P&Z: Wilton Township Brothers Win Five-Acre Lot Variances Over Staff Denial

Will County Planning and Zoning Commission | October 6, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Board Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, approved minimum lot area variances for two five-acre parcels carved from a single 10-acre farm field on West Arsenal Road, allowing two brothers to build houses on land their father gave them — and rejecting staff recommendations of denial on both cases.

Arsenal Road Lot Area Variance Key Points:

• Cases ZC-26-069 and ZC-26-070 each cut the A-1 district’s 10-acre minimum lot area to five acres, for the southern and northern halves of the former 10.03-acre parcel at 15748 W. Arsenal Road.
• Staff recommended denial of both, calling the deficiency self-created and saying the preferred fix was a map amendment to E-1 Rural Estate Residential.
• Both variances passed; the vote on the northern parcel was announced as 6-1, the only split result announced at the meeting.
• The county’s Land Resource Management Plan designates the area Rural Areas / Traditional Residential, and staff found both requests “Not In Conformance.”

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Board Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, voted to legalize two five-acre lots on West Arsenal Road in Wilton Township, approving back-to-back variances that county planning staff had recommended be denied.

The parcels were created earlier this year when, as both staff reports put it, “two owners were each deeded half of the original ten-acre parcel,” recorded as documents R2026033232 and R2026033233. The A-1 agricultural district requires 10 acres and 300 feet of lot frontage under Section 155-2.30, so the split left two lots that staff described as illegal A-1 parcels, unbuildable until brought into conformance.

Case ZC-26-069 and variance V-26-180 covered the southern five acres, acquired by Dino F. Borrelli on June 3, 2026. That parcel has 662.49 feet of frontage along South Walsh Road and 329.68 feet along West Arsenal Road; because it is a corner lot, no rear setback applies under Section 155-18.10(E)(2)(c). Case ZC-26-070 and variance V-26-181 covered the northern five acres, acquired by Joseph W. Borrelli the same day, with frontage only on South Walsh Road. The northern portion of that parcel contains Zone AE floodplain, and staff said the proposed single-family residence would not be built within it.

Planner Kaeli Wloch, who prepared both Sept. 25, 2026, staff reports, told the commission each applicant wants to build one house and a pole barn, and that conceptual site plans show the new structures meeting A-1 setbacks — 100 feet from the centerline of the road and 50 feet from side and rear property lines. The land is currently in agricultural use and holds no structures.

Wloch also corrected the record on location at the outset: “I believe this is in Wilton Township and then but the address is Manhattan.”

The Staff Case for Denial

Both reports found the plight of the owner was not unique. “The applicant wishes to maintain the A-1 zoning classification for this parcel despite its deficiency in lot area,” each report states. “The decision to create two deficient A-1 parcels cannot be considered a unique circumstance. The optimal zoning action would be to obtain a map amendment to change the zoning district to one that better suits the parcel configuration, such as E-1 Rural Estate Residential.”

Staff further found the variances “may alter the essential character of the locality,” reporting that no A-1 parcels in the surrounding area are deficient in lot area and that GIS aerial imagery showed no nearby parcels split to build two homes. Staff found no physical hardship and noted that dividing A-1 property into parcels below the 10-acre threshold “is a common practice that requires the parcel to be brought into conformance before the lot can be developed.”

Staff did find several points in the applicants’ favor, including that the purpose was not exclusively financial — “The applicant obtained an illegal A-1 lot from the previous property owner (his father) and is now coming in to correct the deficiency to make it a buildable lot” — and that a smaller lot area in itself would not impair air supply, raise fire risk, endanger public safety or adversely affect nearby property values.

Under the Plat Act, 765 ILCS 205/1, the division did not trigger the subdivision process because each lot is five acres or more and no new easements or streets were created.

Attorney Challenges the Character Finding

Attorney D. Cass Wennlund of Wennlund & Associates, appearing for the applicants, disputed the staff finding on neighborhood character.

“I believe there’s a little bit of a mistake in that, as far as talking about A-1 parcels of less than 10 acres,” Wennlund said. “There’s no less than three parcels on the south side of Arsenal Road that are two and a half acres or less,” including one owned by an aunt of the applicant and one owned by Wennlund himself. He said another nearby A-1 parcel is 6.3 acres, and that rezoning to an estate district would introduce estate zoning “into an area that’s fully agricultural.” The applicants, he said, “wish to remain in the A1.”

Wennlund said the applicant, a carpenter who builds custom homes, was married less than a month before the hearing and attended with his wife; that the five acres were a gift from his father, whose house sits a little over 1,000 feet away; and that the brothers grew up in the immediate area. He said the couple intend to build “their forever home” there.

He submitted letters from two nearby property owners — the owner of the home directly east and a neighbor across the street — stating they had no objection, with the second writer, who Wennlund said “has known these brothers most of his life,” expressing full support.

“I think it’s pretty unique when your dad gives you a property, you can build your house and stay in the neighborhood where you grew up,” Wennlund said. No objectors appeared in either case.

Votes and Agency Comments

The commission approved ZC-26-069 on a roll call the chair announced as passing, without a tally. When ZC-26-070 was called, the chair described it as “a similar and compatible case,” and Wloch said the north tract differed only in having frontage on one road rather than two, with identical agency comments. Chairman Hugh Stipan announced that variance as passing 6-1 — the only split vote announced during the meeting.

Both parcels sit in the Forked Creek Watershed, outside any Facility Planning Area, with no inventoried wetlands. Soils include Ashkum silty clay loam and Elliott silt loam. The Will-South Cook Soil and Water Conservation District filed Natural Resource Information Reports #5918 and #5917, both dated Aug. 17, 2026, finding little to no effect on the land.

The Wilton Township Road District reported no objection through its highway commissioner, in a Sept. 17, 2026, letter. The Will County Health Department, in comments from Environmental Health Services Director Sean Conners dated Sept. 4, 2026, said all septic and well setbacks must be met, that any existing septic system must be evaluated for adequate sizing for the proposed residence, and that a soil evaluation is required before a new system can be permitted. Wilton Township and the Manhattan Fire Protection District submitted no comments.

Under the ordinance advisories in the packet, a variance granted by the commission is valid for one year unless a building permit is obtained and work or use commenced, with extensions available for good cause. The parcels are in County Board District 2.