Two months into a six-month ban on new business licenses and zoning permits, the Tinley Park Village Board carved out a few exceptions Tuesday.
The revised moratorium allows building owners to replace business tenants if they leave and allows existing businesses to relocate, as long as zoning and use codes are followed.
The original ordinance restricted the village from issuing new businesses licenses and certain zoning permits for 13 different types of establishments including grocery stores, coffee shops, gas stations, salons, dry cleaning and hotels.
Michael Coleman, Tinley Park’s community development interim director, said several business owners contacted him with concerns after the village implemented the moratorium in late August.
These business managers, Coleman said, owned buildings that housed up to 22 smaller business tenants, and the managers were concerned they would be unable to replace tenants if they left. Other business owners were concerned they would not be allowed to relocate their business location.
“I felt that the first week that it was passed brought up so much attention to it that I felt that it was right for us to go back, address it with management, which we did with the board, that would not hurt businesses,” Coleman said.
Coleman said the changes were especially good because the businesses that expressed concern have operated for quite some time and followed all codes.
The six-month moratorium, passed in August, restricts the village from issuing new businesses licenses for 13 different types of establishments.
The moratorium also restricts the board from granting development approvals for building permits, zoning relief requests, site plan approvals or any other discretionary administrative approvals.
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The ordinance is a part of a larger effort to align village development with an upcoming comprehensive development plan.
Village Manager Pat Carr said in August the moratorium was the culmination of more than a year’s work on a larger village planning initiative that began in 2024, known as Tinley in Tune. This plan aims to create a community led vision for the next five to 10 years. The previous comprehensive plan was more than 15 to 20 years old, Carr said.
Carr said it’s really just a pause on what the village is doing to ask what is really going to serve the residents in those specific areas.
The ordinance states the vision will be to promote sustainable and balanced economic growth, support a diverse and vibrant business community, enhance the character, aesthetics and walkability of certain commercial areas, ensure development consistent with the village’s identity and encourage land use that strengthens neighborhood vitality and long-term tax base stability.
Coleman said Tuesday he expects the comprehensive plan to be presented to the board in the next month or two. He said plan details will most likely be discussed with the plan commission within the next 30 days.