July 2015

Please Attend This Hearing! 

Peoria Riverfront Park. Just visible to the right is part of the 1.1 acre tallgrass prairie which will be lost to an access road if the proposed apartments are built in the park.

HOI members are urged to attend the City of Peoria Planning and Zoning Hearing on Thursday, August 6th, at 1:00 p.m. at Peoria City Hall, 419 Fulton St., 4th floor Council Room. We need to show the Peoria Zoning board how many citizens oppose rezoning that will allow the Riverfront Park apartments project to proceed. The developer is requesting a Special Use Zoning change which asks for R-8 high density multi-family residential zoning. Specific criteria must be met for the zoning change to be approved. HOI sees many concerns regarding the zoning criteria including:

• There are negative impacts on existing uses of the property within the general area of the property in question.
• There are substantial negatives on the suitability of the property in question for the uses being proposed.
• This project does not fit with the Official Comprehensive Plan of the City of Peoria.
• The project has many health, safety and general welfare concerns for the City in the general and the immediate area of the property.
• This project had negative impacts on the enjoyment of property by neighbors for its intended use.

If you can help by sending a thoughtful written comment that refers to specific zoning criteria to the Peoria Zoning chair, please phone the number below.

A revised site plan for the apartments raises added concerns. The city is in essence providing for a long driveway to the luxury apartments with the realignment of the street from the north end of Water Street by the RiverPlex. This street goes directly to the apartment complex from the south. The existing 1.1 acres of established tallgrass prairie will be destroyed. Hundreds of substantial trees will be destroyed, and there are many other concerns for negative impacts on the use of the area by sand volleyball players and Riverfront Trail users. Public parking will be removed that is currently available within a short walk to the Dorothy Sinclair Memorial Grove, located just north at the end of Morton Street and across the existing bike and walk path.

The Riverfront Park is the largest expanse of green open space along the Peoria City riverfront. In April, the City of Peoria approved an agreement to sell 5.8 acres of the park to a private developer for construction of four, four-story high apartment buildings and parking for 270 cars. Another acre of park will be paved for a street from the north end of the RiverPlex parking lot to the apartments.

For information on sending written comments in for the Zoning Hearing or details for the hearing day, please phone Joyce at 309-678-1011.