Clare Jellick (who has a good blog of her own) reports in today’s Journal Star that plans to expand Glen Oak Zoo will be unhindered by the request to designate Glen Oak Park an historic site.

Section 16-86(d) of Peoria’s municipal code states (emphasis mine):

(d) Regulation during consideration period. From the date of filing an application until the date of a final decision by the commission, or if the commission recommends the designation, until the date of a final decision by the city council, the provisions of section 16-61 shall apply as if the subject property were designated as requested; provided, however, that this interim control shall in no case apply for more than 210 days after the application is filed. Once the area is designated as a historic district or a landmark, it shall comply with all the regulations set forth in articles I through IV of this chapter.

So, the next question is, what does section 16-61 say? Here it is:

Work on property and improvements shall be regulated as follows:

(1) Landmarks. No alterations, interior construction which affects structural members, exterior construction, removal of significant landscaping (for a shrub mass, more than 25 percent) or exterior demolition may be performed on property and improvements which have been designated under articles I through IV of this chapter as landmarks except as shall be approved by a certificate of appropriateness.

(2) Historic districts. No alterations, exterior construction, removal of significant landscaping (for a shrub mass, more than 25 percent) or exterior demolition may be performed on property and improvements located within an area which has been designated under articles I through IV of this chapter as a historical district except as shall be approved by a certificate of appropriateness.

However, Pat Landes, the city’s Director of Planning and Growth Management, tells Jellick that since the City Council approved a special use permit for the zoo expansion in June 2006, the city is going to allow construction to continue unhindered. She was pretty emphatic and definitive, reportedly saying, “The city has no plans to stop the construction of the zoo.”

Yet, according to section 16-4(c) of the municipal code (emphasis mine), “Whenever there is a conflict between the provisions of articles I through IV of [the Historic Preservation] chapter or a regulation adopted hereunder and the provisions of any other code or ordinance of the city, the more restrictive shall apply.”

It seems to me the City is breaking its own code in deference to the Park District. A plain reading of the code would indicate that the zoo expansion should be halted until the Historic Preservation Commission either approves or denies making Glen Oak Park an historic site. That the City is reluctant to enforce this temporary delay indicates, I believe, the City is unlikely to approve declaring the park an historic site either. Just a prediction.

Why? Because getting into a turf battle of this magnitude with the Park District would be expensive, acrimonious, and arguably disadvantageous for the city. Also, since the Park Board made the right final decision (from the City’s viewpoint at least) regarding the school siting issue, the City is likely to be more cooperative than they would have been otherwise.