East Dundee commission backs rezoning of 178‑acre site, recommends 24‑hour truck parking and mining permits while denying permanent‑paving variance

The East Dundee Planning, Zoning and Historic Commission on Dec. 5 recommended that roughly 178.41 acres of unincorporated Cook County land be rezoned to the M‑1 limited manufacturing district and urged the village board to approve related special‑use permits for round‑the‑clock vehicle parking and limited mineral extraction, while recommending denial of a variance that would allow permanent unpaved parking.

Ryan Trottier, chief operating officer of the Piloti Companies, told the commission the application seeks to formalize uses that “are nothing different than hasn’t that hasn’t already occurred on this property for decades,” describing decades of mining, phased reclamation and intermittent vehicle‑parking activity on the site. Trottier said the firm is filling low areas, in places adding more than 90 feet of material, and that most operations now are reclamation and filling rather than ongoing large‑scale extraction.

The petition included two special‑use requests — outside vehicle parking and storage 24 hours a day, and a permit for mineral extraction and batch operations — plus three variances for paved surfaces, screening/landscaping and lighting. Commissioners pressed the applicant on settlement, dust, screening along Higgins Road and the existing truck‑parking pad’s construction; Trottier said the pad was installed around 2020–2021 and is surfaced with compacted asphalt grindings, and that the current operator sweeps the access drives daily.

The commission accepted staff and legal guidance that the site’s unusual post‑mining topography and ongoing reclamation create different engineering constraints than a standard vacant lot. At the same time several members expressed concern about leaving permanent gaps in the village code: the commission’s attorney warned that home‑rule decisions and prior board waivers have produced ambiguity, and commissioners debated whether time‑limited conditions should attach to any approvals.

Votes at a glance: The commission voted to recommend rezoning the parcels to M‑1; it recommended approval of a special‑use permit for 24‑hour vehicle parking but amended the recommendation to cap the total parking footprint on the 178‑acre site at no more than 125% of the currently existing parking area; it recommended approval of a special‑use permit for mineral extraction and related batch operations; it recommended denial of the variance that would permit permanent unpaved parking surfaces; and it recommended denial of a variance allowing light spillover into adjacent residential areas and village streets. All rolls were recorded by roll call during the meeting and were entered into the record.

Commissioners and the applicant discussed operational details that will matter to the village board, including whether temporary waivers should be time‑limited, how screening and berms along Higgins Road should be treated if the site is regraded, and who is responsible for ongoing dust control during reclamation. Legal counsel noted that while code language describes some waivers as “temporary,” home‑rule municipalities sometimes interpret and apply those provisions differently, which has led the commission to highlight the issue for the board’s attention.

Next steps: The commission’s recommendations are advisory; the village board will consider the rezoning request, special‑use permits and variance recommendations at a future meeting and may attach conditions or time limits. Applicants said they expect to continue reclamation work and to return to the village for subsequent approvals if and when portions of the site are developed.

— Reporting based on the Dec. 5, 2024 East Dundee Planning, Zoning and Historic Commission public hearing, including testimony from Ryan Trottier (COO, Piloti Companies), Patrick Brantley (land‑use attorney) and other petitioners and commissioners.