The Pekin City Council took steps Monday to restrict public access to the Lutticken property for now while it markets the land and a lake to prospective commercial and residential developers.
Mayor Mary Burress had a message for Lutticken homeowners about the rules. "They're protected," she said. "Nothing changes for them."
The nearly 1,000-acre Lutticken site — located between Illinois Route 98 and Sheridan Road on the city's north side — was purchased by the city for $14 million earlier this year, in part to expedite the long-awaited expansion of Veterans Road from Sheridan to Interstate 474.
About 625 acres are available for development. A planned $45 million sale of about 320 acres for a data center has begun the process.
Here are the rules for public access to the Lutticken property that also were designed for the city to avoid potential liability:
• The property is not open to the public.
• No public fishing, hunting and foraging is allowed, including on Lutticken Lake.
• No events will be held on the property without written permission from the city.
• No camping or drone operations are allowed without written permission from the city.
• The rules won't interfere or have an adverse effect on residents' land covenants.
• The rules can be updated by the council without a public hearing.
The council approved the rules 5-2, with Jake Fletcher and Rick Hilst voting "no."
Concerns were expressed during public comment by Amy Hasty, who owns property on Lutticken Lake, and later during the meeting by council member Dave Nutter about what they perceived as a lack of communication from city staff to Lutticken property owners about the rules.
"We shouldn't have learned about this through a meeting agenda item or second-hand conversations," said Hasty, who also inquired about how the rules would impact the residents' land covenants.
The rule about land covenants was added to the original list of rules as a result of Hasty's comments.
Nutter said communication with residents about the rules was not up to expectations.
"When I get calls from homeowners who had no clue what was going on, that's not fair," he said. "It's common courtesy. There are high-priced homes there and people have lived there for years. We should be above board with everyone about this property. I hope communication will improve, and I'm sure it will."
City officials said residents were not contacted about the rules before the meeting because they weren't affected by them, but residents in the future will be made aware of any proposed rule changes and development proceedings.
