Lemont OKs Annexation Agreement For 104 Acres Owned By CITGO Refinery

LEMONT, IL — The Lemont Village Board authorized the execution of an annexation agreement for 104.7 acres of property west of Smith Road, which is owned by CITGO, at Monday's board meeting.

The agreement is with PDV Midwest Refining, or more commonly known as the CITGO refinery, Village Administrator George Schafer said during the meeting.

"These are properties west of Smith Road...this is only the annexation agreement, there will be several steps to follow at meetings in the future," Schafer said.

According to Board documents, the annexation agreement is related to vacant property owned by PDV Midwest Refining. There are no development plans on this property, which has long served as a buffer to the refinery, board documents state.

"Regardless of any development of having the properties on Smith Road in the Village of Lemont, is that Bambrick Park will remain as open space. It will remain a park going forward," Schafer said. "That can be in our municipal jurisdiction, so we can serve it with our police."

Schafer said the action taken at the board meeting doesn't annex property, per say, but it outlines an agreement with CITGO. CITGO will execute on their end, and move forward with formal annexation, Schafer said.

"We are unusual in that there is a lot of unincorporated area still surrounding us," Mayor John Egofske said, adding that when the Village annexes property it gains some control over development.