N. Aurora trustees oppose forest preserve purchase
North Aurora officials are not happy about the Kane County Forest Preserve District’s plans to buy 134 acres of farmland just outside village limits.
Trustees fear the purchase will leave the village unable to build a road through the site to connect to a subdivision west of it, as it had planned to do when it thought houses would be built on the site. They also think it will hinder the village’s growth to the north and west.
They don’t see how the site is any good for what the district says it wants to do, which is connect Dick Young Forest Preserve to the north with the Lake Run Forest Preserve to the west.
The village wasn’t consulted on the purchase or how it would affect North Aurora, and forest preserve officials aren’t returning calls on this or other matters, trustees said.
The board on Monday night voted 3-1 to send written opposition to the purchase of the site, which is south of Seavey Road. The village has, however, no authority to halt the purchase, according to Community Development Director Scott Buening, who suggested the resolution.
Buening also speculated the land’s owner, Oliver-Hoffman Corp., may be looking to dump assets, because the forest district last week bought 163 acres from the firm on Route 25 near St. Charles.
Trustee Laura Curtis said forest preserve Commissioner Jim Mitchell of North Aurora told her Oliver-Hoffmann had approached the forest district about selling. The forest district is busy buying $30 million worth of land, as authorized by voters in a referendum.
“Whether or not the landowners want to sell it to the forest preserve (district) is one thing. I guess that is fine, but I think we should have some say as to what happens to that property in the future,” Village President Dale Berman said. The land is in the village’s planning area, but is unincorporated.
Trustees fumed that they didn’t even know whether the forest preserve commission, which voted Oct. 11 to buy the land through negotiation or condemnation, had closed on the deal.
Trustee Vince Mancini, while deploring the lack of communication, voted against the measure because he didn’t think it was a good way to repair the relationship between forest preserve and village officials.
“I don’t know that passing this resolution is going to make that easier,” he said.
Mancini was also puzzled as to why the district wants the land.
“It is so odd they are buying this farm as a forest preserve,” he said, explaining that other than a small wetland, it is all farm fields and will only have a forest on it if someone plants trees. “Is it somebody connected to the county board?”
A check of campaign contributions on the Illinois State Board of Election’s website shows only a 2008 contribution of $1,000 to Citizens for Karen McConnaughay. McConnaughay is chairman of the Kane County board and a forest preserve commissioner.
The village has run stubs of roads and water and sewer utilities out to the site.