Grundy County zoning board approves Sal Clay special-use permit for truck repair, with conditions

The Grundy County Zoning Board of Appeals voted to recommend approval of a special-use permit for Sal Clay Services to operate a truck and trailer repair and Illinois state inspection facility at 4020 West DuPont Road in Morris.

A county planning staff member told the board the 5.04-acre site would include about a 7,000-square-foot addition to an existing building, 15 employee and customer parking stalls, a vegetative berm and lighting controls, and required site improvements. Staff said the operation is intended for heavy-duty truck repair and routine inspections for local fleets, including school, agricultural and construction vehicles, and that the petitioner estimates about 10 commercial vehicles per day.

Chris Sert, who identified himself as representing Sal Clay Services, said the company is a local operator that has not had ordinance violations. Sert said the proposal eliminates access on DuPont Road and concentrates commercial ingress and egress on Verona Road under a negotiated road-use agreement. "We don't want any illumination bleeding over to the northern side of the property," Sert said, describing the proposed berm and photometric plan. He added that vehicles being worked on would be stored inside while possible and that the facility would not be a large, multi-state operation.

A nearby resident raised groundwater concerns and urged explicit testing and holding-tank measures for hydrocarbons as well as nitrates. The resident, who provided a Verona address for the record, said: "You're coming with trucks, you're gonna clean them up, you're gonna have greases, oils. Just wanna catch that stuff before it ends up in somebody's groundwater." County staff and the applicant said Sal Clay uses a licensed contractor to remove used oil and solvents at its current site and that environmental-health requirements from the county and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) would apply. Staff said the new building will require a septic system and a 1,000-gallon holding tank for floor-drain discharges where truck repairs occur, with sampling for total coliform and nitrates submitted and approved by environmental health before occupancy.

Staff listed other conditions to be met before occupancy, including a road-use agreement with Norman Township's road commissioner that governs truck routing and required mitigation on West DuPont and Verona roads; submission and written approval of a noise plan, spill-containment plan and odor-control plan; a hazardous materials management plan; and a requirement that the site have no more than 10 commercial vehicles undergoing service at any one time, with annual compliance reviews. Fire-safety requirements noted by staff include a fire-sprinkler system because the new building will exceed 6,000 square feet unless divided by approved fire-rated assemblies, plus a full fire-alarm system approved by the Morris Fire Protection and Ambulance District.

After discussion, a board member moved to approve the special-use permit with the conditions listed in the packet; a second was voiced and the board voted in favor with no opposition. The recommendation will be forwarded to the Land Use Committee for review on May 27.

The board's action approves the petition to proceed to the next stage subject to the conditions described; final permitting and site-development approvals remain contingent on the applicant meeting the county's environmental, road-use and fire-safety requirements.