South Suburbs for Greenspace over Concrete is organizing a demonstration at the Homewood Planning and Zoning Commission meeting this week, where the body will take the next step in a settlement agreement with the buyer of Calumet Country Club.
The agenda for the 7 p.m. meeting Thursday at village hall, 2020 Chestnut, includes a public hearing to rezone the property from open space to limited manufacturing and amend the village’s comprehensive plan. SSGOC is asking like-minded residents to attend.
In a statement, SSGOC said it opposes the move because of the site’s proximity to residential homes and flooding issues in the area.
“Allowing this area to be rezoned will be done at a detriment to the public health from increased pollution, a detriment to safety through increased truck traffic and a detriment to the comfort and welfare of the community through increased noise and flooding,” the statement read.
The rezoning measure is part of a settlement agreement the village reached with Diversified Partners, which purchased the property and plans to construct a distribution warehouse. The firm threatened to disconnect the former country club property from Homewood if the village contested the development. A court date was set for March 5 until the settlement was reached.
Officials said there was little chance the village would prevail in court, and disconnection would have left Homewood with no oversight on the redevelopment project. If the property is not rezoned or other terms of the settlement are not met before a deadline in May, the lawsuit can resume.
SSGOC said its members believe the village hasn’t done enough to work with Hazel Crest, which would likely annex the land if it were disconnected from Homewood.