Mayor to Make Announcement Regarding Palos Park Annexation Plan

Mayor Brian Reaves will update Lemont residents on an aggressive annexation effort by Palos Park during the Aug. 24 Village Board meeting.

Lemont officials in 2010 first learned of Palos Park Mayor John Mahoney’s plans to annex more than 2,000 acres of property in unincorporated Lemont in order to increase their sales tax base and gain access to major transportation routes, Patch previously reported.

The plan encompasses annexing property extending from McCarthy and Bell roads all the way to Archer Avenue, and includes Gleneagles Golf Club, Cog Hill, Gleneagles Country Club, Mid Iron Golf Club and Ludwig Farms. The Forest Preserve District of Cook County

Reaves said then that working with Palos Park on the matter was no longer an option. The property owners have ceased communicating with the Village, Reaves said Thursday.

“When you have an aggressive threat from a neighboring community that has no interest in making a boundary agreement ... to me that’s an aggressive threat,” Reaves said.

Recent developments include the Forest Preserve District of Cook County working alongside Palos Park to help bridge land gaps between the two municipalities. The forest preserve board is expected to vote on the matter as soon as Tuesday, Sept. 8.

The property owners have previously said they did not have any immediate development plans. However, “within the next five to ten years” they envision a residential development similar to Kensington Estates with somewhat smaller homes. Commercial development “would be one to three buildings of neighborhood retail development with a focal point such as a pond.”

Reaves will speak on the subject during the Aug. 24 Village Board meeting, set for 7 p.m. at Village Hall, 418 Main St.