Will County reconsidering 159th Street storage after Homer Township, Homer Glen object
Michelle Mullins / Daily Southtown
The vacant farmland on 159th Street within Homer Glen’s planning boundaries that the village would like to see used for a mixed-use development.
By MICHELLE MULLINS | Chicago Tribune
PUBLISHED: July 20, 2022 at 4:42 p.m. | UPDATED: July 20, 2022 at 8:42 p.m.
A Will County committee will reexamine a proposal for a self-service storage facility to be built on just over 32 acres of vacant farmland after the village of Homer Glen and Homer Township objected to the plan.
Peter and Amy Katowicz, who own an outdoor, self-service storage facility in Volo, want to open a second Illinois location in the 15300 block of 159th Street, between Gougar and Cedar roads in Homer Township. The business would provide traditional drive-up and temperature controlled self storage and also areas to store boats and recreational vehicles.
The land is located in Homer Township, but it is on the border of Homer Glen and is in the village’s long-term plans. The Will County Board would have to change its zoning from agricultural to industrial for the storage facility to be built.
Melissa King, Homer Glen’s director of planning and zoning, said the village objects both to the industrial zoning and storage facility, which do not fit with the village’s vision for 159th Street. Village officials want the 159th Street corridor to host high quality commercial and residential properties that provide jobs and revenue for the town. The Homer Glen Village Board voted to file an objection to the plan last month.
Peter Katowicz said he is building a high quality, state-of-the-art facility that would complement the nearby area, and he plans to donate 10 acres of land in the back of his property to the Forest Preserve District of Will County, which abuts the proposed storage facility.
Homer Glen officials objected to the plan this summer because they would like input on developing the 159th Street corridor.
Melissa King, Homer Glen’s director of planning and zoning, said the industrial zoning and proposed use is not compatible with the area. She said the village’s vision is to have a mixed development with retailers, restaurants and other sales tax producers as well as offices and housing. She said village officials are concerned once the land is rezoned, other properties could be rezoned as well.
Homer Glen village manager Carmen Maurella said prime, developable land has sat vacant on 159th Street while the Illinois Department of Transportation completed its multiyear widening project and the village extended utilities.
“Let the village control the development is what we are asking,” Maurella said.
Will County Board member Steve Balich, who is also Homer Township supervisor, said Homer Township officials also object to the plan.
“The project itself looks nice,” Balich said. “It’s just in the wrong area.”
Bonnie Willis, a real estate agent representing the property and a Homer Township resident, said the storage facility fits well along the corridor, which also includes a gas station, furniture store, landscaping businesses, a picnic grove, vacant land and houses. Areas throughout the corridor have different zoning classifications.
She said if nearby residents objected, they would have protested to the county, but they did not voice any concerns. Rather, she said, she collected signatures from neighbors who supported the development.
The project would bring in sales tax and property tax without affecting schools or generating high volumes of traffic, Willis said. It would also give residents a place to store motor homes and boats, which is needed since many homeowners associations do not allow these recreational vehicles at a resident’s home.
Board member Jim Moustis, a Republican from Frankfort, said even though Homer Glen is located within 1 1/2 miles of the development, it didn’t appear any of the nearby properties were actively planning to be annexed into the village.
He said he doesn’t want to deny property owners the right to develop in unincorporated territory.
“What is your path to ever annexing this property in, because I don’t think it’s fair for unincorporated property owners to be in some kind of limbo or held hostage because municipalities have a 1 1/2 mile oversight,” Moustis said.
Several other board members expressed satisfaction with storage facilities within their districts and said they were an asset.
“A boat rusting in a neighbor’s front yard is unsightly,” said board member Rachel Ventura, a Democrat from Joliet. “A boat sitting in a storage facility where no one can see it regardless if it’s rusty or sparkling clean is not an eyesore. I would prefer people put their RVs and boats somewhere out of our neighborhoods.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
