Will County committee approves AZ Hard Rock quarry expansion despite residents' objections

At a meeting of the Will County Land Use and Development Committee, members approved a zoning map amendment and three special-use permits that would allow R E Land ILV Inc. (applicant represented by Castle Law and other counsel) to expand quarrying and related operations north of Essington Road in Wheatland Township.

The application, known as zoning case ZC24066, seeks rezoning to an I-3 industrial district for roughly the southeast corner of Essington Road and 127th Street in Bolingbrook, plus special-use permits for mining with blasting, concrete and asphalt mixing, and clean construction/demolition (CCD) fill operations. The applicant’s team said the project would extend the existing AZ Hard Rock quarry and include underground limestone mining, occasional blasting (they said “one to two times a week”), on-site asphalt/concrete mixing and use of CCD as fill. Marguerite (county planning staff) told the committee the operation would require state and federal permits, and that the applicant expects to comply with MSHA, IEPA and Army Corps requirements.

Why it matters: the expansion would place intensified industrial activity closer to established subdivisions, a local elementary school and other residential uses. Opponents described risks including blasting vibrations, potential effects on pipelines and underground utilities, impacts to Lily Cache Creek and wetlands, and declines in property values. The Village of Bolingbrook, Village of Plainfield and Plainfield Consolidated School District 202 submitted formal…