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Residents urge council to pause Clarion Inn redevelopment, citing traffic, environmental and safety concerns
Summary
Residents told the Elmhurst City Council they oppose PUD case 26P03, a proposed Alliance warehouse at the Clarion Inn site, saying the 42-foot building with 32 docks would generate heavy truck traffic, air-quality and construction hazards, and called for independent impact studies before any approval.
Mark Dulli, a Ward 7 resident, opened public forum saying neighbors collected 344 petition signatures opposing PUD case 26P03, the planned purchase of the Clarion Inn and conference center by a company identified in filings as Alliance (also referred to in testimony as Arco Murray or LPC). He described the developer’s plan as a 42-foot-high warehouse with 32 loading docks and a floor plate “the size of three football fields” just north of the public-works building and urged the council to take neighbor concerns seriously.
"We see those items as table stakes," Dulli said of the developer’s listed public benefits, adding that residents worried the plan understates semi-truck traffic through the nearby five-legged intersection known as the bulb and that zoning violations could occur during construction and operation.
Aliyia Kawaja, who said she has a public-health background and lives near Eldridge Park, asked the council to pause the project until independent traffic, environmental and economic impact assessments — including hazardous-materials testing — are completed. "Diesel trucks are a major source of particulate pollution," Kawaja said, warning of risks to school routes and residents' respiratory health.
A second commenter, Barry Hang, alleged that Alliance had sold a warehouse in Georgia that is being used for immigration detention and argued the city should refuse the sale. Hang described alleged inhumane conditions at some detention facilities and framed the possibility that the Elmhurst warehouse could be used similarly as a public-safety and moral concern.
No developer representative spoke during public forum, and council members did not take action on the application tonight. Several council members thanked residents and noted the issue is currently with the zoning and planning commission; one alderman told speakers he had discussed the matter with their ward representatives. The council did not vote on item 26P03 during this meeting.
Next steps: the matter remains before the zoning and planning commission; residents urged the council and staff to require or consider independent traffic, environmental and economic reviews before the case advances to the council.
