The LaSalle County Zoning Board of Appeals on Aug. 20 recommended that the County Board approve a special-use permit allowing Ameritrac Rail (a subsidiary represented in the record) to place an office/trailer at 2665 East U.S. Route 6 in Manlius Township for ongoing rail construction and maintenance work. The petitioner said the trailers will be used as a short-term rally/briefing point and a materials staging area for rotating crews.

Why it matters: The operation supports mobile railroad-maintenance crews that stage locally for shorter travel times to customer sites. The record shows the use is consistent with commercial/industrial activity in the area and staff reported no additional written objections.

Key facts
- Vantae Kota II (recorded name in the hearing packet) said the trailers are for short-term crew gathering, safety briefings and small administrative tasks; the petitioner said crews typically operate in 6-person crews, rotating on 10-day deployments.
- The petitioner said materials primarily are delivered to customer sites and that the on-site location will be used to store overages and equipment between jobs.
- County staff reported the application complies with the applicable zoning standards for a nonconforming use; the Zoning Board voted to recommend approval and scheduled the petition for the County Board on Sept. 8, 2025.

Process and next steps
The board voted to recommend approval; the petition will go to the County Board for final action on Sept. 8. If approved, the applicant will coordinate standard permitting steps for placement of a temporary office/trailer and comply with any conditions or inspections required by county code.

Quote
Petitioner: “I come before you today for a petition of continued use of the property as it’s been used over the past, at least as we can tell for the past decade, material storage for the purposes of our business,” Vantae Kota II said.