[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6165216,"mediaKeyId","5425870-ea09a42e6f24b9d25f6ceb504c1efdc7","parentId",5425870,"title","Will County board hears wide-ranging objections and approves some solar sites while denying others","audioSeconds",11545,"startMs",1076000,"endMs",12621000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5425870-ea09a42e6f24b9d25f6ceb504c1efdc7&start=1076&end=12621","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5425870-ea09a42e6f24b9d25f6ceb504c1efdc7/thumbnail_1076000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6165216/Will-County/Illinois/Will-County-board-hears-wide-ranging-objections-and-approves-some-solar-sites-while-denying-others","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6165216-bed2b1dc3c1d9d704b58f5a0e2a24fc1/orig.mp4?Expires=1770896937&Signature=F9gFIoC~Euj0xS5~JiVUmaLvpIECcOK2QNNDYYE~GRV92IBegfJy-dKLN169TivdwUpR4T~R4HpJRnohkwEv6wm3e1i3CR6NoRWJ4LRmxEq7rn~evjNqOyEZ4Hn8ebD9dzrYUiqn13o~d4HtiAEGfudd5zHB9OUlo6znH8sCUM3Dtkf5ZPpR92DuVE7oeF11ZlvThHW38~KA3T5jjU2CdnGGxz8oHXDyz1ucBURR-znT9Nj4alg30kyXd~ZQaNBYRrQNSio254Vahyn9xWwuNVMuozFi1Spj-5E-c5V6M~DUOmlQ2wH66wptGK7FHlzeapEF2zkLpxvuA9Y82BJm6w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Will County, IL","date","2025-07-18T15:12:23Z","article","The Will County Board spent much of its July 17 meeting debating multiple commercial solar applications and nearby municipalities' objections, denying two special-use requests and approving other projects with added conditions to bury on-site electrical connections.

The Board denied two Troy Township cases known as the Black Road Solar applications (ZC25041 and ZC25043) after land-use committee and Planning and Zoning Commission recommendations and extensive public testimony from Shorewood, Joliet-area school districts and neighborhood residents. Both denials followed an amendment requiring developers to bury on-site utility connections — a condition the board adopted for several projects even when it rejected the permits themselves.

Why it matters: Board members and public speakers framed the decisions around whether large, unaffiliated energy-generation facilities belong near residences, schools and municipal infrastructure. Speakers cited potential impacts on property values, emergency response, water and soil runoff, electromagnetic fields and nighttime lighting; municipal attorneys and local leaders argued the applications conflicted with local comprehensive planning. Developers and their counsel argued counties have discretion to approve facilities and pointed to economic benefits and mitigation plans.

What the board decided and the conditions it added
- ZC25041 and ZC25043 (Troy Township / Black Road Solar 1 and 2): The county’s land-use committee and Planning & Zoning Commission both recommended denial; the full board considered an amendment requiring buried on-site utility connections but ultimately the motions to approve the special-use permits failed. Outcome: denied.
- ZC25027 (Lockport Township, 14910 & 14750 S. Archer Ave.): The board voted to approve the commercial solar special use with conditions; the board also adopted a requirement that the developer bury on-site electrical interconnection lines as part of the approved conditions. Outcome: approved with conditions.
- ZC25050 (Crete Township, Bemis / Stony Island): The board approved the special-use permit for the community solar garden with conditions, and adopted the buried-connection requirement in committee before final approval. Outcome: approved with conditions.
- ZC25052 (DuPage Township / 13141 S. High Road, Romeoville): The county approved a map amendment from A-1 to I-3; the village of Romeoville registered a legal objection but the county moved forward with the change. Outcome: map amendment approved.

Public testimony and municipal positions
- Multiple municipal officials and school districts filed objections. Clarence DeBold (Mayor, Village of Shorewood) and David Silverman (attorney for Shorewood) told the board the village supports solar in appropriately zoned locations but not in the proposed sites, citing siting, school impacts and water/waste concerns. “Counties do have discretion in whether or not they approve a solar field,” Silverman told the board while urging the county to respect Shorewood’s comprehensive plan.
- Residents and local leaders near the Troy/Black Road sites pressed the board on wildfire/firefighting readiness, decommissioning and recycling plans for panels, noise and light, traffic and safety on adjacent roads, and impacts to wells and groundwater. Several residents provided photos of close proximity between proposed panel arrays and newly platted residential lots.
- Developers testified to mitigation measures including native pollinator seed mixes, professional landscape establishment, emergency response planning with local fire districts, and posted decommissioning bonds. Kevin Heumann (applicant representative, New Leaf Energy / Borrego Solar in the hearing) told the board the company would provide training for fire district responders and intends to post a decommissioning bond to fund site removal if needed.

Legal background and litigation
- Several speakers and counsel referenced LaSalle factors and court decisions. Developer counsel said litigation over earlier denials produced split outcomes in other counties and that the statute does not eliminate the county’s land-use discretion. The board later considered, in executive session, a proposed settlement of pending litigation tied to one of the solar cases; the motion to authorize that settlement failed on a recorded vote.

Board reasoning and vote pattern
- The full board split on individual projects: for some projects (Lockport, Bemis/Stony Island) the board accepted staff and PCC recommendations with an added condition to bury developer-owned interconnection lines; for the Black Road (Troy) projects the board ultimately denied the permits after members cited conflicts with local comprehensive plans, proximity to existing residences and other community impacts.

Ending: The meeting produced a mixed record: the board signaled willingness to approve commercial solar when the site and mitigation meet both county and municipal expectations, while rejecting projects that board members concluded were incompatible with neighborhood plans or raised unresolved public-safety and environmental concerns. Developers may still pursue other remedies in court or through amended applications.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Will County Board Meeting July 17, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Will County Board denied two special-use permit applications for large solar facilities in Troy Township but approved other solar projects with conditions, including burying on-site utility connections, after hours of testimony from municipal officials, school districts and residents.","taxTitle","Will County, Illinois","taxId",2549,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6165210,"Will County board votes to drop 140th Street expansion from plan, then removes entire transportation report after heated debate",10610,463000,11073000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5425870-ea09a42e6f24b9d25f6ceb504c1efdc7&start=463&end=11073","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5425870-ea09a42e6f24b9d25f6ceb504c1efdc7/thumbnail_463000.jpg","/articles/6165210/Will-County/Illinois/Will-County-board-votes-to-drop-140th-Street-expansion-from-plan-then-removes-entire-transportation-report-after-heated-debate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6165210-24c803cbcd3776f99206e343194c7399/orig.mp4?Expires=1770896937&Signature=o5~CO1OCZbh7s750ROJC1L-An8vxN-d~n5e2JELXR64U58sZx-VGAPiRljTXVFWvngK0fy0gwnCfY~tzjLLbWPl9p4LQFg2JECancX1hu0w-2QDKhytbqKFTdu413Hz3j7w8fW25KlCCJohsYmH4ByfX~R~4dpOA5jtf7BhLiWAgrdG6oyCLHXsYtYftaXk0EA3aFoIYkCzvCwqO~BLscKgJC342AXpV1vC8sHkiXIztnUIBnRBpzyLPE9VFQ7gydVCFFPTeaBqN8RJZBfz6Q~QDeyAz-7y8JBfbniGvJE9d79-0ur~cYeySoV2RoHMKyCuSlS5K0Ko-7kUlxoMatA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Will County Board members on July 17 voted to take the A Hundred 40 Third Street expansion out of the county’s transportation improvement plan (TIP) after extended public comment from the village of Homer Glen, Homer Township and nearby residents. Later in the session the board voted to remove the entire transportation plan matter from the meeting agenda after legal staff clarified that the TIP is a required reporting document the county engineer files with Illinois Department of Transportation.

The decision and why it mattered
Residents and local officials urged the board to stop or substantially scale back a proposed multi‑lane expansion of A Hundred 40 Third Street, a 3.5‑mile county project estimated in materials discussed at the meeting to cost tens of millions of dollars. Mayor Christina of Homer Glen told the board, “If this project was presented to you today … would you be willing to spend $70,000,000 on 3 and a half miles of road … knowing that an overwhelming majority of residents in Homer Glen time and time again ask you to please deny this expansion?” That question and similar testimony from Homer Township Supervisor Sue Stylin helped persuade a majority to remove the 140th Street item from the TIP.

But then a broader legal point changed the scope of what the board could do: Assistant State’s Attorney Sally Meyer told members the TIP is essentially a statutorily required report from the county engineer to IDOT, historically presented to the board as a courtesy. “The plan is supposed to be a report from the county engineer to IDOT as to what projects are pending in Will County,” Meyer told the board. She advised that removing an item from the board’s agenda does not, by itself, rescind previously approved project authorizations — only explicit board action to rescind a project would do that.

Board actions and votes
- The board amended the TIP to remove the A Hundred 40 Third Street expansion from the published plan; that amendment passed on a recorded vote.
- During debate the board voted to remove the entire TIP from the meeting agenda (i.e., not to take the board’s formal action on the document during this meeting). Members said they will still receive staff reports and can take future actions if they choose.

Public concerns cited
Residents and municipal representatives argued the expansion would run through or next to residential neighborhoods, harm community character and introduce more truck traffic and noise; they said local comprehensive plans and new commercial corridors should be favored instead. Opponents pointed to past traffic studies and later traffic counts showing that A Hundred 40 Third Street volumes did not meet thresholds cited in older county plans for a larger cross section. Supporters of the project said safety and forward planning justified the county’s planning process and noted federal funds and engineering work already invested.

Details and context
- Cost and scope: Speakers referenced a $70 million construction figure for the expansion; staff said project funding in the TIP was tied to existing programming and federal/state matching rules.
- Traffic counts: One public commenter cited the county’s own December 2023 study showing average daily traffic near 14,261 vehicles in a corridor where a higher volume is typically used to justify a four‑ or five‑lane cross section.
- Process: Assistant state’s attorney reminded members the LaSalle factors and land‑use due‑process rules apply when the board considers land‑use or similar quasi‑judicial items; she also warned members not to treat materials from outside the public hearing as part of the record.

What’s next
Board members asked staff to continue meeting with town and village officials and to return with further information. Several members said they want closer, earlier intergovernmental coordination on long‑range projects so residents, municipal plans and county programming can be reconciled before major studies and right‑of‑way acquisition begin. The TIP itself will be submitted by the county engineer to IDOT as required; the board’s decision to remove it from the agenda means the board did not take formal action on the document at this meeting, and any rescission of specific projects would require an explicit later vote.","Facing sustained public opposition and intergovernmental questions, the Will County Board voted to remove the A Hundred 40 Third Street expansion from its transportation improvement plan and then — after extended debate about the plan's legal status — voted to remove the full program from the meeting agenda and leave reporting to staff.","actionData","errors"]

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Will County board hears wide-ranging objections and approves some solar sites while denying others

Will County board votes to drop 140th Street expansion from plan, then removes entire transportation report after heated debate