May 2017
Please Write and Call Council Members
The Peoria City Council may need to vote in June to extend their due diligence agreement regarding the planned sale of Riverfront Park land for private luxury apartments. As of May 8th the National Park Service has not approved the City application for sale and substitution of land further north for the federally purchased Land and Water Conservation Fund property at Riverfront Park.
The first 5 months of 2017 have seen several major events which make the proposed park destruction even more questionable. With Caterpillar moving its executive headquarters out of the city, many see the need to focus on development of the empty block in the heart of downtown that CAT planned for their world headquarters expansion and new construction. Severe rain events point to the need for green space and places to soak up rainwater. Monarch butterflies are being considered for the Federally Endangered Species listing and the existing prairie acre at Riverfront Park has food plants such as milkweed and butterfly weed. This prairie is not planned for replacement when the area is sold and destroyed for the proposed dead-end road to the apartments. As of the date of this newsletter article, signs were seen posted for apartment and condo space in at least four buildings downtown, including 3 in the heart of downtown and 2 in the Warehouse District which has received millions of dollars in public funds for infrastructure renovations.
Even if you live outside of Peoria, the Peoria riverfront and public parks are of benefit to you and your comment to Peoria City Council members will help.