Will County’s Land Use & Development Committee on Dec. 5 approved time extensions for several approved commercial solar special uses and held a broad discussion about preconstruction meetings and upcoming state changes.

Planning staff explained that special‑use permits legally must be established within two years and that developers pursuing state permits have requested 180‑day extensions while they complete permitting. The committee approved first extensions for two commercial solar projects in Monee Township (one at 26845 S. Will Center Road) and noted previous votes at the county board when the permits were first approved.

During a longer policy discussion, staff asked whether preconstruction meetings should continue to be held on site when weather makes attendance difficult or when few officials attend. Opinions diverged: some members urged retaining on‑site preconstruction meetings because walking the site reveals drainage, landscaping and access issues that are hard to see remotely, while others said scheduling should not be dependent on board members’ availability.

Committee members also discussed a range of concerns about large, multi‑parcel solar developments — including fees, contiguous parcel issues and developer conduct when surveying fields — and asked staff to draft text amendments and fee adjustments in response to statewide changes. Project management staff (Colin) said the General Assembly had passed Senate Bill 25 and sent it to the governor; if signed, the county must adopt zoning/text and fee changes within 120 days.

The committee approved the extension requests (roll calls recorded: one extension passed 5–1, another passed 6–0) and directed staff to prepare ordinance text changes and a fee review related to solar, battery storage and related provisions for future committee consideration.