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University Park trustees approve Altech service‑center variance after initial tabling
Summary
After tabling the item because trustees said the packet arrived late, the Village of University Park approved an authorized variance for Altech to operate a 13,000‑sq‑ft service and maintenance center at 2418 Bond Street, a project the company estimates at about $9 million and 14 new jobs.
Trustee Jenkins Bale moved on Tuesday to reconsider a prior motion to table acceptance of the planning commission’s recommendation for Altech’s petition for an authorized variance; the motion passed and the board then voted to accept the planning commission recommendation and approve the variance for Altech.
Altech representatives described the request as a service and maintenance facility for mobile industrial equipment — boom trucks, cranes and related units — not a manufacturing plant or an annexation. In‑house counsel Daniel Deloach told trustees the company is under contract to purchase the site at 2418 Bond Street and that the use was interpreted by the village to require an authorized variance because it does not fit squarely within the list of permitted uses. "We are not seeking annexation. We're seeking an authorized variance," Deloach said.
The company presented a site plan showing a proposed 13,000‑square‑foot building with nine service bays, a wash bay with a recycled water system, office space and about 33,000 square feet of outdoor storage. Deloach said the project would include a large stormwater facility (described in the presentation as holding roughly 1.3 million gallons) to meet code and would cost about $9 million to build; the presentation estimated roughly 14 local jobs once the service center is operating.
Several trustees said they had received the planning packet late (the packet was noted in the record as arriving on Sunday) and initially moved to table the item to allow time for review. After Altech’s outside counsel, Caroline Tate, and other team members distributed additional material and answered questions on site layout, environmental controls and timing, trustees who had earlier expressed procedural concerns supported reconsideration so the company could present. Trustee Thompson asked about the construction timetable; Altech estimated a typical build‑out from permitting at roughly nine to 12 months.
Trustees pressed on compatibility with the industrial zoning code and on measures to prevent stormwater and wash‑bay runoff from entering municipal storm sewers; Altech said wash water would be cleaned and reused on‑site. Trustee Brooks praised the proposed water‑management features and said the undeveloped corner behind Station Two would benefit from investment.
The board’s approval accepted the planning commission’s recommendation as presented. The village record shows the motion to approve and the roll call occurring after the presentation; specific numerical vote tallies are not legible in the audio transcript and are recorded in the official minutes.
