Geneva Council OKs special taxing area for 40-unit townhouse project

The Geneva City Council on Monday unanimously approved the creation of a new special service area to raise $700,000 in property taxes to finance the approximate cost of retrofitting electrical infrastructure for a 40-unit townhouse development.

Last October, the city council approved the final planned unit development and final plat of subdivision for Geneva Crossing, located along Stone Circle, just south of Williamsburg Avenue and east of Fisher Drive.

A special service area levies a property tax only for the project owners and future owners of the townhouses, officials said, not on any other city residents.

As the area is zoned for high-density residential use, it is in the best interest of the city to set up a special service area to pay for the electrical retrofitting, officials said.

The special service area will pay for design engineering and most of the electric distribution system over a period of 25 years with a maximum interest rate of 1% of the equalized assessed value, documents show.

After a public hearing in September 2024, the planning and zoning commission voted unanimously to approve the application from builder Lexington Homes for a zoning map amendment, planned unit development and subdivision request.

The townhouses would be mostly four-unit buildings, with one three-unit and one five-unit, documents show.

The 1,800- to 2,300-square-foot townhouses would cost from $500,000 to $600,000, documents show.

The company began construction in February.