Homer Glen trustees delay approval for Blue Label Rentals’ outdoor storage; require environmental testing

HOMER GLEN, Ill. — The Village Board of Homer Glen declined to immediately approve a special-use permit sought by Blue Label Rentals for outdoor storage and truck parking at 12649 West 159th Street, instead directing the company to complete environmental testing and asking staff to draft a compliance timeline.

Board members spent most of the discussion pressing the applicants on whether recent work on the property altered a nearby creek and whether the site may be contaminated. “But didn't you change the path of the creek? You changed the path of the creek,” an unidentified trustee asked the applicants during the meeting. The applicants said they had installed a temporary culvert to move more than 50 tractor-trailers safely and that they had cleared debris that was blocking drainage.

Staff told the board the zoning code contains conflicting definitions that complicate the application. A staff presentation noted that “outdoor storage” can be processed as a special-use permit in the C-3 commercial district while a “motor freight terminal” (with overnight parking and fueling) is permissible only in the I-1 industrial district; staff recommended treating the request as outdoor storage unless the board concludes the operation functions as a motor freight terminal.

Director Wescott described a phased environmental review the board could require. He said a targeted soil sampling and wetland delineation can usually be completed quickly — “maybe a couple months” for initial sampling — and that a full engineering plan would follow if Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction is implicated. Trustees and staff agreed that confirming whether the ground is contaminated is a prerequisite to approving any long-term permit.

Trustee Chelsea Lepore said she would support a short-term, nontransferable special-use permit to allow continued operations while testing proceeds, arguing immediate removal could displace small operators. At least one trustee voiced liability concerns and said the village should not signal approval without confirming environmental and zoning compliance.

As a compromise, staff proposed and trustees accepted a milestone-driven approach: the applicants must provide an environmental study within three months; if no study is submitted, the board directed that items on the property must be removed. Director Ruba was asked to draft a timeline with the applicant (Mr. Ivy was mentioned as the applicant contact) and return the plan to the board for formal approval at the next village meeting in December.

The board did not take a formal vote to grant the special-use permit at the meeting. A motion to adjourn was made and seconded; the meeting recessed for five minutes.