Hearing Planned To Discuss Cemeteries As Special Use In Residential Areas

WILL COUNTY, IL — The Will County planning and zoning commission will hold a hearing to discuss changing cemeteries from a permitted use to a special use in residential zoned areas.

Earlier this month, the land use and development committee voted to send this amendment to a hearing at the planning and zoning commission.

The requested amendment comes after residents found out about plans for a cemetery on Meader Road in Homer Township. The cemetery, called The Muslim Cemetery, is located on a 40-acre property at 18131 S. Meader Road, and could accommodate 24,000 graves.

The cemetery is open to all Muslims "who desire to be buried in a dedicated Muslim cemetery in accordance with Sunnah (eco-friendly)," the website states.

An eco-friendly burial has no embalming of the body, and no casket. The body "is wrapped in a biodegradable shroud and placed directly into the earth," according to the cemetery website.

On its website, the cemetery said it plans to open by mid-2023. The project gained initial county approval in September 2021, and a county permit was approved in February 2023, according to the website. The cemetery is also offering grave sites free of charge as a service to the Muslim community.

Since the cemetery is a permitted use of the property, residents were unaware of the plans for the land until recently. Current permitted uses under the R-2A zoning include cemetery, cremating, religious assemblies and interment services.

Mike Theodore, the Director of Communications for the Office of the Will County Executive, told Patch that after a public hearing at the planning and zoning commission, the item would return back to the land use and development committee, and then to the Will County Board for final consideration.

Theodore said the posting for the public hearing must be at least 15 days before, and no more than 30 days before the actual hearing, so the plan and zoning commission couldn't hold a hearing until at least June.

The commission meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month.