Jessica Raun told the zoning committee she was driving her twins to Salt Creek Elementary School when a semitruck nearly hit them at the five-legged intersection locals call "The Bulb." She called the experience a "disastrous nightmare."

On Monday, July 13, Raun and other residents urged Elmhurst's zoning committee to reject a proposed warehouse that would bring more trucks to that same stretch of Riverside Drive. The committee voted unanimously to recommend the project anyway.

The warehouse, proposed by Houston-based Alliance Industrial Co., would replace the Clarion Inn at 933 S. Riverside Drive and include up to 28 loading docks. Alliance executive Andrew Karabon told the committee the facility would sit 721 feet from Salt Creek Elementary and 815 feet from the nearest house. He called it "a low-intensive industrial facility, not a regional distribution facility" that would generate only modest traffic.

Residents pushed back for roughly an hour before the vote. Their concerns centered on truck traffic near the school, safety at The Bulb intersection where Route 83, Riverside Drive, and Frontage Road converge, and a net loss in tax revenue. Opponents argued the property tax gain from a warehouse would not offset the hotel tax the city collects from the Clarion Inn.

The project has drawn organized opposition since at least May. Elmhurst resident David Terrell warned the full City Council on Monday, May 4, referencing a community group called Team Southwest Elmhurst that had been organizing against the proposal.

Alderwoman Jennifer Veremis, a zoning committee member, defended the recommendation. "It's an industrial use in an industrial zone that has even bigger warehouses," she said.

Not every committee member was fully comfortable. Alderman Guido Nardini questioned the traffic studies, saying he didn't want to take the applicant at their word because "they are in the business of making money." City officials responded that while the city's traffic study reflected the developer's conclusions, Alliance had no role in selecting the city's traffic consultant.

Alderman Chris Jensen acknowledged the warehouse would likely bring less tax revenue than the hotel but said he supported the project, noting the developer had added landscaping buffers for the school and nearby homes since the proposal was first presented.

As aldermen signaled their support, some opponents quietly walked out.

The full City Council is scheduled to meet Monday, July 20, at 7:30 p.m. Whether the warehouse vote will appear on that agenda has not been confirmed.