Planned Cemetery Is A Permitted Use For Meader Road Property: County

HOMER GLEN, IL — A cemetery in Will County in unincorporated Homer Glen is a permitted use of the property, a spokesperson from the Will County Land Use Department told Patch.

The cemetery, called The Muslim Cemetery, is located on a 40-acre property at 18131 S. Meader Road. A Town Hall meeting was planned Tuesday in Homer Glen with local and county officials to discuss the plans for the cemetery.

According to the cemetery's website, over 24,000 graves could be accommodated at this site. 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.

Mike Theodore, a spokesperson for the Will County Land Use Department, told Patch that the development request follows a permitted use of the property, so there "is no additional zoning action requiring approval by the Will County Board."

Permitted uses under the R-2A zoning include cemetery, cremating, religious assemblies and interment services.

The cemetery website also mentions a "full-service funeral home" in the future. Right now, the cemetery website indicates it is still in phase 1 development, with a plan to open for burials in July.

A dedicated funeral home is not a permitted use in R-2A zoning, and would require a request to change zoning, Theodore said.