Dixon annexes two properties in anticipation of 70-unit, 18-acre rental community development

DIXON – The Dixon City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday to annex two properties between College Avenue and Nachusa Avenue in preparation for an 18-acre rental community development known as Pirups Landing.

The properties sit next to each other along the 800 block of Taylor Court, which eventually will become the entrance into the community that is being developed by Ted Hvarre of Hvarre Development LLC. More than 70 new residential properties will be created through multiple four- and five-unit townhomes and a total of 22 one- and two-bedroom detached apartments.

[ Dixon City Council approves Phase 1 of 18-acre rental community development ]

The increased number of residential properties located out there was the biggest factor behind the city’s decision to annex the properties because it will ensure “they have to follow our rules and our codes,” City Manager Danny Langloss said in an interview with Shaw Local.

More than that, this area also is where the extension of the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program multi-use path is going to come through, Langloss said.

The ITEP path, which officially was completed in July, added 1.6 miles of new multi-use pathways that run west of Heritage Crossing. The city already has been planning to extend the path across the Rock River using the old Illinois Central Railroad piers, but it’s also applying for a grant that will extend the path south out to the Gateway Development near Interstate 88.

“The vision is that we’ll bring that bike path south over the tracks and kind of right around this new residential development, and then it’ll tie into Gateway,” Langloss said.

The city is applying for an ITEP grant through the Illinois Department of Transportation for the same type of funding that was used for the rest of the pathway. That application is due Sept. 30, Langloss said.

The city isn’t changing anything to the zoning of the two properties; the annexation is mainly to make sure the city is able to work with the people who will be living in the new residential development and is able to enforce city codes and ordinances in that area.

The first property, owned by Lee County Properties LLC, encompasses about 1.78 acres of land. The second is about 63 square feet and is owned by EEB Properties LLC, which is one of Hvarre’s entities, City Attorney Rob LeSage told the council Tuesday.

For properties that make up less than 60 acres of land and are “contiguous to and wholly bounded by the municipality,” Illinois law allows municipalities to annex that unincorporated property, according to Tuesday’s meeting packet.

Both properties are located within city limits and are surrounded by land that’s already incorporated into the city, Langloss said.

The council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.