South Cook News

The Orland Park Village Board denied two new zoning requests during its Feb. 6 meeting.

The first was a request to increase the amount of Class B tobacco licenses in the village from 10 to 11, which would allow Rubber Ducky LLC’s Windy City Vape to open a kiosk business to sell vape pens at the Orland Square Mall.

Some on the board believed the Orland Square Mall was not an appropriate location for that type of business, especially in a kiosk setting. Trustee Brian Riorden said the mall is a "very family friendly place" and one frequented by teenagers, so he did not believe it was an appropriate place for the business. Mayor Keith Pekau agreed, and trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes added that a vape kiosk in that location would cause additional problems for police who monitor the mall by adding age-restricted items for sale.

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau | Courtesy Photo

The Village Board also debated a zoning request for the property at 9920 W. 187th St., which falls within the jurisdiction of Mokena, not Orland Park. But because of the proposed use and the property's proximity to Orland Park, the Village officials were asked to weigh in with their vote. The County wants to rezone the property from agricultural to industrial to be able to use it as a truck repair facility.

The board members were largely opposed to such use, as it would be a major zoning change and would make a big impact on traffic in the area, especially with heavy duty trucks coming in and out of the property. Another concern was the appearance of the trucks that would remain parked there.

"[Will county] has already usurped our zoning and changed an R1 zoned property to I2," Pekau said in the meeting. "And when you go by that property, there are hundreds of trucks parked there and we can do nothing about it. They're using our roads that we're paying for. Mokena is supporting us on this, and I hope this time that Will County listens to our objections. Will County is not there taking care of those roads and Will County is not there doing any enforcement whatsoever. Quite frankly, the places look awful. [...] There are plenty of other places for them to go to."

The Village of Mokena agreed with the Orland Park Board in opposing the change the County wanted to make, the board said.