Board approves truck terminal

A truck freight terminal has been approved for the former Univar USA property.

On Nov. 4, the Plainfield Village Board voted 5-1 to issue a special use permit to TVA Logistics on the 3,143-acre property at 13915 S. Route 30.

The site will be used for storage of up to 40 semi-tractors and trailers. There will also be a dispatch office and repair shop. The 10,800 square foot building was constructed in 1975.

TVA Logistics expects between two and five daily trips will be generated from trucks and up to 12 semis will be parked frequently on the property according to Village Associate Planner Jessica Gal.

TVA Logistics, which provides long distance trucking service, has an existing facility in Bolingbrook and plans to operate from both locations. The Plainfield dispatch office will have between 20 and 25 employees.

"Their semi trucks are on the road most of the week and do not return daily," Gal wrote. "The greatest volume of semi-trucks parked on the site would be on holidays - 30-plus vehicles - when drivers would be returning to the site. Otherwise daily traffic would primarily stem from those passenger vehicles associated with office support staff and repair shop employees."

Kevin Calkins was the only Plainfield trustee to oppose the special use permit.

"I'm supportive of business, but I'm not a big truck fan," Calkins said. "There are too many trucks and this is pretty close to a neighborhood."

Calkins noted other communities have experienced significant traffic problems from the growth of logistics and warehouses in the area.

"I'd like to stop us from becoming like Elwood in a couple of years," he said.