The most significant decisions from last night’s council meeting are:

• On the November ballot will be a referendum asking Peorians if they want to override the state’s new primary election rules.
• The new snow route plan was approved. Public Works Director Dave Barber stated that his philosophy is to plow the streets with the highest ADT (average daily traffic) first for “safety” purposes, rather than plowing the streets with the most population density first. He also stated that the city should be able to be completely plowed within 18 hours of a major snow event under this new system.
• The electronic billboard was approved for the Knoxville-Pennsylvania-interstate intersection. Planning & Growth Director Pat Landes stated that the City staff reversed itself and recommended approval because Adams Outdoor Advertising had satisfied the City’s conditions subsequent to the council communication being distributed. The City’s conditions were (1) that Adams provide proof that the State (IDOT) approved of an electronic sign next to the expressway, and (2) that Adams provide proof that the light emitted from the electronic sign would be no brighter than a traditional sign. Second District Council Member Barbara Van Auken moved to approve the special use. She said the issue before the council was not the placement of the sign (decided in February 2007) or whether the council likes billboards in general; the issue instead was whether Adams satisfied the City’s conditions. She also implied that the zoning commission’s recommendation for denial was based only on the fact the City’s conditions had not been met, but that’s unclear to me from reading their minutes; they may have had additional reasons for denying it.

Furthermore, regarding the billboard issue, it’s come to my attention that Peg Murphy, the executive director of Family House which is immediately adjacent to the property the billboard is on, wrote a letter to other council members that stated, in part:

I am writing because I am concerned about the impact of the large lighted billboard just beyond our home. I only had the information from the Journal Star article concerning the zoning meeting. I called and spoke to Barbara Van Auken, our council person and she told me that she would be asking for approval for the billboard. She said that the appropriate documents have now been submitted to indicate that the lighting will have little impact on the surrounding neighbors. I hope this is correct. Because of the height of our home and its primary use -sleep and comfort for our guests, we are naturally concerned.

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn’t sound like Family House was properly notified of the zoning commission meeting, since Ms. Murphy states she only heard about it from a Journal Star article. She should have received a notice in the mail since her property is most assuredly within 250 feet of the billboard’s property. It also makes one wonder if the residents of affected homes on Linn Street were properly notified of the hearing.

Second, the e-mail was sent on August 12, and she states that Ms. Van Auken told her that “the appropriate documents have now been submitted to indicate that the lighting will have little impact on the surrounding neighbors.” However, one wonders how that is possible, since that’s one of the conditions that the Zoning Commission and the City said was not met, and was in fact the reason the item was deferred from August 12 until August 26. I suppose it’s all a moot point, since the documentation has been provided now. But I found it curious. Perhaps Ms. Van Auken received the information before the City did. Still, it’s too bad that an adjacent property owner felt that her concerns were not adequately considered before the decision was made.