New Lenox and Manhattan Approve Updated 20-Year Jurisdictional Boundary Agreement

New Lenox Village Board of Trustees Meeting | February 23, 2026

Article Summary: The Village of New Lenox formally adopted an updated Intergovernmental Cooperative Planning and Jurisdictional Boundary Agreement with the neighboring Village of Manhattan, replacing an expiring 2005 pact.

Boundary Agreement Key Points:

• Decade-Spanning Pact: The new agreement sets mutual development borders for the next 20 years.

• Territory Shift: A slight boundary modification shifts a parcel of land previously designated to Manhattan over to the New Lenox side to create a more logical eastern border.

• Local Control: Outdated 2005 provisions dictating impact fees and housing densities between Delaney and Baker Roads have been eliminated, allowing each municipality full zoning autonomy in those areas.

The New Lenox Village Board on Monday, February 23, 2026, voted unanimously to authorize a new Intergovernmental Cooperative Planning and Jurisdictional Boundary Agreement with the Village of Manhattan, ensuring clear lines of future development for both growing municipalities.

Following a brief public hearing where no residents chose to speak, Community Development Director Robin Ellis outlined the parameters of the updated pact, which replaces the initial 20-year agreement forged in 2005.

Ellis explained that the mayors and staff from both towns recently collaborated on the new map. The most notable geographic change is a slight adjustment that moves a designated tract of land over to the New Lenox side of the line, establishing a more logical boundary extending eastward.

A significant legislative change is the removal of restrictive development clauses that were written into the 2005 document.

“The 2005 Manhattan Boundary Agreement did have some special provisions related to impact fees and densities between Delaney and Baker Roads,” Ellis reported. “Those have been eliminated. So, each municipality can implement its own ordinances and Comprehensive Plans as it sees fit.”

Ellis noted the framework mirrors boundary agreements the Village recently executed with Frankfort and Homer Glen. The Board subsequently approved Resolution #26-12 in a 7-0 roll call vote following a motion by Trustee Bryan Reiser and a second by Trustee Lindsay Scalise.