Orland Park, Ill. | Village of Orland Park, Illinois - Government/Facebook
Orland Park, Ill. | Village of Orland Park, Illinois - Government/Facebook
During its Feb. 6 meeting, the Orland Park Village Board was tasked with deciding the fate of a pair of zoning requests for businesses in the community, one for a tobacco license and another for the proposed rezoning of a property from agricultural to industrial.
In the meeting, the board heard a request to add another Class B tobacco license in the village, increasing the number from 10 to 11, which would have allowed Rubber Ducky LLC’s Windy City Vape to open a kiosk at the Orland Square Mall to sell vape pens. Trustee Brian Riorden made a motion to reject the request.
“I just don’t believe that’s really where we want this to be sold,” he said. “Orland Square is a family-friendly place.”
Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes agreed, noting also that placing the kiosk in the mall would place an undue burden on the police department to monitor the mall by adding the sale of age-restricted goods. The proposal was rejected by a unanimous vote.
The board also heard a request to rezone property at 9920 W. 187th St., a parcel that actually is a part of Mokena, not Orland Park—a point that was made during the session. It was noted that Will County wants to rezone the property, but Orland Park officials were asked to make a statement on the issue with a vote.
Mayor Keith Pekau commented during the meeting that Will County “has already usurped our zoning and changed an R1-zoned property to I2.”
The property owners want to change the property from agricultural to industrial. Pekau mentioned that the property is filled with hundreds of trucks, and the Village is powerless to do anything about the issue.
“They're using our roads that we're paying for,” he said in the meeting. “Mokena is supporting us on this, and I hope this time that Will County listens to our objections. Will County is not there taking care of those roads and Will County is not there doing any enforcement whatsoever. Quite frankly, the places look awful. [...] There are plenty of other places for them to go to.”
The board also noted that the change would have an adverse impact on traffic, bringing an influx of heavy trucks in addition to the aesthetics.
The board ultimately voted to oppose the request.
Alerts Sign-up