By Marney Simon | Enterprise Staff
The plan to build a 1.5 million square foot warehouse to house operations for Diageo reached the next level this week, as the final public hearing before the entire project is eligible for a vote.
On Sept. 17, the village board held a public hearing on the annexation of 137 acres at 143rd Street and Steiner Road. The applicant, Seefried Properties, is proposing to utilize the site to build a massive warehouse for Diageo. The site will be used as a distribution center, just 1.5 miles away from Diageo’s current plant on 143rd. The move is expected to increase truck traffic by more than 350 trucks per day along 143rd, where the road backs up to several homes in the Dayfield and Liberty Grove subdivisions.
As has happened each meeting for the last few months, residents lined up one by one to put their complaints on the record, continuing to hold strong against the idea that the warehouse is appropriate. “The impact that this will have on Plainfield cannot go unrecognized,” said Ann Baxter, a resident of Plainfield. “It was poor planning from the get-go. Plainfield either should have not built the subdivisions when they had full knowledge that 143rd was going the way of trucks; or undesignated 143rd as a truck route when the board approved the [residential] construction with developers.”
Other residents said with traffic already bad in the area, adding additional trucks is simply an accident waiting to happen.
Corey Worden, who lives in the area, told the board that his child was struck and injured by a car on Meadow Lane earlier this year, said adding extra traffic could be deadly.
“This project will only compound that problem, as more and more cars go and seek alternate routes. Nothing has been done at this point to slow traffic on Meadow Lane,” Worden said, adding that there is a lack of presence in safety officers in the area. “Now we’re talking about a significant increase in traffic throughout the area, whether a stoplight is put in at 143rd and Meadow makes little to no difference to the amount of traffic that is going to be moving through here.”
Residents overall opposed the project due to several concerns, including traffic, pollution, noise, light pollution, and the possibility of affecting property values. Residents have circulated a petition against the project, which has gained more than 1,500 signatures.
According to the proposed annexation agreement, should the project move forward, the village will receive $4,000 per gross acre in annexation fees, which would total roughly $548,000. Seefried will also pay a $150,000 traffic improvement fee, as well as $300,000 for installation of a light at 143rd and Meadow Lane.
The agreement also includes recapture fees, facility fees, and water and sanitary sewer impact fees, as well as an additional $150,000 for landscape improvements and screening between 143rd Street and the Liberty Grove and Dayfield subdivisions.
The developer will also dedicate a right of way for 143rd Street and will develop the roadway to the end of its property.
Diageo North America’s Vice President of Customer Logistics Gian St. Angelo said the company takes safety seriously.
“A number of folks have raised the issue of safety. That is the first and last thing we talk about across our company every single day,” St. Angelo said. “I’m most proud to say that over the past 16 months across all of north America, the U.S. and Canada, all of our manufacturing sites and all of our distribution centers, we have not had a single lost time accident. That doesn’t happen by accident, pardon the pun. It is from relentless focus on safety throughout the day, continuously training, minding, being on guard for the risks that are inherent in the manufacturing and distribution business.”
St. Angelo said the trucking fleet has been operated by Diageo for the past 13 years and has logged more than 10 million miles with just one traffic incident. He said the incident was minor and did not involve any injuries.
“We are very proud of that record,” St. Angelo said. “None of our drivers have ever been disqualified for traffic violations.”
St. Angelo said contract carriers that work with Diageo are required to meet the highest Department of Transportation qualifications.
Director of Planning Jonathan Proulx said the village is planning three public outreach meetings for residents of the Dayfield and Liberty Grove subdivisions to discuss mitigation efforts between homes and 143rd.
Village staff anticipates presenting formal ordinances regarding annexation and site plan review for the board’s consideration on Oct. 1.