The City of East Peoria is in the final stages of completing a two-year process to draft its 2045 comprehensive plan.
Ty Livingston, the city’s planning and community development director, said the intent is to provide East Peoria with a “fluid” outline for growth.
“This is not meant to be something static that sits on a shelf. It’s something that we’re going to refer back to, we’re going to update as issues and challenges arise,” said Livingston. “This isn’t something that it’s set in stone and we can never go back and change it.”
A presentation on the nearly finished draft was delivered to the East Peoria City Council during a one-hour working session prior to Tuesday’s regular meeting. It focuses on five primary themes: growth and development, housing, transportation and connectivity, recreation and tourism, and plan implementation.
“That’s making sure that we’re thinking strategically and using your resources and capacity in the smart way as you think about growing the city’s boundaries, as we think about development and how future development impacts infrastructure and the environment,” said Cristen Harden, senior project manager for PGAV Planners.
Among objectives identified in the comprehensive plan is transforming the Four Corners sub-area around the intersection of Main and Washington streets into a “vibrant, mixed-use district” with the feel of a traditional downtown area.
“This is something that we heard loud and clear from the community when we asked, ‘What does the Four Corners district look like in the future?’” said Harden. “Peoria Heights, that was the number one example that we heard.
“So, one recommendation that we provided here is to make some amendments to the Four Corners overlay district to really just help facilitate that type of environment.”
Other recommended objectives include: enhancing walkability and bicycle transportation to make East Peoria more navigable; considering tiny homes neighborhoods to foster housing diversity and boost population density; and diversifying uses and activities at EastSide Centre to strengthen the city’s position as a sports tourism destination.
The draft of the plan also outlines strategies for future land use with potential new roadways and infrastructure improvements, and suggestions for bolstering Richland Farms sub area.
“With Richland, there’s a multi-faceted approach here. Some of it is allowing for different housing types,” said Livingston. “But it’s challenging.
“There are incentives available. One of the things we’re exploring with an expansion of the enterprise zone is introducing an enterprise zone for everything down to a certain size — and maybe single-family housing is not exactly where it’s at; maybe it’s a triplex or a duplex or something like that.”
The plan draft likely will be modified over the next few weeks based on the latest input from the council and city staff. A vote on formal adoption is anticipated at an upcoming regular council meeting.
