Machesney Park commission gives positive recommendation for outdoor storage ordinance after residents press traffic, noise and drainage concerns

The Machesney Park commission voted to forward Ordinance 24 25 with conditions after a public hearing on an outdoor storage and transfer operation that residents said will increase truck traffic and noise along Forest Hills Road.

Residents told the commission they remain concerned about traffic flow, the height and effectiveness of a proposed 4-foot berm with a 6-foot fence, lighting that now shines into backyards after tree removal, drainage during heavy rains and how often semitrailers will cross Forest Hills to move finished product. The commission’s positive recommendation advances the application to the Planning and Economic Development meeting on July 7 at 5:30 p.m.

At the hearing, several neighbors described recurring backups on Forest Hills Road near the Hawkeye Trail and Hawkesview Drive entrances. John Deary, a Hawkeye Trail resident, said the subdivision’s three entrances become blocked when trucks negotiate a curve at the north end of Forest Hills Road, a problem he called longstanding: "We need to make sure that as a group and as a city, you guys are making the expectation that it's not just meeting it. It's exceeding it for the houses that have been there for 30 years," Deary said.

Village staff and project representatives…