Tinley Park planners have advanced a proposal from a trucking firm to expand its footprint in the village as a way to boost sales of used vehicles.
Freightbull Inc., which operates in an area of the village already home to other light-industrial tenants, is looking for a larger space to park semi-trucks and trailers belonging to the business. The company also wants to offer indoor sales of used trucks.
The village's Plan Commission supported the proposal following a Sept. 19 public hearing.
Petitioner Stanojce Atanasov and LLA Holding LLC already operate a trucking and shipping business on some of the property.
Spread over 8½ acres, the properties are at 7447, 7455, 7501 and 7450 along Duvan Drive. The land is at the southwest bend of Duvan, just north of the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center.
A new paved lot on the west side of the land would have space for 48 trailers, according to plans.
Atanasov needs special use permits to conduct indoor vehicle sales and for the outside storage of trucks.
Village officials deemed the proposals to be a low-intensity use in an area already mixed with other industrial businesses. Atanasov said there would be no loading or unloading of trucks, but light maintenance would be performed, such as oil changes and switching out tires.
The larger paved parking lot for outdoor truck storage would drain into a new detention pond on the east side of the site, an engineer for Atanasov said.
He said native plantings would be part of the pond, as well as other features, such as water gardens, to filter any fluid runoff from vehicles parked on the lot.
Atanasov said Freightbull now sells a handful of used trucks each year, and if more than five are sold in a year the business needs state licensing. He told the Plan Commission that next year the company will have 15-18 trucks from 2018 that will be too old for use that will be available for sale.