The Joliet City Council approved an ordinance last week, granting CenterPoint Joliet rights to a plot of undeveloped land.

City officials voted 7-0 at the June 21 meeting. Councilman Jim McFarland was absent.

Councilwoman Jan Quillman noted that community concerns regarding the new construction associated with the land acquisition weighed heavily on her vote. She said she wanted it to be clear why she is voting to approve the ordinance.

“I would like to see to it that those folks along there are well taken care of, similar to the folks in the past had been with their properties because they spent a lot of money making those places beautiful,” she said. “They thought they were going to be their forever homes. With all this traffic and everything surrounding them, it’s just a quality of life issue for me.”

Quillman said that in the past, those in the neighborhood felt as though they were being shoved out of the area.

“To CenterPoint’s credit, after I brought it up and mentioned it, they did give the homeowners top dollars for their homes,” she said.

She added that the new bridge being built in the area is expected to increase truck traffic, which provides an additional reason to be concerned.

“I just wanted to make that those homeowners are well taken care of,” she said.

The two lots in question make up a minor subdivision located south of Route 6 on Terminal Court. The petitioner intends to use the plots of land in order to allow for the continued development of the business center.

City records show that existing zone for the undeveloped land is zoned I-2 for general industrial use.

To date, there is an existing proposal to develop the land. Lot 1, which is 30.8 acres, with a wheeled storage facility. At 2.6 acres, the development of lot 2 would house the rail spur, so as to merge the structure with one of the adjacent users. Lot 3, which is 6.5 acres, will preserve the lot for Terminal Court as a private drive. Currently, there are no future plans for the fourth lot, which encompasses 1.3 acre of land.

All improvements to the land must be completed in compliance to requirements set forth by an approved annexation agreement, subdivision regulations and public works utilities department. In it, there are guidelines for landscaping, which must be followed in order to adhere to city ordinance and the terms of the annexation agreement.

Additionally, water and sanitary sewer connection charges and development impact fees will be charged according to the terms of the approved agreement.

Joliet City Council grants liquor license to Starbucks

The Joliet City Council unanimously voted last week to approve the issuance of a class “D” liquor license to the Starbucks located on Route 59.

According to the city, a building permit has been issued in addition to the liquor license to accommodate the existing building for the sale of beer and wine.

“Starbucks has been good neighbors,” Mayor Bob O’DeKirk said. “We don’t see any reason to deny the permit.”

The applicants launched an evening program in Illinois approximately three years ago.

City approves fiber option easement agreement

The city is looking to install a fiber optic conduit along a portion of Joliet Union Station.

Officials approved an easement that will pave way for the conduit to run underneath the Scott Street viaduct, where it will run west along Metra’s Rock Island tracks toward Des Plaines Avenue.

Voting in favor of the easement allows the city to connect the new multi-modal transportation center and its security system to the Joliet Police Department, providing for a high-speed connection to facilitate improved police access to video feeds and access control information from the new facility.

City backs payment, change order for asbestos abatement at sewer treatment plant

Also at that meeting, officials approved a request for payment and change order for asbestos abatement of the East Side Sewage Treatment Plant.

In March, the city took steps to acquire the property. Preliminary inspection prior to the demolition of the property found regulated asbestos-containing building material, according to the city. Federal regulations mandate that these materials be removed prior to demolishment.

The city will pay $14,420 to Celtic Environmental for the contract agreement.

During the abatement, additional regulated asbestos-containing material was found. Due to the unforeseen presence of the material, a change order request, valued at $18,450, was also deemed necessary.