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Batavia's mayor has a new warning following earlier comments about Gov. Pritzker's BUILD plan: developers already have their eyes on Batavia even as the legislation works through Springfield.
At the April 28 Committee of the Whole meeting, Mayor Schielke said that through his role as chair of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Council of Mayors, he's been told that speculators have been walking residential subdivisions, measuring lot sizes and side yards, and requesting access to Batavia’s water and sewer infrastructure maps.
Here's our earlier breakdown of the BUILD plan and Batavia's initial response.
Here's what to know now:
What developers are doing now: Schielke said at least three Batavia wards have had people quietly nosing around neighborhoods, doing the groundwork to identify whether certain lots could support additional units if the bill passes as written.
How close the bill may be: At least one official suggested the legislation could move quickly, describing it as "signature legislation for the governor" that hasn't changed substantially despite pushback from some municipalities.
Where Batavia's council stands: Batavia's officials are divided and haven’t taken a stance by voting on a resolution, but members agreed to schedule a full discussion at some point in the future.
The mayor emphasized that the issue should remain on council members’ radars.
"I can imagine the playback you will get from some of your constituency if suddenly they find out some guy wants to go down the street and build two houses in the backyard because he can retrofit them in there," he said.
Watch the full committee meeting recording.
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