Part of Homer Glen farm plans to get down to business
BY MICHELLE MULLINS Correspondent October 24, 2012 4:56PM
Daley
Maps
Updated: November 26, 2012 7:17AM
The Homer Glen Village Board on Tuesday rezoned prime land on busy 159th Street to help entice new commercial development near the Interstate 355 exit.
Representatives of the Dunn Farm requested that 31.1 acres on the 138-acre site be rezoned from agricultural to commercial to lure potential developers to the property, attorney George Arnold said.
The land, which is on the south side of 159th Street between Cedar and Parker roads, is surrounded by other commercially zoned land and figures to be a major piece of the village’s future sales tax base after the Illinois Department of Transportation widens 159th Street from two lanes to four.
Officials envision 159th Street as the village’s major commercial corridor and have been working with IDOT, current business owners and planning consultants on how the street should be developed.
Village manager Cameron Davis said residents have long requested more grocery and general merchandise stores. The village’s comprehensive plan does not call for strip shopping centers to locate on 159th Street.
Rezoning the land shows that the village is business-friendly and will help the landowners who are seeking development, Mayor Jim Daley said.
Trustee George Yukich said he is tired of sales tax dollars going to major shopping destinations such as Schaumburg or Oak Brook, and hopes residents will shop Homer Glen.
The village relies heavily on its sales tax revenue since it does not levy a municipal property tax.
Not all trustees were sold on the rezoning proposal, though. Margaret Sabo cast the sole “no” vote, saying that rezoning the land without knowing what will be built on it is poor planning.
“It’s important it is done correctly and not done in a piecemeal fashion,” she said.
A developer still would need village board approval for any plans it has for the site.
