NorthPoint says site plan doesn’t include semitrailers

NorthPoint Properties has two plans for a Joliet site, neither of which was popular among the people who came out against them.

The NorthPoint proposal presented to the Plan Commission at a public hearing Thursday includes a Plan A and a Plan B.

The bigger worry among many opponents is that NorthPoint plans to use the 103-acre site southeast of Rowell and Breen roads to eventually link up to other land it has in Jackson Township and create a 2,000-plus acre Compass Business Park comparable to what was turned down in Elwood.

But the Compass Business Park is not included in either plan.

Plan A is designed to accommodate the 12-ton weight limit on the adjacent township roads. The weight limit is too low for big semitrailers.

“We are restricted by the roads,” NorthPoint attorney Tom Osterberger told the Plan Commission. “Until the area further develops, you are not going to see the long, heavy trucks over 12,000 pounds.”

Plan A drew criticism from Jackson Township Trustee Matt Robbins, who told the Joliet commission that NorthPoint has not discussed the potential burden on local roads and bridges with township officials.

“They haven’t even come to the Jackson Township Board to propose this,” Robbins said. “I think that’s ignorant.”

According to a Joliet staff memo on the project, Plan A could include small manufacturers, small distributors, laboratories and specialty fulfillment companies in buildings from 27,000 square feet to 201,500 square feet.

Plan B, presumably based on improved roads, would be “more typical of a light industrial warehouse/distribution park,” according to the staff memo. Buildings would range from 109,000 square feet to 415,000 square feet.

NorthPoint also may use wells and septic systems at the site until Joliet water can be extended, another part of the plan that worried residents, who said their own wells could be depleted by the industrial park.

The NorthPoint plan also includes the possibility of a water tower being built on the site.

The Plan Commission voted, 7-0, to recommend approval of the project. The City Council will make the final decision, but a vote has not been scheduled.