A proposed vehicle repossession business is raising concerns among officials in Orland Park and Orland Township.
Incoming Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge and Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady are encouraging residents to take part in a May 7 hearing by the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals, where the request is scheduled to be considered.
The business is proposed for property at 17101 S. Wolf Road in unincorporated Orland Township.
“The presence of repo lots can fundamentally change the atmosphere of our communities,” O’Grady said in a news release. “The unease and intimidation felt by residents cannot be overlooked. We want to foster safe neighborhoods where families feel secure, and that can be compromised by the intimidating presence of repossession activities.”
The petition seeks a special use permit from the county for a planned unit development that would include a vehicle repossession operation to ship vehicles back to dealers and to vehicle resellers, according to an agenda entry on a previous ZBA meeting.
Additional details about the business proposal were not immediately available.
Property taxes were paid and up to date as of early March, with the most recent installment of $35,000 paid, according to the county treasurer’s office.
Dodge, who will be sworn in as mayor May 5, said residents who live nearby are concerned.
There are homes on either side of Wolf Road near the proposed business, including the large Brook Hills subdivision, Dodge said.
“They are concerned about it because they don’t want it to look like a junkyard,” Dodge said.
The lot and other parcels along Wolf Road are in unincorporated Cook County, and Dodge said he “would love to have Orland Park more in control of what’s going on on south Wolf Road.”
That would mean annexing property, which may involve going to court to do forced annexations.
Dodge said the property had previously been used for school bus parking.
He said he hoped to be at the ZBA hearing and hoped residents would take part in the zoning board hearing, either in person or online.
“The village needs to work with the residents and landowners in that area to clean up all of Wolf Road south of 167th Street,” Dodge said in a news release released jointly with the township. “I’d prefer if those long vacant properties and former businesses were under village zoning control.”
“Repo lots and other businesses of this type near residences can change the character of the area,” Dodge said. “The potential for visual disruption caused by repo lots, often characterized by chaotic displays of vehicles in various states of disrepair, poses a risk to area aesthetics and may also negatively impact property values. These are legitimate concerns to take to the county meeting.”
He said that he did not know how the ZBA might vote.
“If they think this is a good use for the area, they will approve it,” Dodge said.
mnolan@southtownstar.com