Will County Reverses Zoning on Peotone Farmland to Facilitate 10-Acre Sale

Article Summary: The Will County Board unanimously approved a request to rezone a 10.08-acre portion of a property in Will Township back to agricultural use, reversing a 2023 zoning change. The move allows property owners Mark and Doris Baumgartner to combine two smaller lots into a single 10-acre parcel for a planned sale.

Peotone Farmland Rezoning Key Points:

• Location: 31414 S. Egyptian Trail in Peotone, Will Township.

• Action: The board rezoned 10.08 acres from E-1 (Estate Residential) back to A-1 (Agricultural).

• Purpose: The change allows the owners to create a single 10-acre parcel to sell, which conforms to the area’s primary agricultural use.

• Context: This vote reverses part of a 2023 rezoning that was intended for a five-lot residential subdivision, a project that was never fully realized.

PEOTONE — The Will County Board unanimously approved a map amendment for a 39-acre property in Will Township on Thursday, rezoning a 10.08-acre section back to its original A-1 (Agricultural) designation to facilitate a sale.

The property, owned by Mark and Doris Baumgartner and located at 31414 S. Egyptian Trail near Peotone, had part of its zoning changed from A-1 to E-1 (Estate Residential) in 2023 to allow for a five-lot subdivision. According to the county’s staff report, only one of those five lots was ever created.

The Baumgartners now intend to sell a portion of the land to an interested party. The approved rezoning allows them to combine two of the previously planned five-acre lots into a single 10.08-acre parcel that meets the A-1 zoning regulations.

The request received full support from county staff and committees before the final board vote. The Will County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Land Use and Development Committee both recommended approval with 5-0 votes.

County analysis noted that the predominant use within a mile radius of the property is agricultural, making the rezoning compatible with the surrounding area. Furthermore, a Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) gave the property a score of 234, placing it in the “Essential Farmland” category, which further supports its use for agriculture. The final board vote was 19-0.