Joliet board backs trailer-parking variations at 2700 Ellis Road

The Joliet Zoning Board of Appeals voted May 21 to approve two zoning variations that would allow the addition of 95 trailer stalls on the short (south) side of the 2700 Ellis Road building and permit trailers to be parked in a double row.

Staff told the board the roughly 53-acre site contains a 600,000-plus-square-foot industrial building and has been vacant for several years. A lease for the west unit with CHEP Pallet has prompted the owner to seek additional trailer parking. Staff recommended approval of both variations, while advising the board to vote on each request separately.

Matthew Good, with Venture 1 Real Estate, the property's owner and applicant, said the company bought the building about a year ago and plans $7 million to $8 million in improvements. "From an ingress, egress standpoint, it's really good," Good said, describing paved drive lanes and gates that he said would preserve emergency access while separating truck and passenger vehicle parking.

Board members asked whether double-row parking would impede fire or emergency access. Good said the plan includes through-pavement and gates to allow emergency vehicle passage and that the additional stalls would be used only for trailer parking; interior operations will handle pallet processing and storage.

With no public speakers, the board approved the variation to allow trailer parking on the building's short side and then approved the separate variation to permit double-row trailer parking. The motions carried in recorded votes and the board will forward its decisions to the city manager/mayor and city council as applicable for final action where required.

Staff cited Sections 47-17.17(n)(29) and 47-19.8 of Joliet's zoning ordinance in presenting the requests and said public works reviewed the proposed plan and had no objections. Staff also recommended conditions including landscaping, compliance with nonresidential design standards, and enrollment in the city's payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program for trailer stalls.

The board's approvals mean the tenant and owner can proceed with final site work and permit applications, subject to the conditions and any subsequent council or administrative approvals.