Peotone Township Homeowner Secures Porch P&Z Variance Despite Local Objection

Will County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting | April 7, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a street yard setback variance for an unpermitted front porch in Peotone Township, dismissing a written objection from the township board after learning the homeowner was excluded from the local review process.

Peotone Porch Variance Key Points:

• Elizabeth Botello requested Variance #V-25-169 to reduce the street yard setback from 100 feet to 85 feet for a 16×32-foot covered porch at 11335 W. Kennedy Road.

• The porch was constructed without a building permit, prompting a violation notice from the county in March 2025.

• County staff recommended denial of the variance, citing a lack of unique physical hardship on the property.

• Peotone Township submitted a letter objecting to the variance, but commissioners disregarded it after the applicant testified the township never invited her to a meeting to discuss it.

On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, the Will County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a setback variance for a Peotone Township homeowner, explicitly disregarding a written objection from the local township after the applicant revealed she was denied due process.

Applicant Elizabeth Botello, owner of 11335 W. Kennedy Road, applied for Zoning Case #ZC-25-125 and Variance #V-25-169. According to the staff report, the property was placed in violation in March 2025 after Botello constructed a 16×32-foot covered front porch without a building permit. When Botello submitted an after-the-fact permit, surveyors discovered the porch encroached 15 feet into the county’s required 100-foot street yard setback for the A-1 zoning district.

County Land Use Planner Jesus Briseno recommended denial of the variance. Staff noted that the desire to keep a structure that encroaches into a setback is “a personal desire and cannot be considered a unique circumstance,” and that the hardship did not come from the physical conditions of the land.

Briseno also noted that Peotone Township sent a letter formally objecting to the variance, though he admitted the letter “didn’t really explain the reasons why they were requesting a denial.”

During the public hearing, Botello testified that she lives in a manufactured mobile home that lacked a formal entryway, and she built the porch to provide a covered entry and a place to barbecue. She also informed the commission that she had been entirely shut out of Peotone Township’s review process.

“I have emailed them and I have called the road authority… and they haven’t called me back or emailed me back or anything,” Botello told the commission. When asked by Chairman Hugh Stipan if the township ever invited her to a meeting, Botello replied, “No.”

The township’s failure to communicate with the applicant effectively voided their objection in the eyes of the commission.

“Normally you’re in trouble if you get a letter opposing, but I don’t think this letter gave you very good due process to be heard,” Chairman Stipan told Botello. “I can’t put a lot of stock in it… they brought forth concerns but it doesn’t itemize their concerns so we know what they are. And they really kind of cut her out of the whole process.”

The commission voted 6-0 to approve the variance, allowing Botello to keep the porch and move forward with her pending building permits.