Crest Hill planning commission recommends council approve Lockport Township public‑safety training grounds with conditions

The Crest Hill Plan Commission on March 13 recommended that the City Council approve multiple zoning text amendments and Planned Unit Development exceptions for the Lockport Township Fire Protection District’s proposed public‑safety training grounds, including an outdoor firing range, and attached a condition requiring the range’s sound‑attenuation wall be adjusted per a Soundscape Engineering study. The commission’s final recommendation on special use permits and PUD exceptions passed 6–1 and the other procedural recommendations were unanimous; the case now moves to the City Council for final action.

The matter matters because the 13‑acre complex would consolidate fire and police training, vehicle maintenance and specialty rescue staging on former Stateville property inside the fire district, and would include a 100‑yard outdoor firing range used only by public‑safety agencies. Opponents at the hearing urged an indoor range or relocation because they fear noise and future development impacts; proponents — including fire and police leadership — said a local range would improve realistic joint training, reduce response times and cut costs of sending crews off‑district for live‑fire training.

Lockport Township Fire Protection District Chief John O’Connor told the commission the training grounds are intended ‘‘to ensure the fire district is properly staffed, trained, and equipped to handle emergencies across [a] 46‑square‑mile jurisdiction serving 85,000 residents.’’ He said the plan includes classroom space, a multi‑story burn/training tower, vehicle maintenance bays and consolidated storage for reserve apparatus to reduce…