Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison (right, 17th District) talks with Lemont Township Supervisor Steven Rosendahl after commissioners voted down a proposal to rezone a township parcel for commercial use. The parcel, zoned residential, is being used for a trucking business. (Kevin Beese/Chronicle Media)

Matthew Hedger has concerns about living right next to a trucking business. 

“I fear for my health,” said the Lemont Township resident. “I fear for my 5-year-old daughter playing near the property.” 

Hedger said he has talked with the owner of J.P. McMahon Petro-Chem Transport Group and gotten a clear message. 

“He told me I don’t belong there,” said Hedger, a resident on New Avenue for five years, 3½ years longer than the trucking company. 

McMahon has operated next to Hedger on property that is zoned residential, according to county and Lemont Township officials. 

Because a landscaping/snow-removal company had equipment on the New Avenue property when McMahon bought the land, the assumption was that the parcel was zoned for commercial use. 

“McMahon did make some mistakes when acquiring the property,” said Matthew Norton, an attorney representing the trucking company. “Because the property was used for a commercial landscaping business and a snow-removal firm, the assumption was that commercial businesses were allowed on the property.” 

Norton had sought a deferral when the zoning case involving the McMahon property was before Cook County officials last week. However, members of the County Board’s Zoning Committee voted 8-2 against deferring a decision on the parcel. 

Voting in favor of deferring the issue another month were Cook County commissioners Bridget Gainer (10th District) and Larry Suffredin (13th). 

Commissioners voting “present” on the issue were John Daley (11th) and Dennis Deer (2nd). 

Absent were commissioners Jerry Butler (3rd), John Fritchey (12th), Gregg Goslin (14th), Stanley Moore (4th) and Jeffrey Tobolski (16th). 

Commissioners then unanimously voted to reject any zoning change on the property, with Suffredin joining Daley and Deer in voting “present.” 

“This will lead to a lawsuit,” Suffredin warned over commissioners failing to defer the issue. 

The county’s Zoning Commission had earlier approved the rezoning request in a 3-2 vote. 

Adding to the drama surrounding the property, the village of Lemont had offered to annex the property and change the zoning on the parcel. 

Norton said his client would fit in with other businesses in the “primarily industrial” area. 

“There are barge and shipyard services nearby,” Norton said. 

Lemont Township Supervisor Steven Rosendahl, disagreed. 

“This plot of land is very residential,” he said. “There have been 175 houses proposed directly to the south. 

“They have dumped 40 tanker trucks in the middle of a residential area,” he said of McMahon. 

He said a trucking company does not fit the residential character of the neighborhood. 

“There are trucks 24/7 in and out of the site,” Rosendahl said. “The street is a two-lane road with vehicles traveling 55 mph. This property fails to meet the standards for commercial zoning.” 

Rosendahl noted that McMahon applied for a homeowner’s exemption on the property in 2016. 

“There is no reason to rezone it,” Rosendahl said of the property. “It doesn’t belong in the area.” 

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-=—  County commissioners throttle trucking company’s rezoning bid  —-