TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Nolan Ming, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT:
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Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow a Semi-Trailer Sales, Service, and Repair Facility, Located at 1720 Worker’s Court (ZBA 2026-33)
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BACKGROUND:
The petitioner and proposed tenant, W & B Service Company, is requesting a Special Use Permit to allow a semi-trailer sales, service, and repair facility in an existing building in the I-1 (light industrial) district at 1720 Worker’s Court. The subject site is 6.3 acres and located at the south end of Worker’s Court in the Spencer Road Industrial Park subdivision, which was recorded in 2007 and 2008 for the development of a light industrial subdivision. Spencer Road Industrial Park is located just west of the intersection of Spencer Road and Briggs Street and is bordered by properties with I-1 (light industrial) zoning on the west and east, a railroad right-of-way on the south, and residential properties within unincorporated Will County to the north. The subject site is the latest development within this industrial park with a recently completed 39,000-square-foot speculative industrial building and surrounding paved parking area. In addition to the subject site, the industrial park contains three existing uses: a building materials supplier, an industrial equipment rental and service company, and a traffic control services company. There is one undeveloped buildable lot remaining in the industrial park.
W & B Service Company is a transportation service and equipment provider with around 24 locations across the Midwest and South. An overview of their company and proposal is included in the Zoning Board of Appeals staff report packet. Their facilities provide a comprehensive set of services related to the sales and repair of new and used transportation equipment. Their customers include private fleets, trucking companies, and food service companies. W & B is the top provider of Hyundai Translead, Fontaine, Dorsey, and Doonan trailers. In 2025, W & B was announced as the top provider for Hyundai Translead in Illinois. The proposed facility at 1720 Worker’s Court will serve the new Hyundai Translead locations in Joliet and Will County.
The proposed uses at the site would include sales of trailers, repair of trailers, sales of parts and accessories, and a mobile service truck. The existing building would include the sales office, parts storage, and ten repair bays. The parking area would contain around 16 trailer stalls and 42 passenger vehicle parking stalls. The facility would have around 20 to 30 employees, including mechanics, office staff, and sales staff. The proposed hours of operation are 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday.
The facility would service both new and in-service trailers. New trailers would be customized to fulfill special orders or to install aftermarket parts, such as lift gates, that are not easily installed on the assembly line. Typical service to in-service trailers would be larger repairs that could not be done at a customer’s site. For smaller repairs, the facility would dispatch their mobile repair truck to perform the repairs offsite at the customer’s location. The majority of the customization and repair services will be performed for the companies that purchase trailers through W & B and for Hyundai Translead. The 16 proposed trailer stalls on the site would be used for trailers awaiting repair, trailers awaiting pickup, and display models of trailers for sale. There would not be any loaded trailers onsite - no refrigerated trailers would be running in the parking area. Sales would be conducted through the onsite sales office. Most of the trailer sales inventory will be located at the company’s other lot in Bolingbrook or at the Hyundai sites.
The petitioner estimates that there will be around five to eight truck trips total to and from the site per day. Most of the trailers to be repaired will be picked up by the facility’s service department. Spencer Road is not designed to accommodate truck traffic west of the Spencer Road Industrial Park subdivision. The expected route to and from the facility is via Spencer Road east of Worker’s Court to Briggs Street. To deter truck traffic from turning left onto westbound Spencer Road from Worker’s Court, the petitioner proposes to install “no left turn” signs for trucks at the north end of Worker’s Court. The petitioner would need to coordinate installation of these signs with the City.
The building elevations, parking lot footprint, detention area, and landscaping plans were previously approved through the City’s building permit process. The site is currently under construction. The petitioner will need to apply for any additional building permits for interior buildout and parking lot striping as needed.
At the August 20, 2026 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, the board recommended approval with the added condition that the Special Use Permit not be transferable to other companies or operators in the future. The petitioner was amenable to this request.
The request meets the criteria for special uses. The operation of the proposed use will not be detrimental to public health nor be injurious to the use of other property in the immediate vicinity. Additionally, the proposed use will not impede development of surrounding property. The site is located at the south end of an established industrial subdivision that was created to support light industrial uses, which can include warehousing, wholesaling, and clean manufacturing activities. The estimated truck traffic for the site and the proposed number of trailer parking stalls is in line with these types of uses. There is adequate drainage within the site’s detention pond, and utility infrastructure exists on Worker’s Court. The site has existing ingress and egress points to Worker’s Court, which is around 300 feet away from the intersection of Briggs Street and Spencer Road. The petitioner plans to minimize traffic congestion by posting “no left turn” signs for trucks exiting Worker’s Court so that they do not travel westbound on Spencer Road. If the truck traffic follows the appropriate route to and from the site, it should not be injurious to the surrounding properties. The proposed use will conform to other applicable land use regulations for the I-1 (light industrial) district, including landscaping requirements, building setbacks and design standards, photometrics, and stormwater detention requirements.
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS PUBLIC HEARING:
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on this matter on August 20, 2026. Mark Koenig, broker with The Koenig Group, and Gary Blackburn, petitioner with W & B Service Company, represented the petition. One person spoke in favor of the petition, if the Special Use were limited to the proposed occupant. Meeting minutes are attached.
RECOMMENDATION OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS:
recommendation
Debbie Radakovich moved that the Zoning Board of Appeals recommend approval of the Special Use Permit to allow a semi-trailer sales, service, and repair facility, located at 1720 Worker’s Court, subject to the following conditions:
1. That all service and repairs shall be performed within the building;
2. That the parking lot shall be striped in accordance with City standards prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy;
3. That the Special Use granted herein, per Section 47-5.2(E) Special Uses, shall terminate and lapse unless a building permit or certificate of occupancy is obtained not later than 180 days of the effective date of this ordinance and the erection or alteration of a building is started or the use is commenced within such period; and
4. Should the property be declared a public nuisance, it may be subject to a rehearing and a possible revocation of the Special Use Permit.
5. That the Special Use shall be valid only so long as the site is occupied by W and B Service Company or its affiliates, and shall become void once this occupant discontinues their use of the site. The language in Section 47-5.2(E) that states “if any special use is discontinued for a continuous period of one year, or if an intent to abandon the special use is evident in a shorter period of time, the special use permit for such use shall become void” shall not apply.
Jesse Stiff seconded the motion, which passed with four (4) aye votes and no nay votes. Voting aye were: Nachtrieb, Stiff, Ness, and Radakovich. Voting nay were: none. Absent were: Bias, McGrath Schmig, and Leon.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Staff concurs with the recommendation of the Zoning Board of Appeals and recommends that the Mayor and City Council adopt the following, subject to the same conditions approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals above:
1. Ordinance Approving a Special Use Permit to Allow a Semi-Trailer Sales, Service, and Repair Facility, Located at 1720 Worker’s Court
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