Shouts of “not in my back yard” are bellowing across the Chicago suburb of Carpentersville that’s within Dundee Township.
Residents are speaking out against a new warehouse development in their neighborhood.
In fact, hundreds showed up to a meeting held by the Carpentersville Village Board and Planning and Zoning Commission where plans for the large development on Randall Road were unveiled, the Elgin Courier News reported.
While Village President John Skillman emphasized that the meeting was “intended for information only,” many residents began voicing their objections to the project almost immediately.
“We must fight this. It’s really insane,” one woman in attendance told the outlet.
U.S. Capital Development plans to annex 88 acres at the corner of Randall and Binnie roads into the village so it can build the Carpentersville Logistics Park. The warehouse planned for the site would be built on spec and have 324 loading docks.
The developer is in contract to buy the land from the Glavin family, but that sale is contingent on the village approving the project.
Opponents of the development have raised the all-too-familiar NIMBY concerns, and are especially expressing their displeasure at the possibility of truck noise. They even have signs that read “No Diesels in Dundee.”
Dundee Township Trustee Sue Harney said at the meeting that she agrees with the residents speaking out against the project, but was light on specifics.
“The benefit you perceive for Carpentersville comes at an enormous cost, both personally and financially, for all of us,” Harney said. “You can demand better land use. You have that power, or you can settle for a logistics hub that will hurt the people who believe in you to look out for their best interests.”
Opponents have also pointed out that the land is adjacent to the “last green frontier in Dundee Township,” which provides open space and crucial stormwater retention.
Michael Stephenson, a U.S. Capital representative, said that the reason the developers were eyeing the site, which is so close to residential areas, was because there would be a lot of residents to employ.
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