Commission Grants Green Garden Solar Farm Project Variance Extension

Will County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting | November 4, 2025

Article Summary: The Will County Planning and Zoning Commission granted a 180-day extension for two variances related to a commercial solar energy facility in Green Garden Township, allowing the developer to wait for optimal planting conditions in Spring 2026 before proceeding. The variances, originally approved in March, concern the mowing schedule and plant height for the native pollinator habitat required for the project.

Green Garden Solar Farm Key Points:

• The first-time extension was granted for variances associated with a 35-acre solar project on LaGrange Road near West Manhattan-Monee Road.

• The variances reduce the required number of mowings from five to one per year and increase the maximum allowed ground cover height from 13 to 36 inches.

• The developer requested the extension to allow time to prepare the site for planting a native pollinator seed mix in favorable spring conditions.

A commercial solar energy facility planned for Green Garden Township received a procedural timeline extension from the Will County Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

The commission approved a 180-day extension for two variances previously granted to applicant TPE IL WI258, LLC, an affiliate of TPE Development, LLC, for a 35-acre solar farm. The project is located on vacant property at the northeast corner of LaGrange Road and West Manhattan-Monee Road in Monee.

The variances, originally approved by the commission on March 4, 2025, are key to the project’s use of native plantings and agrivoltaics—the simultaneous use of land for agriculture and solar power generation. One variance reduces the required number of mowings from five times per year to just one, while the other increases the maximum allowable plant height from 13 inches to 36 inches. These changes are necessary to establish and maintain a healthy native pollinator habitat on the site, which is a requirement of the state’s community solar program.

According to a memo from county staff, the developer has not yet applied for a building permit because “favorable planting conditions for the site are not expected until after the variances expire on March 4, 2026.” The extension was requested to allow the developer time to prepare the site for planting in the spring of 2026.

The commission, which is authorized to grant up to two 180-day extensions for good cause, approved the request. The variances will now expire on August 31, 2026.