Lemont officials are asking that the zoning of 750 acres in Lemont Township be changed from heavy industrial and manufacturing to designations that allow cleaner uses and open space.
A contingent of about 20 officials and residents from Lemont made their plea for the massive zoning change when they appeared recently before the Cook County Building and Zoning Committee.
The chemical processing plants, concrete mixing and asphalt plants near the Illinois & Michigan Canal are part of the Lemont area’s industrial past and present, but they should not necessarily represent the future, said Mayor Richard Kwasneski.
“Many of the parcels are unsuitable for intensive activities. They lack good roadway access, utility service, well-drained soil, adequate buffering from surrounding neighborhoods, the downtown, and public recreation areas,” he said.
“The children and families are the endangered species in Lemont. We’re afraid our quality of life is being stolen by big, polluting industries,” said Linda Mathews, a resident of Lemont Township.
Peter Silvestri, committee chairman, said the Lemont group was persuasive in its argument.
“The residents really made a case to down-zone it because of the environmental impacts,” he said.
The Building and Zoning Committee is overhauling the county’s zoning ordinance, which has not been revised since 1976.
The panel expects to present its recommendations for a revamped zoning ordinance to the County Board in September or October.
Much of the land the village and township has targeted for the zoning change is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.
Silvestri said county officials, representatives of the water district, village and township need to meet to discuss the possibility of changing the zoning.
“The topic (of a meeting) would be how we can work together to improve the zoning in that area to improve the quality of life issues that people were talking about,” Silvestri said.
The village and township also asked the county to set up a procedure to more closely monitor existing industries to determine that they are complying with such regulations as containing outdoor storage materials.
If the county approves changing the industrial and zoning designations to attract lighter uses or even open space, Commissioner Carl Hansen said the county may have to accept a lower level of economic benefit from the area.
Robert Porter, township supervisor, said a changing community requires an altered zoning ordinance that reflects the area’s current conditions and makeup.
The village and township are burgeoning residential areas that have left behind some of their identity as “a blue-collar basin of employment,” he said.
“We understand there are some transportation uses that (will continue) to be important to the economy. But we would like the county to rezone it (the 750 acres),” he said.
The village’s population has grown from 7,348 to about 13,500 over the last 10 years. The township’s has jumped to about 18,000 from 13,000 over the same time.
“We’re kind of the south Barrington. We’ve really come into our own in the past decade,” Porter said.
