Will County seeks input on zoning law revisions

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Updated: February 14, 2012 10:16AM

For the first time in 30 years, Will County is doing a full-scale revision of its zoning laws — which primarily determine what can be built, where, when and how — and residents will get a chance to weigh in on the changes.

Public workshops will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 18) at the Will County Forest Preserve District’s Sugar Creek Administration Center, 17510 W. Laraway Road in Joliet, and at 6 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 19) at the Frankfort Township office, 11000 W. Lincoln Highway in Frankfort.

The changes — dubbed “Renewing Will County” — apply only to unincorporated areas of the county, and are designed to streamline the zoning process, remove barriers to existing ordinances, eliminate needless provisions and redundancies, and adopt more energy-efficient policies, according to Curt Paddock, director of the county’s land use department.

Simply put, the changes should save individuals a lot of time, money and aggravation.

The public can view a draft of the proposed changes and make comments on it by visiting www.renewingwillcounty.com.

The county is not changing its zoning map or zoning but rather is addressing the process, Paddock said. The overall theme of the revision is to “remove those items that make property development more burdensome than it needs to be” without compromising the basic purposes of the zoning code, he said.

There have been 80 amendments to the zoning code over time.

“We needed to stop making piecemeal changes and reorganize it totally,” he said.

The revision, which cost about $175,000, was paid for with a U.S. Department of Energy grant. Several changes address trends in energy-efficient construction, and authorize the use of solar, geothermal and wind energy resources, making it less restrictive and more flexible, Paddock said.

With the process streamlined, county residents seeking minor variances will need only administrative approval rather than a full review by the county board. There will be more permitted uses in the existing zoning categories, eliminating the need for special-use permits, a six-month approval process and the fees associated with it.

“That should save a lot of anxiety for people,” said Tom Weigel (R-New Lenox), chairman of the county board’s land-use and development committee. There also are a lot of changes in terminology that people “will have to get used to,” he said.

One example of the changes is a proposal to eliminate a special-use permit for “Elder Housing Cottage Opportunities,” which allows families to build temporary housing for elderly relatives on their property. If an existing structure that isn’t up to code is damaged or involuntarily destroyed, the owners would be allowed to rebuild or repair the structure without meeting current codes. Previously, if more than 50 percent of a structure was damaged, owners had to rebuild and comply with current laws, Paddock said.

The workshops should draw people to find out whether there is anything they think would adversely affect them, or assist them, in completing a project, he said.

After the workshops, another draft of the zoning laws will be compiled and a formal public hearing will be held in the spring.

Individuals also may submit written comments to David Dubois, director of the development review division of the county’s land-use department, at 58 E. Clinton St., Suite 500, Joliet, IL 60432 or by email to info@renewingwillcounty.com.