Will County’s Land Use and Development Committee voted against a proposal to rezone several parcels near 159th Street from commercial/agricultural classifications toward industrial I‑1, after residents and municipal officials described ongoing nuisance conditions and argued the change conflicts with local planning.

Staff told the committee the request would trigger a supermajority (three‑quarters) vote at the County Board because the Village of Homer Glen filed a legal objection. Margie (county staff) said Planning & Zoning had denied the request last month and that Homer Township and numerous residents had submitted formal objections.

Residents described repeated property‑maintenance problems at the adjacent industrial parcel and warned that expanding industrial zoning would compound traffic, noise and safety risks. Chris Kowalski, who said he lives behind the subject property, told the committee: “I cannot have an industrial company behind our residential property.” Frank Reinhart, a longtime Cedar Glen resident and former transportation business owner, said drivers regularly sleep in trucks on the site and that trash and deep potholes at the entrance create a safety hazard.

Joe Babert, Homer Glen village manager, told the committee the village’s comprehensive plan calls for a mix of commercial and residential uses along the 159th Street corridor and that the village recently invested in wastewater infrastructure intended to serve nonindustrial development. Babert urged the committee to deny the rezoning because the request is inconsistent with Homer Glen’s plan.

The committee discussed whether a C‑4 (highway commercial) zoning would better align with local expectations, and staff noted the property could be rezoned to a commercial district instead of outright industrial. Several members said an outstanding open code violation on the existing I‑1 parcel weighed against approving a broader industrial designation. A committee member stated: “If we have a violation on an I‑1 property and the same owner wants to convert C‑2 to I‑1, I’m not willing to do that until we can be in compliance with the first property.”

On a roll call, a majority voted against the map amendment and the motion failed at committee. Because Homer Glen submitted a valid legal objection, the case will go to the full County Board and would require a three‑quarters affirmative vote to pass. The committee chair reminded attendees that objectors and proponents can present again at the full board.

What happens next: The failed committee vote does not change the operator’s current rights on the adjacent industrial parcel, which is regulated by the Village of Bolingbrook; the matter will appear before the full County Board for the supermajority decision.