The village of Shorewood is being sued by more than a dozen residents who have concerns over the development of a distribution center that may bring in hundreds of trucks.
The lawsuit was filed against village July 5 and centers on the development of a distribution center called Heartland Corporate Center near the interchange of interstates 55 and 80.
The distribution center is expected to be the home of 108 truck docks and may open in early 2019.
That doesn’t sit well with the 16 plaintiffs, who all live on South Mattox Lane. The lawsuit alleges the property village officials seek to have developed is for residential use, will hurt property values and increase truck traffic, bringing noise, traffic and light pollution.
“They haven’t taken us seriously, so we filed the lawsuit for them to take us seriously,” plaintiff Michael Bradley said.
Interim Village Administrator Aaron Klima declined to comment on the lawsuit. He said the village received it and handed the matter over to its legal department.
Bradley said the buffer zone between their homes and the planned distribution center is a 13-foot-tall berm.
“We don’t think it’s at all sufficient to buffer the noise and the activity they’re going to be doing,” he said.
The plaintiffs want the berm to be 20 feet tall but that may result in a smaller development with less room for trucks or parking, he said.
The plaintiffs have been actively aware of the development and attended public hearings since late last year, Bradley said. He said they’ve been trying to put pressure on village officials to no avail.
“They’ve heard from us many, many times and they never showed any concern,” he said.
