Homeowners in southwestern Burr Ridge and Willowbrook had an extra reason to be thankful this past Thanksgiving. They learned that plans to build an asphalt plant near their homes had been dropped.
Lorig Construction Co. withdrew its request for a conditional use permit from DuPage County to build an asphalt batching plant on about 21 acres it owns in an unincorporated area at 9900 S. Route 83, said Evan Walter, assistant to the Burr Ridge village administrator. The village was notified of the move Nov. 22, he said.
“We feel this is a victory,” Walter said. “We felt it would really hurt property values, especially in the south part of Burr Ridge.”
The Village Board in June unanimously passed a resolution asking the DuPage Zoning Board of Appeals to deny Lorig’s request. Burr Ridge officials claimed the plant, which would have been built within 2,000 feet of the village boundaries, would negatively impact the environment, increase traffic and noise pollution, and lower property values.
“We are very appreciative of all of the efforts by our residents,” Walter said.
Burr Ridge residents and other property owners attended the zoning board meetings in Wheaton during the summer and expressed their opposition to the plant with petitions and emails to county officials.
The last meeting on the proposal was held Sept. 28. Meetings scheduled after that date had been canceled.
Attorney Phil Luetkehans said the 70 or so homeowners he represented in the Emerald Ridge development are very satisfied.
Emerald Ridge is near the southwest corner of Bluff Road and Route 83, just north of the site proposed for the asphalt plant.
Luetkehans believes the organized opposition from his clients and other property owners in the vicinity played a huge part in Lorig’s decision to withdraw the request for the permit.
Lorig officials did not return calls for comments about their decision.
Lorig, a company that specializes in highway and bridge construction, wanted a plant in DuPage County to more conveniently supply asphalt to the construction projects in the county, including work on the tollway.
David Lorig, president of Lorig Construction, proposed building a plant that would have produced about 800 tons of asphalt a week, operating five or six days a week from April through November. From 50 to 80 trucks a day would carry materials in and out of the plant, Lorig said.
New asphalt plants are cleaner and quieter than those built decades ago, representatives said, and the increase in air pollutants due to the plant would be negligible.
But the site is near Cook County Forest Preserves and the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County Forest Preserve District. An attorney for the DuPage forest district advised the zoning board in June the plant would have a detrimental effect on the natural resources in Waterfall Glen.
Officials of the Chinmaya Mission, which is about a quarter mile north of the proposed site, also objected to building the plant, because hundreds of people regularly attend worship services, lectures and educational programs at the mission. Leaders of the mission were worried about health hazards and diminished property values.
Laurie Chang, who lives in the Falling Water subdivision in Burr Ridge about a mile from the site, said she was very happy Lorig changed its mind. She feared chemicals from the asphalt production would get in the soil or water. Once that happens, “it can’t be undone,” Chang said.
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