The South Beloit City Council approved an amendment to a development agreement with Rock River Development LLC to extend timelines while the city and developer continue efforts to acquire a Union Pacific right‑of‑way needed for a multi‑phase project.

City staff told the council the requested extension is necessitated by protracted right‑of‑way negotiations with Union Pacific (UP). “We really just had to kick this thing down the road a little further,” a staff member said, describing time needed to acquire the UP parcel and to include the acquisition in the city’s EPA wrap cleanup plan. Staff reported the city previously attempted a direct offer to UP for the parcel and cited a figure of $7,075,000 as an earlier offer attempt.

During the discussion, a council member warned that a single UP‑owned acre is blocking what the speaker described as a $90,000,000 development project: “This is holding up a $90,000,000 development project. One acre of land owned by the railroad company is blocking a $90,000,000 project from happening in this town,” the council member said, urging residents to contact Union Pacific on the city’s behalf. City staff said the EPA has been asked to press Union Pacific and that staff will continue negotiating with the railroad and the developer to find alternatives, including proceeding without the one acre if necessary.

The council approved the agreement amendment and related extension; recorded votes show multiple affirmative votes and at least one abstention by the mayor. The amendment leaves the substantive terms of the development agreement in place while extending deadlines tied to right‑of‑way acquisition and EPA coordination. Staff advised the council that additional negotiation and possible redesign may be required if Union Pacific does not sell or grant the needed parcel.

Next steps include continued negotiation with Union Pacific, further coordination with the EPA regarding the wrap cleanup plan, and ongoing discussions with Rock River Development about alternatives to include or exclude the UP parcel in the final project footprint.