Aurora's Raddant Road townhome idea on Batavia planners' agenda

A Batavia committee will consider whether to let an Aurora townhome development connect to Batavia sewers - despite the fact some neighbors, who live in Batavia, don't care for the development.

The Batavia Community Development Committee, which meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Batavia Government Center, is considering the plans by Villas of White Oaks LLC to annex nearly 25 acres on Raddant Road to the city of Aurora, and build townhomes for senior citizens. George Kackert, co-owner of the land, is the agent for Villas of White Oaks.

Two years ago Kackert asked Batavia to consider annexing the land, but did not present a development plan. The CDC then decided the city shouldn't pursue the matter, feeling it would have more control over how any development was designed if the annexation proposal also included plans for the site. The proposed annexation would also have left an island of unincorporated property, owned by another person. Batavia planners wanted to try to get that person to annex also.

Kackert then turned to Aurora. To reach Aurora, he got Marmion Abbey, his neighbor to the south, to agree to annex some of its Christmas-tree farmland to Aurora. (Neither annexation has been voted on by the Aurora City Council.)

But for a variety of governmental and topographical reasons, Aurora would need utility, road and sewer easements from Batavia for the site.

The site is in Batavia's comprehensive planning area, but a boundary agreement between Batavia and Aurora has expired. The land is in the Batavia Facility Planning Area for storm and sanitary sewers, and Batavia controls access points off Raddant Road.