(A) Purpose. The purposes of the intermodal terminal use regulations of this section are to:
(1) Permit the development, use and operation of intermodal rail terminal facilities; connecting and switch tracks to provide rail connections between railroad main lines and intermodal rail terminal facilities; short-term storage or staging of goods and commodities in transit; transportation equipment support and storage facilities; warehouse, distribution and other logistics-centered buildings and uses; and other related industrial and commercial uses.
(2) Promote a comprehensive master planning approach to (i) the placement of various land uses within intermodal terminal planned unit developments, (ii) rail infrastructure and roadways to support the planned unit development and to minimize external impacts, and (iii) the identification of areas within the planned unit development for stormwater management and other conservation areas.
(3) Require a land use master plan that allows for the development of the uses allowed within an intermodal terminal PUD while also promoting the public health, safety and general welfare.
(4) Provide developers of large-scale, complex and integrated intermodal rail, logistics and industrial projects with appropriate flexibility to commence and complete such projects in a phased manner and over an extended period of time.
(B) PUD approval required. Intermodal terminals require approval in accordance with the PUD approval procedures of § 155-16.50.
(C) General regulations. Unless otherwise expressly stated in this zoning ordinance or approved as part of a PUD development plan, intermodal terminals must comply with all applicable regulations of this zoning ordinance, including, for example, the parking, landscaping, sign, and general planned unit development regulations. If the intermodal terminal use regulations of this section are in conflict with other regulations of this zoning ordinance, the intermodal terminal use regulations of this section govern.
(D) Minimum land area. An intermodal terminal planned unit development may be approved only on contiguous parcels of 300 acres or more, under single ownership or unified development control at the time that the development plan for the planned unit development is established and approved.
(E) Location. The site must be adjacent to a railroad right-of-way and be connected by switches, lead tracks, connecting tracks or spur tracks operated by a railroad common carrier or a short haul or a terminal railroad serving the terminal.
(F) Development plans. An intermodal terminal PUD application must be accompanied by a development plan that designates the general location of the various permitted subareas proposed within the planned unit development. There are three permitted subareas, as follows:
(1) Intermodal terminal subarea. This subarea consists primarily of the intermodal railroad operations and is considered the most intense land use subarea.
(2) Transportation equipment subarea. This is the second most intense land use subarea. Cargo containers awaiting delivery may be stored in this subarea, as may empty containers awaiting re-use. Other permitted uses include trucking companies, grain handling operations and other transportation equipment storage and operations.
(3) Industrial park subarea. This category allows for industrial warehouses, logistics and distribution facilities. Accessory uses are also allowed to complement the primary permitted uses. Unless otherwise expressly specified, permitted uses within the subareas are not cumulative.
(G) Uses. The following uses are permitted within the designated subareas set forth in the approved development plan for each planned unit development.
(1) Intermodal terminal subarea. The following uses are permitted in the intermodal terminal subarea:
(a) Intermodal rail and truck terminals, including: switching yards, freight yards, lift tracks and storage tracks; outdoor overhead cranes and gantries; train fueling and maintenance facilities; entrance and exit gates and structures and associated security apparatus; vehicular queuing areas; administrative offices and other buildings and structures customarily accessory to an intermodal railroad facility; cargo container, truck trailer and truck chassis loading and unloading; outdoor storage of truck chassis; short-term outdoor storage of cargo containers and truck trailers; and short term outdoor storage of goods in transit.
(b) Railroad rights-of-way and all associated railroad track improvements, including but not limited to tracks, ties, switches, lead tracks, connecting tracks, spur tracks, gates and signals.
(c) Governmental offices related to intermodal regulatory functions or customs, and private offices performing such functions under governmental contract.
(d) Public and quasi-public utilities, including, but not limited to water wells, water treatment plants, pumping stations, sewage treatment plants, lift stations, electrical substations and facilities necessarily accessory thereto.
(2) Transportation equipment subarea. The following uses are permitted in the transportation equipment subarea:
(a) Short-term storage or staging of goods in transit.
(b) Long-term cargo container storage and repair facilities.
(c) Truck dispatch yards, including truck storage, fueling and repair facilities.
(d) Chassis storage, dispatch and repair facilities.
(e) Administrative offices, repair and storage buildings, entrance and exit gates, and other uses ancillary to the foregoing transportation equipment uses.
(f) Public and quasi-public utilities, including, but not limited to water wells, water treatment plants, pumping stations, sewage treatment plants, lift stations, electrical substations and facilities necessarily accessory thereto.
(g) Railroad rights-of-way and all associated railroad track improvements, including but not limited to tracks, ties, switches, lead tracks, connecting tracks, spur tracks, gates and signals.
(h) Grain unloading, loading and handling facilities (including the filling of shipping containers or similar vessels for the transportation of grain).
(3) Industrial park subarea. The following uses are permitted in the industrial park subarea:
(a) Industrial warehouse, logistics and distribution facilities.
(b) Office uses.
(c) Manufacturing and industrial services; warehousing, wholesaling, and freight movement.
(d) Uses and buildings accessory to the foregoing, including any retail sales component that are accessory in nature to the principal use.
(e) Governmental offices and facilities, and private offices and facilities under government contract usage.
(f) Public and quasi-public utilities, including, but not limited to water wells, water treatment plants, pumping stations, sewage treatment plants, lift stations, electrical substations and facilities necessarily accessory thereto.
(g) Railroad rights-of-way and all associated railroad track improvements, including but not limited to tracks, ties, switches, lead tracks, connecting tracks, spur tracks, gates and signals.
(H) Cargo container regulations.
(1) Cargo container storage is limited to the intermodal terminal and transportation equipment subareas. Short-term cargo container storage is permitted in intermodal terminal and transportation equipment subareas. Long-term cargo container storage is only permitted in a transportation equipment subarea.
(2) Cargo containers affixed with hazardous materials placards must be handled, stored and stacked in compliance with the Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975, as amended from time to time (49 U.S.C. § 5101) ("HMTA") and all applicable regulations issued pursuant to HMTA.
(3) On Site Use of Cargo Containers.
(a) Cargo containers may be modified or retrofitted for on-site habitation with a Special Use Permit in accordance with the procedures of § 155-16.40 and shall comply with the regulations of § 155-10.10(C) Accessory Uses - Accessory Dwelling Units and § 155-9.290 Supplementary Uses - Cargo Container Dwelling Units.
(b) Within an intermodal rail facility in an intermodal terminal subarea, up to 30 cargo containers may be used as storage units for equipment, replacement parts, air compressors and similar on-site property, and are not subject to durational limitations.
(4) Cargo containers may not be stored within a restricted area immediately adjacent to any entrance onto a public road. The restricted area must be at least 100 feet in width and 150 feet in depth and centered in the entranceway.
(5) In intermodal terminal subareas, short-term cargo container storage and stacking (not to exceed five units high) is permitted in and adjacent to lift-track areas of an intermodal rail yard, provided that such five-high stacking may not occur within 200 feet of the bottom of the inside face of a required perimeter berm as set forth in the development plan. Elsewhere within the intermodal terminal subarea, short-term cargo container storage and stacking (not to exceed three units high) is permitted, provided that such three-high stacking may not occur within 70 feet of the bottom of the inside face of the required perimeter berms as set forth in the development plan.
(6) In transportation equipment subareas, long-term cargo container storage and stacking storage and stacking (not to exceed five units high) is permitted in and adjacent to lift-track areas of an intermodal rail yard, provided that such five-high stacking may not occur within 200 feet of the bottom of the inside face of a required perimeter berm as set forth in the development plan. Elsewhere within the intermodal terminal subarea, short-term cargo container storage and stacking (not to exceed three units high) is permitted, provided that such three-high stacking may not occur within 70 feet of the bottom of the inside face of the required perimeter berms as set forth in the development plan. Cargo containers may not be grouped more than two deep end-to-end, and such two-deep groupings must be separated by drive aisles of not less than 30 feet in width.
(7) In transportation equipment subareas, on-road vehicles entering or leaving a cargo container storage yard are restricted to paved surfaces only, and in each such storage yard there must be constructed and maintained sufficient paved areas so as to permit all on-road vehicles to enter, exit, load, off-load, maneuver and otherwise remain at all times on wholly paved surfaces within the storage facility. Other than the required paved areas aforesaid, the remainder of the storage areas in transportation equipment subareas must be paved or surfaced and maintained with not less than 12 inches of dust-retardant compacted gravel material.
(8) No removable fastened signage may be displayed on any cargo container, with the exception of standardized safety or warning information placards (including hazardous materials placards used in compliance with the HMTA and all applicable regulations issued pursuant to the HMTA).
(9) All cargo containers and truck trailer containers visible to public rights-of-way must be stored in a secure fashion with doors that are fully closed.
(I) Site access. Each individual lot or principal building site must have direct vehicular access to a paved public roadway or a paved private easement road.
(J) Buffers.
(1) A buffer with a minimum width of 100 feet must be provided around the entire exterior perimeter of every intermodal terminal and transportation equipment subarea, except for (i) areas of ingress, egress and drainage out-fall, (ii) railroad rights-of-way containing lead tracks, spur tracks and associated railroad improvements, (iii) land under which pipeline transmission facilities exist, provided that reasonable buffering and/or landscaping must be provided if and to the extent allowed by the pipeline operator, (iv) such portions of any intermodal terminal or transportation equipment subareas that abut each other, and (v) such portions of the perimeter as are specifically designated to have a solid wall in lieu of a buffer with a minimum height of eight feet with an architectural element or stamped detail.
(2) Buffers must include an undulated landscaped berm at least 15 feet in height, unless the approved development plan sets forth a requirement for an engineered solid wall of a designated minimum height.
(3) Required berms must have a slope of 3:1 on the exterior (street-frontage) side, and may have a slope of 2.5:1 on the interior side.
(4) Green space, setback requirements, perimeter berms and setbacks must be shown on the approved development plan.
(5) Required perimeter berms must be landscaped and seeded with native grasses. Unless otherwise approved as part of the planned unit development, the required berms for the intermodal terminal and transportation equipment subareas must be installed as part of the activities authorized by the first site development permit issued for that specific subarea on the development plan.
(6) Subject to the foregoing requirements, the final design of perimeter berms, berm landscaping or solid wall is subject to review and approval as part of the site development permit process. In appropriate circumstances, the County Board is authorized to reduce both the width of the buffer and the height of the berm, or the height of a solid wall if allowed in lieu of a berm.
(K) Security fences.
(1) Perimeter and other interior security fences are allowed for all uses in intermodal terminal, transportation equipment and industrial park subareas. Fences may be up to ten feet in height.
(2) For buildings in industrial park subareas that do not have front-facing docks, unless occupant security requirements otherwise require, as is reasonably determined by Will County, security fencing may not extend any closer to the street than the front face of the building unless approved as a special use.
(3) For buildings in industrial park subareas that do have front facing docks, unless occupant security requirements otherwise require, security fencing may not extend any closer to the street than ten feet from back of curb on the street side edge of a parking area unless approved as a special use.
(L) Semi-tractor trailers and truck parking restrictions.
(1) In the intermodal terminal subarea, only short-term storage of semi-tractor trailers and trucks are permitted; except that tractors, hostlers and trucks used by the owner or occupant and intermodal facility for its operations in an intermodal terminal subarea is permitted without durational limitations.
(2) In the transportation equipment subarea, long-term semi-tractor trailer storage is permitted, and indefinite storage of operable, licensed and registered trucks is a permitted use in the transportation equipment subarea. Tractors, hostlers and trucks used by the owner or occupant of transportation equipment management facility for its operations in a transportation equipment subarea is permitted without durational limitations.
(3) In the industrial park subarea, only short-term storage of semi-tractor trailers and trucks is permitted, and the maximum number of accessory parking spaces (not including trailer positions immediately adjacent to dock doors) intended for use by semi-trailers, wheeled containers or truck-trailer combinations at warehouses, distribution facilities and other similar facilities used for storage, loading or off-loading of goods, may not exceed one parking space for every 1,500 square feet of ground floor area of the principal building.
(4) In all subareas of the planned unit development, the use of public or private streets for the regular staging of trucks or tractor trailers is prohibited.
(Ord. effective 10-1-2012; Ord. 18-1, passed 1-18-2018; Ord. 19-241, passed 9-19-2019)