Village Adopts New Zoning Map, Awaits Further Court Action

Liberty Temple Full Gospel Church may soon be allowed to operate out of a space in the Bolingbrook Commons, but they’ll likely be the last church to do so without acquiring a special-use permit from the village.

That’s because the village board officially put a new zoning map on record—one that lists the Bolingbrook Commons shopping center as B-2 community retail.

The new zoning map stemmed from a federal lawsuit between the village and church that alleged village Bolingbrook officials discriminated against church officials' efforts to relocate to a long-vacant space inside the shopping center near Interstate 55 and Route 53.

Essentially, the spat was over whether the property the church was trying to move into was zoned B-2, which would require a special use permit for the church, or B-4 commercial urban development, which would allow the church to move in without such a permit.

U.S. Judge Harry Leinenweber said on April 12 it was  and ruled against the village on the matter. A few weeks later, Leinenweber issued a temporary restraining order against the village.

Both parties are still waiting on further action from the court.

Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said the dispute was nothing more than a "scrivener's error,” and that as many as nine historical maps labeled the Bolingbrook Commons area as a B-2 zone. But when the village transferred its map from black and white to color, Claar said, staff forgot or neglected to carry over the label.

Speaking at Tuesday’s board meeting, Claar said it was unfortunate that the judge has ruled the way he has. He also said it will be a bit unfair that the entire Bolingbrook Commons shopping center will be zoned B-2 while the 10,000 square-foot space the church is expected to move into soon will be zoned B-4.

The new map also includes several other clarifications that were left off the old map, which was adopted in 2003.