New Lenox Advances Cedar Pointe Annexation and Rezoning on First Read

New Lenox Village Board Meeting | June 8, 2026

Article Summary: The New Lenox Village Board held a public hearing and first readings June 8 on ordinances that would annex, rezone and grant preliminary planned-unit-development approval for Cedar Pointe, a proposed 78-acre residential subdivision on the west side of Cedar Road south of Laraway Road. No vote was taken; the matter returns after the developer addresses staff comments.

Cedar Pointe Key Points:

• The plan covers a 78-acre site proposed for 121 single-family lots, 20 duplexes and 18 triplexes, with the triplexes fronting Cedar Road.
• The Plan Commission recommended approval last month, contingent on a negotiated annexation agreement and resolution of staff comments.
• Most of the property would be zoned R2A single-family; the Cedar Road frontage would be zoned R5, a three- and four-unit residence district.
• A resident pressed for wider bike paths and questioned townhome sizes; the developer said the project would continue to be revised with village staff.

NEW LENOX — The New Lenox Village Board on Monday, June 8, 2026, opened a public hearing and conducted first readings on a four-part package of ordinances that would annex, rezone and grant preliminary planned-unit-development (PUD) approval for Cedar Pointe, a proposed residential subdivision on roughly 78 acres on the west side of Cedar Road, south of Laraway Road. Because the ordinances were presented as first reads, the board took no formal action and is expected to take the matter up again after the developer responds to village staff comments.

Assistant Village Administrator and Community Development Director Robin Ellis told the board the site is contiguous to the Laraway Ridge subdivision to the west and Taylor Glenn to the south. Ellis noted that property on the east side of Cedar Road was brought into the village more than 20 years ago as part of an earlier village annexation agreement, giving the new request the contiguity required for annexation.

The requested zoning is R2A single-family residence district for the majority of the property, with the Cedar Road frontage recommended for R5, a three- and four-unit residence district, Ellis said. The preliminary PUD plat contemplates 121 single-family lots, 20 duplexes and 18 triplexes along Cedar Road. As part of the PUD, the petitioner is seeking deviations from the underlying zoning standards related to setbacks. “None of these are unusual and have been approved for other residential PUDs in the village,” Ellis said.

Ellis said all of the buildings would meet the village’s first-floor brick requirement, and the developer provided preliminary landscape plans for detention ponds and buffers along Cedar Road. The developer would also be required by Will County to widen Cedar Road from Laraway Road to the development’s entrance. On the park land question, Ellis said the annexation agreement anticipates a “turnkey” park site with improvements in lieu of a cash donation to the park district, while other taxing bodies would still receive cash- and land-in-lieu donations.

Ellis said the project would require water and sewer extensions running through Laraway Ridge and through the Taylor Glenn park site, as well as utilities along Cedar Road. The petitioner would also be required to contribute a proportionate share toward the Laraway Road relief sewer — a change village staff recommended. Staff sent the petitioner comments on the draft annexation agreement, Ellis said, flagging provisions that either restated existing village code or could not be supported. “Overall, subject to addressing staff’s comments, staff recommends approval of the annexation, rezoning and the preliminary PUD plat,” she said.

Resident Presses for Wider Bike Paths and Townhome Detail

The hearing’s lone public speaker was Thomas Noak, who said he was born and raised in New Lenox and works in the village. Noak praised a planned bike path the village is pursuing along what the recording rendered as a utility corridor and urged the village to build residential bike paths wherever possible, citing safety concerns with curb cuts along Route 30.

Noak questioned whether interior subdivision bike paths would be six feet or 10 feet wide and asked who would maintain a path along Cedar Road. Mayor Tim Baldermann said the Cedar Road path would be 10 feet wide, and Ellis said that where such a path falls within Will County right-of-way, the county would typically enter an intergovernmental agreement with the village for maintenance. Baldermann added that the village has secured a 50/50 cost split with the county for bike-path work tied to the Laraway Road widening, “which saved the village a lot of money.”

Noak also asked about the square footage of the proposed townhomes, saying the developer had indicated the units would sell for roughly $500,000 each. Baldermann said detailed cost-and-size questions are premature at a first read, but Ken Carlson, speaking on behalf of the developer, told the board the duplexes would be 1,800 square feet at a minimum.

Developer to Continue Staff Talks

Carlson said the development team received staff comments the prior week and that its engineer had taken a first pass at revising the plans, including widening the bike paths as requested. He said the team had a meeting scheduled with the park district to finalize the park contribution. One trustee, who said he lives on the village’s south side, said he was pleased to see continued residential growth and complimented the project’s layout.

Baldermann encouraged Noak to follow the project and return to speak at a later stage, after staff comments are incorporated. The board closed the public hearing and moved the four ordinances through first reading without a vote.