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Airbnb and Other Short-Term Rentals Now Legally Allowed in Peoria

Cass Herrington
/
Peoria Public Radio

Homeowners in the City of Peoria can now legally market their homes as short-term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb, but only after obtaining the appropriate license.

The ordinance passed at Tuesday night’s city council meeting also allows for some non owner-occupied residential properties to be used as short-term rentals if approved for a special use by the city.

“All of them have to have a local license, which is similar to a hotel license which has been in existence for many years in Peoria,” said Ross Black, the city's director of community development.

That license comes with an annual fee of $75. Neighborhood associations with restrictions on short-term rentals can contest a license application by providing the city with the established neighborhood ordinances within 10 days of a license request by a property owner.

Black said, “If that information is provided then, at that point the license will not be issued.”

Property owners also must pay the city’s hotel tax on any earnings received from a short-term rental. The city defines a short-term rental as less than 30 consecutive days. The new ordinance also applies to traditional bed and breakfast operations.

Development at War Memorial and University

In another matter, the council took the next step toward redevelopment of the vacant corner at War Memorial and University Street with approval of a special use requested by developer Katie Kim.

The zoning reclassification allows for development of a shopping plaza on the property that would start with a new banking center and drive-thru ATM.

Mayor Jim Ardis said it was the “first step in what we hope is a bigger and better use for that corner than what we’ve seen up there for quite some time.”

The nine-acre site that once contained a car dealership at one of Peoria’s busiest intersections has stood empty for nearly a decade.

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Tory Dahlhoff is a freelance reporter based at WCBU. He's also the host of the food and farming podcast Food Trek.