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player ready...A proposal for a massive retail development is expected to draw a large crowd to a public hearing later this year, Mokena Planning Commission officials said.
Between 200 and 300 people are expected to show up for a discussion of the Harlem Irving Cos.’ proposal for a development featuring a Home Depot store and other retailers on U.S. Highway 30 west of Wolf Road.
The plan has sparked opposition in nearby neighborhoods but has been supported by other residents who say Mokena needs more to expand its commercial tax base.
The Home Depot plan is the second major retail development proposed for the intersection of U.S. 30 and Wolf, where a Kohl’s Department Store and a Target are expected to occupy the southwest corner.
With so many people wanting to comment, commissioners agreed to hold the public hearing in the commons area of Mokena Elementary School and schedule a special meeting devoted to the subject.
The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in late November or early December, Alan Zordan, community development director, said.
If one public hearing isn’t enough, other hearings will be scheduled, Chairman Bob Horras said.
“I don’t care if we have special meetings for a year,” Horras said. “We want to have all the information and we want you to have all the information.
“We’re not enemies. We’re all neighbors. We all live in this town,” Horras said.
In other business, the Plan Commission approved a body shop for 9646 W. 196th St. It declined to overrule a Site Plan Review Committee ruling that called for adding a parking lot connection and landscaping along La Grange Road as part of an addition to the Glen Ridge building.