Change to state law would open door for East Dundee growth

East Dundee could extend its village limits if the Illinois General Assembly approves a law that would allow municipalities to leapfrog certain open spaces for annexation.

For years the village has sought to annex the GAT Guns property, a 5-acre parcel on Route 25 in unincorporated Kane County. The business, which is connected to the village's water and sewer supply, plans to expand and would benefit from development opportunities and incentives if it became a part of East Dundee, Village Administrator Frank Koehler said.

But the privately held Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation that sits between the village border and the GAT Guns property has stymied annexation plans. Under state law, municipalities may only annex noncontiguous properties if the territory to be annexed is separated by a ComEd right-of-way, an interstate or a public open space, such as a forest preserve.

However, the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation does not fit any of the criteria because it is a privately held not-for-profit entity.

State Rep. Keith Farnham is working to change the law to help East Dundee.

Farnham, a Democrat from Elgin, introduced an amendment to the state's municipal code that would allow a municipality to annex land that is not contiguous to the municipality if the property is separated by an area dedicated to conservation and owned by a not-for-profit organization.

In Farnham's proposed bill, a municipality must prove the conservation area creates an artificial barrier to preventing the annexation of a property that has access to the municipal water and sewer service, as well as existing easements and rights of way for access.

"The basic concept is that the village already provides water and sewer lines to them but they (GAT Guns) are not part of the village so the village cannot offer anything else in terms of developing the business, expanding the business or any type of tax sharing," Farnham said. "The idea is to bring them in, but we don't want to disturb Max McGraw."

A manager at GAT Guns declined to comment for this story.

Without the amendment, the village would need a piece of land through the wildlife foundation providing direct access to the GAT Guns property.

Koehler said the village and GAT Guns have held a pre-annexation agreement for at least 10 years, but have failed to find a way to change the boundary. If approved, the change to state law could open the door for East Dundee to stretch its border to also include Pampered Pets, Steinland and the Milk Pail Restaurant, Koehler said.

"To an extent it will bring in retail sales taxes," Koehler said. "But we can also cooperate with business owners who want to improve their properties along there without affecting McGraw."