Batavians Sound Off on Walgreens, City's Future, Comprehensive Plan

Batavia residents on May 23 urged city officials to rethink its policies in the hopes of creating a more vibrant and economically strong city.

The residents spoke to the city's Plan Commission during an open forum last Wednesday at . Six community members attended the forum and addressed the council about the Comprehensive Plan, including representatives from , and .

Each of these speakers addressed the difficulties of approving a Walgreens plan for downtown Batavia. Some also spoke about the larger issue of Batavia's economic growth.

“I’ve found, as a professional, it to be a very frustrating experience,” Steve Vasilion of Vasilion Architects, said. “I guess what I’d like to see is a review of the whole thing.”

The Comprehensive Plan outlines the City Council’s policies for the future physical growth of Batavia. The plan, which has a required annual review, has been brought up multiple times this year as the city worked through the and .

The proposal to move Walgreens to a larger building nearby had several parts that were not in line with the City's Comprehensive Plan, according to officials. The initial project that went before the Zoning Board of Appeals , or exceptions to the city's Zoning Code.

Wednesday's forum was the Plan Commission members' time to listen and they did, making few comments on what residents shared. Commission Vice-Chair Sue Petersen talked about the importance of having a Comprehensive Plan to aid in the commission's decisions.

"There has to be guidelines, something involving professionals," she said at Wednesday's meeting.

The Commission and city staff can use the public comments from Wednesday in their work to draft any proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Plan.

The amendments would eventually be presented to the Commission at a public hearing this summer. Then the Commission will vote to formally recommend any changes to the Batavia City Council.

What The Residents Said

One by one six men took their turn at the podium to speak to the Plan Commission. One of them was Dan Heckle, who currently works in Batavia and plans to move there.

“Flexibility is key in these situations to make sure we have vibrant businesses and community in downtown Batavia,” Heckle said. “(Batavia) isn’t Geneva, Elgin or Aurora. Batavia has its own personality. I urge you to grow on that.”

Vasilion agreed.

“It just seems to me like we’re forcing an issue to try to create an urban environment that I just don’t see as realistic,” Vasilion said. “What I’d like to see is a downtown Batavia that’s its own urban environment in which we work with what we have. … Let’s forget about trying to be Naperville. Let’s forget about what the textbook says about new urbanism. Let’s create our own new urbanism.”

Economic Development: Batavia's Top Priority

With the current sluggish economy and its effects on Batavia, community members voiced their concerns about using the Comprehensive Plan to boost business in the downtown area.

“We need to take our Comprehensive Plan and do what it needs to inspire economic growth in our community,” said Austin Dempsey, Batavia Enterprises vice president. “Batavia residents are feeling that (financial) pinch. And if they haven’t already, they will June 1.”

June 1 is just three days before property tax bills are due to the county. Kane County homeowners face a sharp increase in taxes this year. , an increase of 15.4 percent from last year, according to the Kane County Treasurer's Office.

Business owner Joe Marconi agreed with Dempsey, saying that the city needs to increase Batavia’s traffic flow.

“I have three shops in town and I’ll tell you something: business has never been so bad,” Marconi said. “You know, (any) Marshall Field's gets more traffic to their johns in a day than we get all year. … We’ve got to do something. We’ve got to get on the ball."

Marconi also praised the Dempseys for their contributions to the community through Batavia Enterprises. He urged the city to cooperate with them on the Walgreens project.

"I’ve lived in this community since 1972, and there has not been anything that the Dempsey family has not provided us with," Marconi said. "If we ask them to do anything, they’d do it. I think it’s payback time. I think what they want is not out of the question, and I think they should get it.”

Mayor Schielke's Message

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke talking about the challenge of growing the city’s economy when he addressed the board.

“One of the dilemmas as mayor is that most of the larger retail places are now sitting there vacant,” he said. “I think we need to open our minds a little bit … I’m not saying we should completely disavow it, but I think we need to open our thoughts.”

Schielke also explained his experiences with some businesses at Kirk and Butterfield roads in Aurora. Some of the shops there want to be considered Batavia businesses, so much so that they applied for Batavia Chamber of Commerce membership and ask Schielke to be at ribbon-cutting ceremonies.

When Schielke talks to the business owners about why they chose Aurora over Batavia, they explain that there aren’t many good retail areas, although Batavia has a business building at Wind Energy Pass and Kirk Road.

“I just share this insight with you as one of the dilemmas we see in the city government offices,” Schielke said. “We just have a lot of challenges out there. I think we need to have open minds to new ideas from the community.”

Working With Walgreens

Batavia city officials and Batavia Enterprises continue talks behind the scenes to see if a better downtown Walgreens plan can be developed.

The first plan was met with some praise, some reluctance and some resistance. In February, Batavia Enterprises proposed a new 14,490 sq. ft. building for the downtown Batavia Walgreens that would include a drive-through, fresh food, liquor sales and a high-end design.

Walgreens would move from its current location at 138 W. Wilson St. to the new building, which would be built on the former Prairie Path Cycles site at 122 W. Wilson St.

City staff, basing their decisions on adopted policies from the City Council, said the Walgreens plan goes against part of the future envisioned for downtown.

The city's Zoning Board of Appeals recommended some variances for approval, but surrounding the Walgeens site.

On April 18, Batavia Enterprises asked the Zoning Board of Appeals to reconsider their votes against recommending Variance #9 for the Walgreens project. They also asked the Board to table all other aspects of the project, including the remaining variances, the Conditional Use permit for a drive-through and the Design Review.

The Zoning Board voted 7-0 in favor of Batavia Enterprises’ request.

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke was scheduled to meet with Batavia Enterprises on May 22 to work on the building design.

City officials might also meet with Walgreens corporate officials in the near future, Schielke said at the May 21 Batavia City Council Meeting.

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