This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
11/27/2017 11:00 PMA proposed trucking facility for Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) at 300 Elm Street could be a potential benefit to North Haven in terms of tax revenue, but at a recent Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) meeting on Nov. 13, residents and PZC members brought up several concerns about the project, including the hours of operation, quality of life, and others.
The application was brought before the PZC at the November meeting as a subdivision application that could potentially see the approximately 30 acre property split into two parcels of roughly 15 acres each, to be used for ODFL’s facility and an independent living senior community proposed by the Bradley Home.
Attorney Bernard Pellegrino, who represents ODFL, said that since the subdivision application had a public hearing component, ODFL and its team was willing to talk about the site plan for the facility so residents could comment on it.
ODFL is a shipping and freighting company that currently has a facility in Orange that will relocate to North Haven if the project is approved, and the proposed facility will be larger facility than what ODFL currently has in Orange. Project engineer John Plante of Langan Engineering said ODFL is interested in expanding its business.
The proposed facility would have 86 trucking bays, parking for trucks, and storage spaces for trailers. Plante said that the facility will be a total of 39,700 square feet, with 5,500 square feet of office space and the remaining 34,200 a trucking terminal.
The project is located in an IL-80 zone, in which Pellegrino said trucking is a permitted use. He said that if the site plan meets the zoning regulations, which he believes it does, there should be no reason to deny the project.
Pellegrino also said the project would be beneficial for the town, estimating that with personal property and real estate taxes, ODFL will be in the top 20 taxpayers on the town’s Grand List. He also said the facility would employ 53 people and the average salary for people working on the site is $87,000 per year.
One of the major concerns of residents, especially those who live nearby the proposed facility, is the hours of operation. The facility will be open 24 hours a day, during the week, with several trucks coming in overnight and during early morning hours. Pellegrino confirmed the facility would not operate on the weekends, and Plante said operations stop for the weekend on Fridays at 11 p.m.
Residents were concerned that the noise of trucks and moving trailers during those hours would affect their way of life. Plante said ODFL has a “no idling” policy for its trucks, and they have equipment that will shut them off after three minutes of inactivity.
Plante said there is no refrigeration component to any of the trucks, and that ODFL will use smaller “switcher” trucks to transport trailers around the site that have a less audible beeping noise when backing up.
Asked if the PZC could put reasonable conditions on the hours of the facility, Pellegrino said that conditions on overnight trucking aren’t reasonable for ODFL, and Plante said it’s a part of the company’s business model.
Another point of contention was that as part of the application, the applicant wants to lower a portion of Sackett Point Road by one foot to allow trucks to pass underneath a bridge that is currently too low for some tractor trailers to pass under for easier access to Universal Drive and I-91.
PZC member James Giulietti brought up concerns about flooding, as the bridge area of the road is located in a flood zone, adding that lowering it might increase potential flooding problems. He asked that the plans for the lowering of the road be reviewed by an engineer to determine if lowering the road would be feasible from a health and safety standpoint.
Other concerns residents had included potential health and odor effects from diesel fuel exhaust and that more trucks would cause more traffic concerns on Sackett Point Road and Universal Drive.
While Pellegrino argued that the project should be approved if the site plan meets the zoning requirements, PZC members brought up that the board also has to take into account the health and welfare of town residents when making a decision.
The public hearing for the subdivision was closed, but Pellegrino said deliberations on the topic were tabled to the next PZC meeting, currently scheduled for Monday, Dec. 4. Pellegrino said the site plan will also be discussed by the PZC at the December meeting.