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Public hearing on Calumet Country Club rezoning wraps up after 4 days of questioning

A young protester helps chalk messages on the sidewalk at village hall in Homewood on Tuesday expressing opposition to the proposed development of a warehouse/fulfillment center on the site of the former Calumet Country Club. The Homewood Planning and Zoning Commission will hold its fifth session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to consider a rezoning request that is prerequisite to the development. 

 

A young protester helps chalk messages on the sidewalk at village hall in Homewood on Tuesday expressing opposition to the proposed development of a warehouse/fulfillment center on the site of the former Calumet Country Club. (Andrew Burke-Stevenson/H-F Chronicle)

After a marathon session on Wednesday, the Homewood Planning and Zoning Commission portion of Calumet Country Club issue could be near an end. 

The commission reconvened a public hearing shortly after 10:30 a.m. that originally began on Feb. 11 and was continued three times. The meeting adjourned shortly before 6 p.m.

The seven-plus hours included several hours of residents’ questions and comments, a brief rebuttal from representatives of the developer and additional questions from commission members. 

The commission plans to meet again at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to possibly conclude its deliberations. 

After the commission makes a recommendation to the village board, the final decision will be made by the village trustees. 

If granted, the rezoning request would change the acceptable use of former Calumet Country Club from open land to limited manufacturing. The package also includes a special use permit and an amendment to the village’s land use plan to account for the change. 

The request came from W&E Ventures, which plans to develop the property into a warehousing center that would generate an estimated 300 to 350 truck visits per day. 

The proposal has generated considerable opposition from area residents. Of the more than 17 hours of hearings stretched over four meetings, most of the time has been devoted to residents asking challenging questions about the project and its impact on the village.

Opposition, often passionate, again dominated the meeting Wednesday, although there were three speakers who supported the project and cited its potential for generating jobs and economic opportunity. 

Most speakers were critical of the potential for the development to cause noise, air and water pollution that they believe would have a negative effect on residents of Homewood and neighboring communities.

Although the public hearing concluded, the commission meeting Thursday will be open for the public to witness deliberations. The commission is expected to convene at Homewood Village Hall, 2020 Chestnut Road, and by video conference on Zoom.

Attendance in the village hall board room is limited in order to comply with physical distancing requirements. Everyone entering the building is required to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth.

Members of the public can access the meeting remotely by dialing 1-312-626-6799, then entering meeting ID 991 8481 1606 and passcode 573 812.

The public hearing also can be accessed online on Zoom. For online access, go to the website zoom.us, click “Join a Meeting” and enter the above meeting ID and passcode.

Area residents can still submit written comments to the commission by sending email to [email protected]. All comments will be distributed to the commission members.

David Janocha (left) and Keaton Fisher (right) celebrate Angela Mesaros’s resignation just after learning it. (Andrew Burke-Stevenson/H-F Chronicle)

 

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