Peotone-Area Solar Site Wins Plant Height, Mowing Variances

Will County Planning and Zoning Commission | October 20, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Board Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 20, 2026, voted to approve two variances covering an 80-acre commercial solar site at 5949 W. Eagle Lake Road in Will Township, allowing ground cover to reach 36 inches and cutting the required number of mowings from five to two so the developer can plant pollinator-friendly species across the whole parcel.

Eagle Lake Road Solar Variances Key Points:

• Variance V-26-171 raises maximum ground cover plant height from 13 inches to 36 inches; V-26-172 reduces required mowings from five to two.
• The parcel already holds two solar special use permits — ZC-24-102 for the northern 20 acres and ZC-25-112 for the southern 50 acres.
• Earlier variances expired because they were not legally established within one year of approval, and a second set was written to cover only the southern 50 acres.
• The site scored 211 of 300 on the county’s Land Evaluation and Site Assessment, placing it in the Essential Farmland category.

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Board Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, voted to approve two variances sought for a commercial solar energy facility at 5949 W. Eagle Lake Road near Peotone, in unincorporated Will Township, resolving what staff described as confusion over which parts of the 80-acre parcel earlier variances actually covered.

The case, ZC-26-062, lists the Helen A Stumbris Land Trust as owner of record and John Prock of Cenergy Power (d/b/a ESP Will LLC) as agent. Both motions — on V-26-171 for plant height and V-26-172 for mowing frequency — passed on roll calls with no votes against recorded. One commissioner, Kimberly Feeney-Mitchell, was recorded absent from the meeting.

How the Variances Were Lost

The parcel, PIN 20-21-08-200-001-0000, is zoned A-1 and is a conforming A-1 property. It carries two commercial solar special use permits: ZC-24-102, which applies solely to the northern 20 acres, and ZC-25-112, which applies solely to the southern 50 acres. Both cases also included variances from the maximum plant height and mowing frequency standards.

After the first permit was approved, the applicant filed a building permit application for the northern facility. “While the applicant was completing the building permit requirements, the approved variances expired, as variances must be legally established within one year of Planning and Zoning Commission approval,” the staff report states. Rather than reapply, the developer revised its operations and maintenance plan to meet the standard zoning requirements and zoning approved the building permit.

The second permit created a different problem. The only legal description included in ZC-25-112 was that of the southern 50 acres, and that description was applied to the identical variances as well. “Staff conferred with legal counsel and determined that the variances approved under ZC-25-112 applied to only the southern 50 acres of the property and not the northern 20 acres,” the report states.

Jesus Briseno of the Will County Land Use Department told the commission the applicant “is now requesting variances for ground cover plant height and number of required mowings for the entire property which would apply the variances uniformly across the entire site and resolve any confusion over which areas they cover.”

The Pollinator Case

Staff’s findings under Section 155-16.70(I) rested on state policy encouraging solar facilities to use pollinator-friendly plant species native to Illinois and to participate in the Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Scorecard program. “For native pollinators to be able to propagate effectively, the plants sought for this site need to be able to grow to around 36 inches,” the report states, adding that deep-rooted native species recharge agricultural soils, aid water infiltration and suppress weeds.

Staff also found the variances would not alter the essential character of the locality, noting the parcel “is currently a farm field that can grow crops that often exceed 36 inches in height.” On the question of financial motive, staff wrote that the purpose is to let the developer comply with the Illinois Community Adjustable Block Program’s agrivoltaics requirements, under which ComEd customers can subscribe to the facility and earn credits toward their electric bills.

The commission asked no questions of the presenter, and the chairman reported no objectors or concerned citizens present. The agent did not address the commission before the vote.

Conservation Plan and Site Conditions

The Conservation Plan Agreement on file, between ESP Will LLC and the Will-South Cook Soil and Water Conservation District, is dated Feb. 17, 2026 and was executed in March 2026 — signed for the solar facility by Rodolfo Hernandez, manager. It records a pre-construction meeting and site visit at the project location on Eagle Lake Road on Feb. 17, 2026, attended by Robert Jankowski for the conservation district and Chad Chahbazi, a development representative with Cenergy Power, and a follow-up site walk Feb. 23, 2026 with Cenergy construction manager Jose Franco.

The plan commits to a 50-foot cool-season grass perimeter buffer built on the federal Conservation Reserve Program CP-1 standard, a drain tile survey and mapping, and repair of any damaged tile within two to three weeks by a qualified contractor, working with Huddleston McBride Land Drainage Co. Because the solar racking runs generally north-south and the existing agricultural drain tiles generally east-west, the plan states the roughly 90-degree orientation allows tiles to be spanned and avoided through pile layout. No fertilizer is proposed. Conservation district work is billed at $150 per hour, with two field visits a year for the first five years of operation.

The conservation district’s Natural Resource Information Report #5665, dated Aug. 9, 2024, calculated a Land Evaluation and Site Assessment score of 211 out of 300, placing the parcel in the Essential Farmland category against the district’s stated 185-point cutoff. The report identifies 22.7 of the 80 acres as hydric soils and lists the site’s four soil map units — Ashkum silty clay loam, Beecher silt loam, Markham silt loam and Elliott silt loam — as “very limited” for soil-based solar array anchors and unpaved roads. The district’s most significant concerns were identifying, repairing and maintaining the existing field tile system while panels occupy the site, and developing a soil erosion and sediment control plan.

The staff report states the property lies within the Rock Creek Watershed, with no wetlands or floodplains identified.