By Karen Haave
Peotone Planning and Zoning officials are recommending village board approval for a zoning map change for a 28.66-acre parcel at 8650 W. Wilmington Road. 
Chalkstone Partners, LLC, petitioned the village for B-3 (Auto-oriented and Service Business District) zoning for the property on the north side of Wilmington Road, an area long designated R-1 for single family homes.
A routine, required-by-law notice of the March 15 public hearing was sent to nearby property owners, sparking confusion and panic that they were about to be “forced out” of their homes. The standing room only crowd appealed to the commission to block the requested zoning change.
During the hearing, residents said they feared significant increases in traffic, noise, and environmental pollution if an auto-related business is allowed to be developed there. Some residents felt the vacant property, with a large detention pond on-site, would be better-suited for open-space development, like walking paths or bike trails, and more compatible with the R-1 zoning in the surrounding area.
But members of the commission countered that residential development was incompatible with the nearby I-57 highway, and business zoning is more consistent with Peotone’s comprehensive plan and development trends.
Adjacent zoning and land use shows I-1 Limited Industrial District zoning to the north;  B-3 Auto-Oriented and Service Business District on the south; I-1 Limited Industrial District to the east; and B-3 Auto-Oriented and Service Business District to the west.
One long-time resident whose property is close to the site said during the meeting that he was not against the zoning change. “I don’t object to the rezoning,” he said later.
“I always knew at some point businesses would be put on that site. The rezoning letter we received stated it would allow auto related businesses. I spoke at the meeting to make sure no semi-truck service, repair and/or fueling be allowed. Rezoning was for ‘auto related.’ I don’t want truck exhaust and noise so close to the homes near the site.”
Chalkstone Partners have not submitted a final plan for the property, and no development is immediately planned. According to Chalkstone representative Neil Piggush, no development is expected to take place before 2024, at the earliest.
But preliminary plans included on the petition indicate the applicant proposes to construct a gas station, car wash, two fast food uses, and a hotel with an associated picnic area. According to the planning zoning/village staff report, the tentative proposed uses are consistent with those allowed in the B-3 zone.
Administrator Aimee Ingalls told the Vedette before the meeting that “The developer is not proposing any development currently. The petition is to rezone the parcel so they can market it more effectively and save any potential end users time and effort in obtaining entitlements.”
She emphasized it is only a concept to give the P & Z Commission “an idea of what they are thinking about” as potential development because “it might be difficult for the commission to see the need for a rezone without some idea of future development.”
Chalkstone Partners will be required to provide an actual concept plan to the village board for approval when they are ready to move forward.
The plan commission’s unanimous vote for an approval recommendation is expected to go before the village board for a final vote on March 27. 
Even with approval of the zoning change, however, the village has a list of conditions that must be fulfilled, including that:
  •  Future site-specific improvements must be reviewed by the Planning Commission for conformance to the village’s zoning code and design standards.
  •  Prior to the issuance of a building permit, a comprehensive sign plan must be approved by the village administrator or their designee. 
  •  Prior to the issuance of a building permit, the applicant shall provide a photometric plan to ensure all lighting is contained on site and does not spill over onto adjacent properties, including full cutoff fixtures and no up-lighting. 
  •  Carwash and other uses on the site shall not produce noise greater than those allowed by the municipal code 157.131 Noise at the property line. 
  •  Details of the proposed highway sign west of the proposed hotel will need to be provided and will need to meet the requirements of the municipal code. 
  •  Additional materials, such as pictures and reports, must be submitted, along with a schematic design. The staff report also notes that:
  •  There shall be no processing or treatment of products other than that which is clearly incidental and essential to the retail use as permitted. 
        •  Outside storage of refuse material is not permitted. 
  •  At least 10 percent of the area shall be landscaped and maintained as open space.
  •  There shall be no depositing of oil or oil waste in the sewer systems, such as waste products shall be removed from the premises by other means. 
  •  Criteria will need to be reevaluated when project site plans are presented. 
Moreover, the staff report notes the comprehensive plan is a guide that was approved with the consensus of the village board and serves as the policy for development. The current zoning does not fall into the intentions of the plan, and the village is presenting this case in order to bring the property into compliance with the comprehensive plan and surrounding development trends. 
In addition to the proposed rezoning, village staff has recommended the village makes further Zoning Code updates to accommodate the hotel use: 
  •  Update allowed language to permit a hotel use in the B-3 district to be a maximum of four stories and 50 feet in height.
  •  Update the definition of ‘hotel uses’ to prohibit stays of more than 30 consecutive days. Example language to add is: “No rooms shall be rented to persons whose occupancy exceeds thirty (30) consecutive days or exceeds thirty (30) days in any sixty (60) consecutive day period.”
In addition to the Chalkstone Partners petition, the planning and zoning commission heard two other requests during the March 15 public hearing.
The first was for a special use permit to allow a two-family in a single-family district. The second was for a special use permit in a B-3 Auto-oriented and Service Business district.
Both were given a recommendation for approval by the village board.