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The Township Board of Trustees created
a Plan Commission several years ago and the Commission has regularly been
reviewing zoning and subdivision matters in the unincorporated portions of
the Township.
The Commission regularly makes
recommendations to the Board, which are considered by the Board in
formulating the Township's position on individual zoning and development
matters under consideration by Will County. The Township's position is then
forwarded to the County Board for their consideration.
Monee Township is still very rural, by
comparison to the remainder of the metropolitan area, and there is a large
amount of productive agriculture in the Township, operated by both land
owners and tenant farmers. The existing land use patterns reflect the
transition that has been taking place in the Township over the post World
War II era.
The northeastern portions of the
Township, which are included within the corporate boundaries of University
Park and Park Forest, are very urban, including high and moderate density
multifamily dwellings anti moderate density single family neighborhoods. The
southern portions of the Township tend to be considerably more rural in
nature, having only widely spaced single family residences. Areas closer to
the existing municipalities, particularly near Monee, have gradually
developed increasing numbers of low density, large lot residences.
Much of this pattern is due to the
County's Zoning Ordinance which discourages higher, more urban densities and
causes the inefficient settlement patterns that are evident throughout the
County. The long "bowling alley lots" which are very common in the rural
areas are a good example of the affects of the County's land use
regulations.
There is considerable property in the
Township that invites development; rolling and wooded parcels which are not
common to other portions of the County can be found in Monee Township. These
areas make beautiful home sites and tend to be very attractive to new
residents. The quality schools and public services found in the Township add
to the attraction. The slow rate of growth that has been experienced over
the past decade is probably due in large part to the fact that so much of
the Township is not presently served by public water and sewer. If these
services were more readily available in the unincorporated areas of the
Township, the rate of growth would undoubtedly be much higher.
The Plan Commission is responsible for
the development of this Comprehensive Plan. They have coordinated its
development with the three municipalities within the Township and with
residents who reside in the unincorporated areas. The Comission used the
existing Will County Land Resource Management Plan as a point of departure
and developed this Revised Comprehensive Plan after careful consideration to
development trends, demographic data, existing land use patterns and the
adoption of a Goals Statement, which reflects much of the Township's
philosophy about guiding future growth.
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
The Summary Data Tables, presented
below, provide detailed information about some of the past and present
characteristics of Monee Township. In summary, although new housing
construction continues in Monee Township, the period between 1980 and 1990
showed a slight population loss, -2.1 percent. The same period also showed a
very slight decrease in the number of housing units, -0.09 percent. However,
there is suspicion that the 1990 census may not have been accurate, as has
been the case in several communities, and the data may be flawed. In any
case it is clear that the Township did not grow very much during the 1980's,
if at all.
There are no current demographic
estimates, nor a township-wide special census, to provide more current
demographic information. However, an increase in residential building
permits, and the presence of numerous new homes and subdivisions in the
Township, indicates that the next census will reflect a noticeable increase
in the Township's growth rate
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