Battery storage land in Lake County, Illinois

Use the September amendment for the right jurisdiction

The county’s legislation record concerns unincorporated Lake County. Exhibit B adds commercial storage as a conditional use and addresses site-plan review, buffering and site-development permits.

Give the team the property location and ask which authority reviews its proposed use. If the parcel is within a municipality, ask for that municipality’s applicable rules rather than assuming the county amendment answers the question.

Ask the team to distinguish a separate commercial battery facility from equipment serving an existing use. Request the rule, category and remaining approvals it is relying on. If you received an earlier offer, ask whether the September change affects the layout or the review steps described in it.

Reference: Lake County: passed September 8, 2026 sustainable-energy amendment, file 26-1016 · Lake County: Exhibit B, commercial storage and application requirements

Ask what the utility has agreed to

Appendix V requires utility-connected commercial or accessory storage developers to provide written local-utility authorization acknowledging and approving the connection before a building permit is issued.

Ask what document the team has today and what it covers. Is it for this battery design, the proposed connection point and the amount of power contemplated? What study, agreement, equipment work or cost remains?

For example, a team may have started discussing a connection while still waiting for the work needed to support it. Ask for a plain account of that remaining work and the effect on the proposed start date. The requirement to obtain authorization does not mean that authorization already exists.

Compare that explanation with the option. Who can extend the reservation while connection work continues? What is paid during the extension? When does operating rent begin, and what happens if the necessary connection cannot be secured?

Reference: Lake County: Exhibit B, commercial storage and application requirements

Put water, drainage and existing rights on the map

Appendix V calls for a scaled site plan showing features including waterways, wetlands, floodplain, drain tiles, utilities and utility easements.

Tell the team about wet areas, ditches, known tiles and buried lines. Share any existing map you have, but identify uncertain locations as uncertain. Ask what investigation is needed to establish the conditions the design relies on.

If the battery area is only part of the property, show how you reach and use the rest. Ask whether a proposed road, trench or drainage change would affect that retained area. Discuss who documents conditions before work, handles a reported problem and arranges repair.

An inquiry does not require you to produce the application’s engineering plan. Start with the location and what you know. If the team later requests entry for surveys or tests, ask for the scope, timing and repair arrangements before allowing the work.

Reference: Lake County: Exhibit B, commercial storage and application requirements

Treat a waiver as a separate property decision

The commercial-storage provisions describe setback waivers as written agreements in covenant or deed-restriction form, subject to director approval, recording and continuing effect on the land.

If asked to sign one, request the document and the exact boundary or neighboring use it affects. Ask why the design needs it, what happens if the layout changes and how the right would be released if the project is not built.

Have your adviser explain the effect on a future sale or another use of the affected property. You may be reviewing a waiver concerning land beside the battery rather than a lease of the battery site itself. Ask which document provides payment and which changes a property right.

Do not assume that a waiver can solve every design or permitting issue. Ask the team to explain what other approvals and constraints remain for the actual proposal.

Reference: Lake County: Exhibit B, commercial storage and application requirements

Discuss the screen, entrance and operating contacts

Ask where the fence and landscaping would be placed, which views they would screen and who maintains them. Discuss whether the entrance would be shared with your other use of the property and how maintenance vehicles would reach the equipment.

Request the operator’s routine and emergency contact details and ask how you would be notified of an issue affecting access to your land. If the project changes hands, find out who updates those contacts and remains responsible under the agreement.

Keep a dated drawing with the payment and responsibility schedule. For each area the team wants to use, identify its purpose, duration, payment and repair obligation. A small equipment footprint can still involve roads and electrical rights across other land.

Start a property conversation with Sunland

Provide your name, email and phone number, then the Lake County location. Add the current use, area you could consider and any existing offer or energy agreement if known. Property details are optional.

Tell us which question matters most to you: utility progress, drainage, a waiver, access or the option timetable. An inquiry lets us review what you know and discuss next steps. It does not grant entry or commit your land to a project.