Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Rezoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Badger Daylighting rezoning in Homer Glen postponed after residents and village raise fiscal and compatibility concerns
Summary
Will County Board agreed to postpone consideration of Badger Daylighting’s map amendment (ZC26020) until August after village officials and residents raised concerns about infrastructure costs, lost impact-fee recapture and incompatibility with local comprehensive planning.
The Will County Board voted July 16 to postpone until August consideration of a requested map amendment by Badger Daylighting that would reclassify property on 159th Street in Homer Glen from C-2/R-2 to C-4.
Lydia Simray, speaking for the Indiana‑Illinois‑Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting, urged approval and characterized the project as a $6,000,000 investment that would create union jobs and strengthen the tax base. “This is a $6,000,000 investment that will bring Badger's operations to Will County on a permanent basis,” she said.
But Homer Glen officials and township representatives told the board the rezoning conflicts with local plans and could diminish long-term municipal revenue recapture. “The village has invested over $13,000,000 in infrastructure to serve previously unserved parcels,” Brett Westcott, Homer Glen village engineer, said, quantifying the village’s tap and impact-fee recovery calculations and arguing a residential development would recoup far more of that investment. Mayor Christina Nitsky Trojke said Homer Glen’s comprehensive plan (2005) does not include this site as a business park and that the village is updating its plan.
Residents of the adjacent Cedar Glen subdivision likewise opposed permanently changing nearby parcels to a C-4 classification allowing industrial-scale activity and heavy-truck operations. Commenters raised concerns about noise, traffic, groundwater/well impacts and the loss of tax revenue to schools and local services.
The applicant requested additional time to continue conversations with the village and neighbors; county staff said the postponement would allow the parties to seek potential solutions. The board approved the applicant’s request to postpone the map-amendment hearing to the August meeting (motion carried with 17 affirmative votes as announced by the chair).
The postponement preserves the status quo while the applicant and local officials pursue amendments or conditions aimed at addressing infrastructure recapture, buffering and neighborhood impacts. Board members said they want clearer written agreements and data — including any proposed legally binding commitments — before returning the matter to the full board.
