. This used to be my mother's property. and with the sale of property to my brother you know whimsy somehow suckered my brother in the selling the place against the will of my me and my other brother forcing to sell this property to even way below market value to what we should have gotten for the property and everything and me and my other brother who my one brother's incarcerated in prison were not allowed to even be a part of the negotiation or let alone even know who the buyer of the property was it was held a big secret between me and me and my other brother while my eldest brother who who they suckered into being a minister knew all about all the details and everything and you know we even had a higher offer to begin with and somehow because I mentioned, supposedly my oldest brother said that, oh, because I mentioned supposedly to the owner, the buyer, that oh, we had a horse period on the property. How was I, I never got to talk to the owners. I never got to know who the owners of the property, who was buying the property. I never get to know who Whimsy was until after it was sold. I even tried to find out for myself who was trying to buy the property. I even asked Whimsy personnel if they were interested in buying my mom's property, and I got no response saying no, they were not interested in buying my mom's property. So it was all kept a big secret from me and my other brother about it also. And we, like I said, were not allowed to be part of negotiations in the price on it or anything on it. because we opposed of not wanting to sell it to begin with because my mother wanted me to have that property because she knew i couldn't go anywhere else to live because i'm a disabled person i live on limited ssi income that was my home as well as was my ma's home and what i even faced you know with whimsy trucking they took all end up taking all my stuff and all my ma's belongings and everything i couldn't even go back to the house and even get my ma's ashes on the property and they even did you know evict you know the eviction of me i was never served a legal eviction notice i was never served eviction notice so you know because they then listed it in the herald newspaper which i of course didn't get no herald newspaper either so i knew nothing about about this and they forced the eviction through the court and of course i didn't show up because i didn't know about it and with that they got the eviction of me And January 16th of 2024, whimsy trucking people came to the door and tried to evict me themselves instead of using the Will County Sheriff as Will County Civil Processing Unit. It was cold, sub-zero temperatures of January of 2024, and whimsy trucking people came and smashed the back door of the house in. and threatened me to move out. I had to leave that day because the house was gonna be bulldozed the next day. And they didn't have a permit to bulldoze the house. The sheriff were called out and the sheriff even said what they did was illegal of them trying to evict me. And with that eviction and everything, I end up going back to the house. The old sheriff told me I could go back to the house, but the back door would not stay shut. I lost everything, all my belongings and everything, and I couldn't go back, not even get my flowers, or like I said, even to get my ma's ashes. City of Julia had to talk to whimsy people about getting my ma's ashes out of the house for me. i lost everything i had even my most precious possessions even a truck they took off the property and then later charged the estate when i later found that that truck was in somebody else's hands and went through legal you know process to get that back and whimsy truck and charging the state money on that and charging me to get that truck back so i oppose this because of all their rude action against me I'm sorry?

Can I ask a question?

Mm-hmm. And I want to mention, I still haven't got paid my share of money yet, neither has my brother. were you part of the trust that the land was sold all of you were on the same trust or was it it wasn't no it wasn't no trust my mom was going to get a will made out but she apparently you know end up dying soon she didn't plan on dying she ended up having a stroke and with that her heart had given out so while she was in the process of making her will out and everything she told me she was in the process of making a will out but then she had the stroke suddenly had the stroke and with that my mother never recovered from the stroke her heart ended up giving out but still I have not yet got paid my share of money yet And neither has my brother in prison. We have not got our share of the money yet. We're still trying to get our share of the money. Okay.

Anyone else wishing to speak in opposition? Chair closes the petition at the floor and asks the board for a discussion and a motion.

Staff would recommend, again, voting on each of these four cases separately. Call them off. Do you want now or is there any discussion you want to, in general? I can do it. We can start each one separately. Yep. Okay. Okay. The first one is case 24, which is a special use permit to allow a truck parking facility with mobile compressed natural gas fueling as an accessory component located 23656 South Hobalt Road.

Motion to order.

So moved.

Do we have a second?

Reluctantly, I don't know where this is going at all.

Is there a second?

Were you aware of any of this before?

Aware of what?

This lady.

Mrs. Garthas? Yes. The city staff is aware of... Everything is okay?

I don't understand the question Do you have a second or not second we have a motion a second to approve the petition Mr. Stiff

Mr. Bias.

Aye.

Ms. Rudakovich. No. Ms. Schmig. No. Chairman Hennessey.

Aye.

Okay, that petition, which is case number 24, will move on to council with a recommendation of approval. The next case before you is variation of use, case number 25, to allow above-ground fuel tanks for compressed natural gas fueling in the I-1 Light Industrial District, again located at 23656 South Hobalt Road.

Motion to be in order.

Motion. I second.

We have a motion and a second to approve. Pull the board.

Mr. Pius?

Aye.

Ms. Rudakovich? No. Ms. Schmig? No. Mr. Stiff? Aye.

Chairman Hennessey? Aye. Okay, that case will also move to City Council with a recommendation of approval. The next case is case number 26, a special use permit to allow container storage and stacking up to three high located at 23656 South Hobalt Road.

This is approval of the stacking. You can approve this without the stacking also or make it to whatever you want to do. So the motion would be in order.

if for whatever reason we tell them they can't stack it and they do stack it is anybody gonna go and check it to see if there's nothing it's doing about it really care I mean if they stack it is the is the question is does the city have a enforce zoning provisions is that your question yes Move to accept with the provisions from the... Could you repeat that?

I can't hear.

Move to accept with the provisions from the staff.

I have a motion and a second. Call the board. That's with the stacking.

Okay, with as written? Okay. Who seconded?

Was there a second?

I don't think so.

Is there a second? Okay, do we have a second? I thought there was one call.

I just made the motion.

Do we have a second? One more call. Do we have a second? Okay, do we have a motion to deny? So moved to deny. Aye. Second. We have a motion and a second to deny petition, where are we, 202626? Board of Ordinance.

Mr. Bias?

Aye.

Mr. Dokovich? Aye. Ms. Schmig? Aye. Mr. Stift?

Aye.

Chairman Hennessey? Aye. Mr. Bias? Aye. Sorry, thank you.

Okay, this case will move forward to City Council with a recommendation of denial. All right, the last one is case number 27, a variation of use to allow container storage and stacking up to three high in the I-1 Light Industrial District located at 23656 South Hobalt Road.

Motion to deny. Second. Second.

We have a motion and a second to deny. Poll the board.

Ms. Schmig. Aye. Mr. Stiff. Aye. Mr. Bias. Aye. Ms. Radakovich. Aye. Chairman Hennessey.

Aye. All right. This case will move forward to city council with a recommendation for denial. Please check here if you're interested in which council meeting this will go to. Just keep up with the agendas for the council meetings. It will be in the near future. Okay. Okay. The next petition is, I can address that now. We don't announce the date because we don't know when these will go. So that gives a false sense of, um, anticipation to people here. So we it's been recommended. We don't do that, but it will be, it has to be on a council agenda, which gets posted in advance. So 48 hours in advance. Next case is petition 20, 26, 28, which is a repeal of a variation of use to allow a four unit residents, which is an R four multifamily residential use in an R three, one and two family residential zoning district, which is located at five, five, six ward Avenue. The applicant owner in this case is Brian Contreras. And again, it is to repeal a previously issued variation of use. The applicant is requesting to repeal a previously approved variation of use, which was ordinance number 12065 that allowed a R4 multifamily use in an R3 one- and two-family zoning district. This variation of use request must be considered by the City Council following the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals. for site-specific information. The City Council approved a variation of use ordinance number 12065 in 1998 that allowed the reduction from five units to four units within this two-story building in the R3, which is a one and two family residential zoning district. The building had one unit on the first floor and three units on the second floor. The building suffered extensive fire damage in 2024 and has remained vacant since that time. The petitioner has submitted building permits for the building and will be remodeling and updating the units when the permits are approved. For surrounding zoning, land use and character, to the north is a railroad, and it's zoned I-2 General Industrial. To the south is single-family residential, which is zoned R-2 Single-Family Residential District. And to the east and west is also zoned R-2 Single-Family Residential District. For applicable regulations, we have Section 47, Dot seven dot one permitted principal uses and then section 47-17 Point or dot no, I said earlier 28 variation of use For discussion, the petitioner has applied for the repeal of the previously approved variation of use that allowed an R4 multifamily use and an R3 one and two family residential district. The petitioner has stated in their application that they are planning to convert the existing but vacant four unit building into two units. They stated that by having two units instead of four, they'll be able to make the individual units larger and the building would be more in character of the neighborhood. The property has paved parking area in the rear that is accessed via an alley and provides the required number of spaces. The surrounding properties are all single-family homes. recommended action staff recommends approval of the repeal as it would align the proposed two-unit residential use of this property with the actual two-unit zoning designation of the property the repeal also enables the property to better fit the zoning and land use of nearby properties and should not alter the character of the surrounding area for conditions of approval The first would be that all necessary building permits shall be obtained prior to the certificate of occupancy being issued. Two, that the property shall be enrolled in and comply with the city's rental inspection program. Three, that the use of the property shall not be expanded in the future. And four, should the property be declared a public nuisance, it may be subject to rehearing and possible revocation of the variation of use. And that concludes staff's report.

Man up. You swear the evidence you're about to present to be the truth under penalty of law. Yes.

Name and address. Brian Contreras. I live at 656 Henderson Avenue, Joliet, Illinois, 60432. Any comments you'd like to make? I just personally think that that house is a little bit too small to have four families in there. And I would personally like to just have two. It's a lot easier on my hand to control. Obviously everybody knows that there was a fire at that building in 2024, and it had to do with obviously the tenants living in there. There was a lot of complications and a lot of problems, and I personally, on my behalf, think it's a lot easier to manage two units.

Okay, any questions?

Do you live in the area close? Yes, actually I live down the street. You live on the street? Yeah, I live on Henderson. How long has it been vacant?

Since 2024 when the fire happened. Okay.

And you presently own it?

Yes, I presently own it, 100%.

Any other questions? Anybody in the audience wish to speak in favor? Anyone opposed? Chair closes the petition. I ask the board for discussion and a motion.

Motion to accept.

Second we have a motion a second to approve the petition for the board, please.

Mr. Stiff. All right Mr. Bias, all right, mr. Dock of it. Hi miss Schmitt.

I chairman Hennessey All right, this request will also move to City Council with a this will move with a recommendation of approval Okay, next on the agenda is old business, not for final action or recommendation. We have nothing listed. And then that brings us to public comment. This section is for anyone wishing to speak on a non-agenda item and are allowed a maximum of four minutes. It is not a question and answer period, and staff and the zoning board members do not generally respond to public comments. Is there anyone who would like to make a comment for a non-agenda item? Okay, and that brings us to adjournment.

Motion to adjourn would be in order.

So moved. Second.

We have a motion and a second to adjourn the meeting. Pull the board.

Mr. Baez?

Aye.

Mr. Redakovich? Aye. Ms. Schmick? Aye. Mr. Stiff? Aye. Chairman Hennessey? Aye.