News
on Virgil Development News
on Virgil DevelopmentChicago Tribune
January 17, 2006
Officials in Virgil
have authorized the Kane County Forest Preserve District to pursue
buying more than 1,000 acres of open space in and around the tiny
village.
The property, concentrated on the north and east sides of
Virgil--population about 300 in west-central Kane--is owned by people
who are willing to discuss a sale, said forest preserve commission
President John Hoscheit.
If the entire 1,100-acre target area were purchased, it would be the
largest land buy in one location ever by the district, according to
Hoscheit.
Except for a small part of the Elburn Forest Preserve in its far
southeastern corner, "Virgil Township has no [significant] forest
preserve," said Hoscheit.
Prior to Kane voters authorizing in an April 2005 referendum the sale
of $75 million in bonds, "many of the people in Virgil contacted us and
said this is the one township in the county where there are no
significant holdings. They asked us to look in the area and we said we
would," said Hoscheit.
The move by the Forest Preserve District comes as Virgil struggles with
the size, scope and pace of its development.
"If we were to do something in that area, obviously the magnitude is
pretty significant," said Hoscheit.
State statute requires the Forest Preserve District to obtain the
consent of any municipality if it proposes to buy property within its
borders and for it to notify the town if targeted land is within 1.5
miles of its boundary.
"We're interested in acquiring some open space in Virgil but we didn't
want to do it unless we had the consent of the municipality," Hoscheit
said.
The Village Board's unanimous consent clears the way for the district
to acquire the property, portions of which have been designated for
residential development in Virgil's new comprehensive plan.
The Virgil board voted 4-3 last week to adopt the controversial
land-use plan, which opponents contend will bring too much development.
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