Four undeveloped lots near Morning Glory Community Church in central Peoria are slated for a development of new residential duplexes.
The properties between Twelve Oaks Drive and Parish Avenue required the Peoria City Council to remove a special-use requirement for elderly housing that dated back more than 65 years.
“I met with the neighbors and, yes, we've had much discussion about it,” District 2 council member Chuck Grayeb said Tuesday before the council’s unanimous vote approving the plan during a busy two-hour meeting.
“I'm very much in favor of removing the elderly stipulation, as proposed by our staff. These are market-rate units. They're going to really be positive for a very quiet neighborhood; it's going to stay quiet.”
According to city documents, the church owns the lots and intends to sell them to developer Tommy Lee Arbuckle III of AFE Construction. The properties will be developed into 4-5 duplexes with no age restrictions.
The largest of the four lots runs along the east side of Parish Avenue, north of Louks Avenue. Two other adjacent lots sit north of the intersection of Louks and Twelve Oaks, while the last lot is at the southwest corner of Twelve Oaks and Forrest Hill Avenue.
Assistant Community Development Director Leah Allison said the special use for elderly housing covered about five acres, and the area being removed for the duplex project is a little less than two acres. She said the elderly requirement was put in place in 1959.
“Part of the property developed, with duplexes — wonderful duplexes that were intended for senior residents. Part of property has not developed and has never developed,” said Allison.
“So the real change is just allowing the development, which the developers indicated will be duplexes, but allowing those to be occupied by any persons that wish to reside there.”
Expansion of urban decay abatement program
At its next regular meeting, the council will consider expanding a tax incentive program aimed at upgrading blighted properties in specified areas.
The current urban decay abatement ordinance applies to new owner-occupied residential construction, mainly in the Averyville area and the South Side. City attorney Patrick Hayes said the state legislature modified the program to now include renovations to existing homes.
“So if an individual spent money rehabilitating a residence, the increased taxes based on that improvement would be rebated to that individual for 10 years,” Hayes told the council during a first reading of the proposed ordinance amendment.
“The whole purpose of this program is to encourage single-family, owner-occupied homes to be either built or rehabilitated in these neighborhoods. As we know from our land bank activities and demolitions, we've created a lot of open lots and a lot of opportunity in those areas for individuals who might want to invest.”
Council member John Kelly advocated for the change, and thanked the area’s legislative representatives for getting it approved in Springfield.
“I certainly hope, this will make a difference in ... some of our neighborhoods, and to the benefit not only of those neighborhoods, but benefit of the whole city,” said Kelly.
Riggenbach champions ‘tiny homes’ model
Council member Tim Riggenbach continues to advocate for considering “tiny homes” as one approach to addressing homelessness.
Riggenbach said a similar-sized community in Arkansas is using a tiny cabins model to house about 25 unsheltered individuals, adding it's the type of program Peoria should give a closer look.
“There's organizations around the country that have done this,” he said. “We don't have anybody stepping up to the plate yet, but I think it behooves us as a council to dig a little deeper, find out what the costs are, what the ongoing costs are, what the staffing needs are, how that all comes together.”
Riggenbach said Peoria should “be aggressive” in seeking solutions to assist the unsheltered community, with funding for a temporary shelter expected to end no later than June 30.
Freedom & Remembrance Memorial project
The council approved spending up to $109,700 to build a parking area and sidewalk at the Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Park on the South Side.
District 1 council member Denise Jackson said the monument near the intersection of Adams and Griswold streets honors veterans and others who were buried at the former Moffatt Cemetery.
“I just encourage the public and everyone, once it's complete, to please go down and visit the Freedom & Remembrance Memorial Park, which commemorates all of those buried there who fought for freedoms and rights in this country,” she said.
The city accepted a low bid from Illinois Civic Contractors, Inc. of $99,716, with a little less than $10,000 added for contingencies.
Construction is expected to begin this spring and be completed by September. Once the construction is complete, a sign will be added to the memorial site.
Pay raise for Urich
A measure approved as part of the consent agenda gives city manager Patrick Urich a 3% salary increase, retroactive to Jan. 1. That amounts to about $6,600 and raises his annual base salary to a little more than $226,750.
The increase follows a February performance review of Urich for 2024 that determined he deserved of the raise. The city’s highest paid employee, Urich usually receives an increase following the performance review; his raise a year ago came out to about $6,400.
Urich, who has served as city manager since 2011, also receives a $5,000 longevity bonus.
The resolution also reconfirmed Urich’s authority to give other management employees pay raises of up to 4%, in compliance with the city’s collective bargaining agreements.
City finances
Urich presented the monthly unaudited city financial report for January, showing revenues about $7.2 million lower than expected while expenditures are about $11.3 million lower.
“As we look at we try and structure that out over the course of the year, we're in a pretty — it's pretty early, I guess right now, to say anything major about that,” said Urich, noting one area of particular concern is a dropoff in Personal Property Replacement Taxes [PPRT] that is expected to last all year.
District 5 council member Denis Cyr cautioned his colleagues to keep a close eye on the city’s cash on hand, noting that the makeup of the council will change after the April 1 election.
“I'm very, very concerned, and I know [finance] director [Kyle] Cratty is very concerned also, about the next few months,” said Cyr. “What scares me more than anything else right now is the fact that five of us are running for election to keep our seat, and whether I'm back or not, I want to make sure that everybody understands that it's critical to pay attention to our cash flow next six months or so.”
Other council actions
In separate agenda items, the council voted unanimously to deny a request to increase the limit on the number of Class 2 tobacco sales licenses, and to approve updates to storm water management policies and procedures.
Among the other items approved Tuesday as part of the consent agenda were:
- Entering into a service agreement not to exceed $922,703 with OpenGov, Inc. for the city’s Enterprise Asset Management System;
- Granting a site approval for a liquor license at Coco’s Tacos, 319 Main St., contingent on a certificate of occupancy;
- Making a series of five appointments to various boards and commissions: John Drea to the Downtown Advisory Commission; Emily Shields to the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria; Ciaron Graham to the Peoria Housing Authority Board; Cecilia Buckner to the Peoria Public Library Board; and Keith Wresinski to the Transportation Commission.
Three other items were approved unanimously following brief discussions after they were removed from the consent agenda by Cyr:
- Updating an intergovernmental agreement with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ATF];
- Partially abating taxes previously levied on the Holiday Inn property tax special service area in the amount of $160,000;
- Partially abating taxes previously levied on the Peoria Sports Center property tax special service area (Louisville Slugger Sports Complex) in the amount of $150,000.
The mayor also delivered four proclamations, in recognition of Women’s History Month, the 150th anniversary of the Peoria Fire Department, the city’s first Lego League Challenge, and Multiple Sclerosis [MS] Awareness Week.
