Homer Township Farm Parcel Rezoned for Four-Lot Bruce Road Subdivision

Will County Board | September 17, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Board on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, rezoned an 11.46-acre farmed parcel at 13915 W. Bruce Road in Homer Glen from A-1 Agricultural to E-2 Estate Residential with 19 votes in the affirmative, clearing the way for a four-lot minor subdivision over the objection of Member Judy Ogalla, who cast the lone no vote in committee and said the resulting deep, narrow lots invite conflict between neighbors.

Kirby Family Trust Rezoning Key Points:

• Ordinance 26-277 / 26-5252, zoning case ZC-26-045 (map amendment M-26-008), rezones PIN 16-05-34-200-022-0000 from A-1 to E-2. The parcel has 572 feet of frontage along Bruce Road and 867 feet along Meader Road.
• The applicant is the Kirby Family Trust, with Mark Kirby and Beverley Kirby each holding a 50% interest as agents and Nathaniel Washburn of KGG LLC as attorney.
• Four lots of 2.5 acres each are proposed, with 205 feet of frontage along Meader Road; Lot 4 would front both Meader and Bruce roads. A final plat in the packet, prepared by Geotech Inc. of Crest Hill, names the development Lonesome Dove Estates.
• The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval 7-0 on Aug. 18, 2026, with no objectors present; the Land Use & Development Committee recommended approval 6-1.

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Board on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, rezoned a Homer Township property in Homer Glen from agricultural to estate residential classification, approving the map amendment with 19 votes in the affirmative.

Member Sherry Newquist presented and moved Ordinance 26-277 / 26-5252; Member Denise Winfrey seconded.

The case, ZC-26-045 (M-26-008), involves the Kirby Family Trust, with Mark Kirby and Beverley Kirby each holding a 50% interest listed as agents and Nathaniel Washburn of KGG LLC serving as attorney. The parcel is PIN 16-05-34-200-022-0000 at 13915 W. Bruce Road.

According to the staff report prepared by Jesus Briseno and dated Aug. 7, 2026, the 11.46-acre property has no existing structures and is actively farmed. The owner proposes four lots, each 2.5 acres with 205 feet of frontage along Meader Road, with Lot 4 fronting both Meader and Bruce roads. Because dividing the property produces parcels smaller than five acres, a minor subdivision process is required, and that process is underway. The staff report notes that creating four lots under A-1 zoning would leave all of them illegal, nonconforming lots, and that the rezoning is intended to bring them into compliance; both A-1 and E-2 allow single-family homes by right.

Staff recommended approval, finding the change compatible with surrounding zoning and in conformance with the county’s Land Resource Management Plan, which places the property in the Suburban Communities development form where residential uses are permitted. No Land Evaluation and Site Assessment score was calculated. The report notes the property was acquired in 2026 per the recorded deed, that the Illinois Department of Transportation records 1,500 annual average daily traffic on Bruce Road with no data available for Meader Road, and that the parcel sits in the Hickory Creek Watershed and the Illinois-American Facility Planning Area. Soils identified are Camden silt loam, Pella silty clay loam and Ozaukee silt loam.

Among agencies notified, the Will-South Cook Soil & Water Conservation District determined in Natural Resource Information Report #5894, dated May 27, 2026 and signed by Resource Assistant Lindsay Johnson, that the activity “will have little to no effect on the existing land.” The Illinois Department of Natural Resources terminated consultation in EcoCAT Report #2616074, also dated May 27, 2026, concluding adverse effects are unlikely. The Village of New Lenox transferred review authority to the Village of Homer Glen in an Aug. 5, 2026 email from Village Planner Jennifer Neubauer, writing that the property “lies on Homer Glen’s side of the Boundary Agreement.” The Will County Health Department, Homer Township, the Homer Township Road District, the Homer Township Fire Protection District, Homer Glen and the City of Lockport submitted no comments.

The Planning and Zoning Commission’s statement of facts records that no objectors were present at the Aug. 18, 2026 public hearing and that the commission recommended approval 7-0. The Land Use & Development Committee recommended approval 6-1.

The Lone Dissent

Ogalla identified herself as that single committee no vote and explained it on the floor.

“I was the one no vote at land use, and that is because I have seen when we have these smaller parcels next to each other,” she said. “I know that in this area there are smaller parcels, but I’ve seen the issues that come about when you have smaller, like bowling lane, parcels. The impact of one resident on another resident is pretty extreme because there’s not a lot of frontage. So it’s just a deeper lot with not a lot of frontage.”

She added that she understood what the applicant intends. “I don’t prefer this type. I know that they are looking to do that, and I know the person who owns it intends to live on one of the properties that it’s being split up into. So I will be a no vote because of that reason.”

No other member spoke on the item, and no one appeared during the public comment period for agenda items, which the chair had specifically opened to land use matters earlier in the meeting. The board moved directly to a roll call, and the clerk announced 19 in the affirmative.

The ordinance takes effect upon passage and approval. Applicants were advised they must comply with the current Will County Building Ordinance and Codes under Resolution 01-442 and with the Water Resource Ordinance for unincorporated Will County.

Homer Glen and Homer Township have produced several of the board’s more contested land use cases this year. At the Aug. 20, 2026, meeting, a map amendment from C-2/R-2 to C-4 on vacant property on West 159th Street in Homer Township failed on a 16-6 vote, short of the 17 affirmative votes needed for the supermajority that case required, after the Land Use & Development Committee had voted 3-4 to deny it. That case, ZC-26-020, continued to draw written public comment in the September packet.

The next Land Use & Development Committee meeting is scheduled for Oct. 1, 2026.