Batavia caps video gambling licenses at 14 under new city rules

Batavia now has a firm limit on how many places in town can offer video gambling. The City Council gave final approval on Monday, Oct. 5, to three ordinances that set a license cap, add a distance rule near schools and churches, and change how the zoning code handles these businesses.

The changes had been in the works since summer. Here is what passed and what it means.

A cap of 14 licenses

The city can now issue no more than 14 video gaming establishment licenses citywide, and no more than nine in the Downtown Mixed Use zoning district.

Batavia currently has 13 video gambling licenses, eight of them downtown, according to the city. The new numbers leave room for one more: a city staff memo says the figures include Geneva Winery, which had a pending application under the old process.

The council can raise or lower the cap later as businesses apply for licenses or give them up. In practice, that makes adding a new video gambling spot a council policy decision instead of a zoning approval.

The cap passed 11-3. Aldermen Alan Wolff, Christopher Solfa and Tim Lanci voted no. Some council members had argued during committee review that a cap could be a barrier for new businesses.

A 100-foot buffer from schools and churches

The second ordinance bars newly licensed video gambling locations within 100 feet of the property line of a school or a religious institution.

Because that rule could affect places that already have gambling, the ordinance includes a grace period. If a business with a current license is sold, the new owner can keep offering video gambling at that location as long as the license is transferred within one year.

This one also passed over objections. Aldermen Wolff, Solfa and Jennifer Baerren voted against it.

A simpler zoning step

The third change removes the conditional use requirement. Video gambling establishments are now a permitted use in the zoning districts where they were already allowed. Before, each new location needed a conditional use approval with specific findings.

The same ordinance adds a definition for a video gaming cafe but does not allow that use in any district. That ordinance passed unanimously.

How Batavia got here

• July 20: The council's Committee of the Whole discussed changes and agreed the city code should spell out a set number of licenses.
• Aug. 19: The Plan Commission reviewed the zoning change and recommended dropping the conditional use step, as long as the council also set a cap.
• Sept. 29: The Committee of the Whole recommended all three ordinances.
• Oct. 5: The full City Council gave final approval.

What it means for you

If you run a bar, restaurant or club in Batavia and want to add video gambling, the path now runs through the council's license count, not a zoning hearing. Check the 100-foot rule before you plan a location near a school or place of worship.

If you are buying a business that already has gambling, note the one-year window to transfer the license.

The city's staff memo and the ordinances are posted with the council's meeting materials on the City of Batavia's public meeting portal. Questions can go to Batavia City Hall at 100 N. Island Ave.

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