Category Archives: East Bluff

City of Peoria, East Bluff, TIF

East Valley Growth Cell TIF Meeting

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Editor’s note: This post has been written and submitted by Frederick E. Smith, a resident of the East Bluff who attended the meeting on Monday, February 7.

There was a diverse crowd at the Glen Oak Community Center last night for the Monthly meeting of the EVGC TIF Advisory board, however the invited quorum of the City Council did not appear. Bobby Gray from the City Planning office, Randall Ray (City Attorney), Tim Riggenbach (3rd District City Councilman), and most importantly, the guest speaker, Steve Combs(sp) from the Enos Park TIF District, who added a definite flair to an otherwise bland and predictable PowerPoint presentation were in attendance to “educate” the audience on what a TIF is and how it works.

Mr. Combs was there at the behest of the EVGC Advisory Committee (the chairman of that committee, Richard “Mitch” Mitchell, sat in the audience instead of actually participating in the presentation.) and brought some new information as the the actual workings of the Enos Park TIF. It seems they (the original neighborhood folks who voted in favor of the TIF) did not have specifics down as to how the TIF funds would be used or which city entities would have access to them, and they are currently in an “adversarial” position with their City Council in Springfield. But Mr. Combs had many positive things to add about the possibilities surrounding a residential TIF and what can be done to turn a neighborhood around. Mr. Combs advice to us: “Hold their feet (the City Council) to the fire!”

Members of the audience of approximately 40 residents had the opportunity to ask specific questions, including how we could ensure the funds collected from a TIF (according to the Teska Report, up to $95,000,000.00 over the 23 year life of the TIF) would remain in the East Valley area and not be diverted to other projects around the city. Since the language of the proposal on page 17 states “The City may utilize net incremental property taxes received from the Project Area to pay eligible Redevelopment Project Costs, or obligations issue(sic) to pay such costs, in other contiguous redevelopment project areas, or those obligations issued to pay those costs, in other contiguous project areas, or those separated only by a public right-of-way, and vice versa,” one of the main concerns was that the funds could be diverted to pay for things like the Midtown Plaza TIF. While Councilman Riggenbach firmly stated that, as the 3rd District Councilman, he would fight to prevent any EVGC TIF funds from going to Midtown, City Attorney Randall Ray pointed out that, since the TIF proposal falls under state and federal law as to how it will be administered, that the funds could, by law, be diverted to other projects. He was also quick to point out that this codicil allows for funds to be placed into the EVGC TIF from other areas to “jump start” the TIF, making funds (that will have to be repaid) available before they are actually in place. The fact that the city council will be able to “shuffle” funds from one TIF to another is apparently a sticking point for some residents, judging from the reaction of the audience.

The meeting continued until 8 pm, when Councilman Riggenbach finally closed the meeting after several attempts to do so. The next meeting of the EVGC TIF Advisory Board will be on March 1st at 6 p.m. in the Glen Oak Community Center. East Bluff Homeowners are encouraged to attend.

City Council, City of Peoria, East Bluff, TIF

East Village TIF meeting Monday 2/7

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A public meeting is planned for the East Village Growth Cell TIF, and a majority of the City Council may be there:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A MAJORITY OF A QUORUM OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS, HAVE BEEN INVITED AND MAY ATTEND AN EAST VILLAGE GROWTH CELL TIF PUBLIC MEETING TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND GATHER PUBLIC COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT PLAN AND THE DESIGNATION OF A PROPOSED REDEVEOPMENT [sic] PROJECT AREA TO BE KNOWN AS THE EAST VILLAGE GROWTH CELL REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7,2011, AT 6:00 P.M. AT THE GLEN OAK COMMUNITY CENTER, 2100 N. WISCONSIN AVENUE, PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

NOTE: NO OFFICIAL ACTION WILL BE TAKEN BY THE CITY COUNCIL.

City of Peoria, East Bluff, TIF

Joint Review Board decision invalid; revote scheduled

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On December 27, 2010, the Joint Review Board approved the East Village Growth Cell TIF unanimously. However, the legality of that decision is now in question because the makeup of the Board is not compliant with state statute.

The Joint Review Board is composed of one representative from each taxing body and includes at least one member of the general public. State law requires (65 ILCS 5/11-74.4-5[b]) that “If, as determined by the housing impact study [or] … based on other reasonable data, the majority of residential units [in the proposed TIF area] are occupied by very low, low, or moderate income households […] the public member shall be a person who resides in very low, low, or moderate income housing within the redevelopment project area.”

The public member of the Joint Review Board is Debbie Ritschel, who resides at 401 Water, which is not “very low, low, or moderate income housing” nor “within the redevelopment project area.” Therefore, City attorney Randy Ray says the Joint Review Board will have another meeting scheduled for January 31, and “the agenda will call for them to declare a vacancy based on current public member being ineligible. An eligible person will then be nominated and elected. They will then consider ratifying their earlier action re TIF eligibility.”

I wonder how they will go about finding an eligible person. If you live in “very low, low, or moderate income housing” within the proposed East Village TIF, I would encourage you to submit your name for nomination. The public member is selected by a majority of the board members present at the meeting. The members of the Joint Review Board (not including Ritschel) are:

  • Dave Wheeler (Peoria Park District)
  • Dave Kinney (Peoria Public School District 150)
  • Joe Merkle (Sanitary District)
  • Stan Browning (Sanitary District)
  • Jim Scroggins (City of Peoria, Finance Director)
  • Patrick Nichting (City of Peoria, Treasurer)
  • Scott Sorrel (County of Peoria)
  • John Stokowski (Greater Peoria Mass Transit)
  • Glen Olson (Airport Authority)
  • Edward Szynaka (Peoria Public Library)
City of Peoria, East Bluff, Peoria Public Schools, TIF

District 150’s TIF proposal

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Tuesday night, Dr. David Kinney from District 150 presented a plan to mitigate the negative impact of a TIF by sharing some of the revenue with the school district. I mentioned in my live blog that he had distributed a PowerPoint handout to the council members; here is a copy of that handout:

TIF Presentation 2 Revised

Will the City approve this proposal? My sources say yes.

City Council, City of Peoria, East Bluff, TIF

Peoria City Council 1/11/11 (Live Blog)

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Tonight is the first City Council meeting of 2011. After proclamations and a “business showcase” presentation from Northwoods Mall, the City will hear from anyone who wants to talk about the proposed East Village TIF. Although it isn’t on the agenda, there has been speculation that the Council will also discuss the City’s ordinance covering grand opening displays tonight, probably under New Business.

It’s standing room only tonight in Council chambers. It looks like all the council members are here (except Jacob, of course).

Tonight’s agenda with supporting documentation can be viewed here. I’ve reprinted it below and will be updating this post throughout the evening, so refresh your browser regularly if you following along live:

PETITIONS, REMONSTRANCES & COMMUNICATIONS – CITY OF PEORIA

Mayor Ardis asks for unanimous consent to move the Litter presentation to the beginning of the meeting.

New Business: ITEM NO. 1 PRESENTATION by DIANA HALL Regarding LITTER CAMPAIGN.

There will be a meeting Saturday, January 22, in City Council chambers, 9-11 a.m., to gather ideas on how to deal with the litter problem in the City. She wants to “talk trash,” she says humorously. There will be coffee and donuts. Very short presentation. No questions.

Back to the regular agenda order:

ITEM NO. 1 PUBLIC HEARING Regarding the PROPOSED DESIGNATION of the EAST VILLAGE GROWTH CELL (EVGC) TIF REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA.

There are four letters from concerned citizens that were distributed to council members before the meeting. Ardis reminds everyone the council will not be voting on the TIF tonight; this is just a public hearing. Sandberg says Item J on the consent agenda will be discussed and voted on, and it does regard the East Village TIF.

Before the public is heard from, the City wants to make a short presentation. Bobby Gray from Economic Development and a representative from Teska and Associates are giving a brief overview of the project to date. The guy from Teska is actually giving the bulk of the presentation. Proposed TIF area includes 653 acres and 2,532 parcels — a very large area. He’s basically giving a summary of their report, which you can read here. They found the East Village area is “blighted,” and thus eligible for TIF designation, because of deterioration, code violations, age of structures, inadequate utilities (this includes streets, sidewalks, curbs/gutters, street lights, etc.), excessive vacancies (16% residential, 25% business), and decline or minimal marginal increase in the EAV over the last five years (only grown about 2%). He lists the goal and objectives of the Growth Cell Plan, reviews the Future Land Use Plan, etc., all of which you can read about in the report (too much to retype here). Current EAV is $49,626,980. Anticipated EAV upon the completion (i.e., in 23 years) of anticipated redevelopment projects is in excess of $96,000,000. He admits that this is “optimistic.” He presents a TIF budget (in the aforementioned report). The total TIF budget (“total Estimated Project Costs”) is $95 million. Also in the budget, “Developer Interest Costs” with the amount “TBD.” Hmmm….

Teska also did a housing study to see if, hypothetically, residents needed to be relocated (i.e., if the City wanted to acquire property through eminent domain and neighbors would have to move), are there similar houses elsewhere where they could move. Answer: Yes.

Now, at long last, the floor is open:

  • David Kinney, District 150 Interim Comptroller/Treasurer — He believes this offers the City and school district “an exciting challenge” and says the school district wants to work with the City. However, he does have some concerns. Kinney has distributed a handout beforehand to the council members, and will be referring to it during his presentation. Bottom line, the District wants to share the TIF revenues, and Kinney is making his case for how much of the proceeds should be shared. He assumes an average 2% EAV growth over the next 23 years.
  • Grenita Lathan, District 150 Superintendent — Offers to provide increased vocational training/programs as part of their proposal to share TIF revenues.
  • Debbie Ritschel, Joint Review Board — Encouraging City to work with the School District on “a plan you can all agree on.” She talks about how important streets, sidewalks, and lighting are to homeowners.
  • Frederick Smith, East Bluff resident — Agrees with budgeted items in TIF for streets, sidewalks, and lighting (about $40+ million), but the rest of the $50+ million is too sketchy. He wants to know what specifically they’re going to do with that money so they can be held accountable.
  • Richard Mitchell, East Bluff resident — Likes the idea of the TIF including residences, not only businesses. He’s in favor, but acknowledges that there are still many unanswered questions.
  • Sara Partridge, East Bluff resident — Chronicles the decline and fall of the East Bluff over her lifetime.
  • Mike Chihoski, OSF St. Francis Medical Center — OSF strongly supports the TIF, says they have heavily invested in the area over the years, and hopes the TIF will spur more private development.
  • Carl Reardon, owns properties in proposed TIF district — Speaks in favor of residential TIF. Favors District 150’s proposal to provide vocational education.
  • Jessie McGowan, Jr. — When will we get specifics and how will we be notified?
  • Maleita King, East Bluff resident — Where is the money going? Who is going to benefit? What are you going to spend the money on? We’d rather spend the money on police — where we need it — rather than a TIF at this time.
  • [Didn’t catch his name, but he lives in the East Bluff] — “You’re just going to fix up the sidewalks for crackheads to walk on.” MidTown development tore down nice homes of people who wanted to stay, and now we have nothing to show for it. We’re not going to get state aid because the state’s broke. People aren’t going to come from other neighborhoods to shop on Wisconsin unless they’re drunks. The only thing that will happen is the people who live in this area are going to get taxed. Can’t sell his house for even half its EAV.
  • Don [Holland?], owns several houses on East Bluff — When he first got his houses, he thought taxes were reasonable. His taxes have gone up from $5,000 to $20,000 a year. “Taxes are already way too high” and keep people from reinvesting in their houses because they can’t afford it.
  • David Seghetti (sp?), family owns Red Carpet Car Wash on Jefferson — Fully supports this initiative.
  • Ron Johnson, owns several properties in East Bluff — Been landlord for 15 years. “You guys didn’t perform [with MidTown Plaza], so what makes you think you can perform with [this new TIF]?” Says all the council wants to do is fix up the area so they can tax the residents more. Council needs to work on lowering crime.
  • Mary Clark, East Bluff resident — “The taxes we already pay should be improving the areas we live, so where are our tax dollars going that we’re already paying?” Since tax dollars can be moved from one TIF to another (adjacent TIFs), what assurance do we have that we’ll even get the benefit of these TIF dollars?

Public hearing is now closed, and the council chambers are emptying rapidly. It looks like most of the SRO crowd was here for the public hearing. That’s encouraging to see. Bobby Gray encourages those leaving to fill out an “interested party” form so they can be notified of future meetings regarding this proposed TIF.

ITEM NO. 2 CONSIDERATION OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS BY OMNIBUS VOTE, for the City of Peoria, with Recommendations as Outlined:

A. NOTICE OF LAWSUIT Filed on Behalf of OSF HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, an Illinois Not For Profit Corporation, d/b/a SAINT FRANCIS MEDICAL CENTER Regarding a Complaint Against DAVID P. BROWN, JR., the City of Peoria, and Peoria County Claiming Between December 1, 2009, through December 4, 2009, with Request to Receive for Information and Refer to the Legal Department.

B. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Inspections Director Requesting Acceptance of the BID for DEMOLITION of 2204 S.W. ADAMS STREET from the LOWEST BIDDER, RIVER CITY DEMOLITION, in the Amount of $49,850.00.

C. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Director of Public Works Requesting Approval of an EMERGENCY REPAIR to a 1998 CATERPILLAR 938G END LOADER (Unit #228) by ALTORFER CATERPILLAR, INC., in an Amount Not to Exceed $22,889.84.

D. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Director of Public Works Requesting Approval of the 2011 ENGINEERING SERVICES CONTRACT with FOTH INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENT, LLC for the PEORIA CITY/COUNTY LANDFILL, in the Amount of $369,000.00, as Recommended by the Peoria City/County Landfill Committee.

E. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Approval of an INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT Between the CITY OF PEORIA, DUNLAP COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 323, and RB INVESTMENTS I, LLC, and Requesting Authorization for the Interim City Manager to Execute the Documents.

F. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Director of Planning and Growth Management with Request to Concur with the Recommendation from the Planning Commission and Staff to Adopt an ORDINANCE Approving the MULTI-FAMILY PLAN for Property Addressed as 2604, 2605, 2626 and 2629 N. LAVALLE COURT; 3604 and 3630 W. MARENGO DRIVE; and 3620 W. VERONA COURT, with Conditions.

G. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Adoption of an ORDINANCE Amending CHAPTER 3 of the Code of the City of Peoria Pertaining to Site Approval Application Filing Fee, Amending CHAPTER 5 of the Code of the City of Peoria Pertaining to a Fee for Filing a Petition for Rehearing, and Amending CHAPTER 13 of the Code of the City of Peoria Pertaining to Fees for Filing Liens and an Increase in the Costs to Settle Violations for Littering.

H. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Approval of a SITE APPLICATION for a CLASS G (Restaurant, Beer & Wine Only) LIQUOR LICENSE at 1219 WEST MAIN STREET, with Recommendation from the Liquor Commission to Approve.

I. Communication from the Interim City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Approval of SITE APPLICATIONS for CLASS C-1 (Packaged Liquor) LIQUOR LICENSES at 2515 N. KNOXVILLE and 3524 N. UNIVERSITY, with Recommendation from the Liquor Commission to Approve.

J. Communication from the Interim City Manager Requesting to Receive and File a WRITTEN REPORT Passed by the Joint Review Board on December 27, 2010, Agreeing that the EAST VILLAGE GROWTH CELL (EVGC) TIF REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA Satisfies the ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA for a “BLIGHTED AREA.”

K. REPORT of the CITY TREASURER PATRICK A. NICHTING for the MONTH of NOVEMBER 2010, with Request to Receive and File.

The following items were removed from the consent agenda by the indicated councilman: D, G, J (Sandberg), and C (Irving). The rest of the items passed unanimously.

  • Item C — Questions whether it would be cheaper to lease replacement equipment instead of repairing this endloader. Someone from Public Works says they believe it would be better to fix this. Motion passes unanimously.
  • Item D — Asks how long we’ve been with this one firm without going out for bid. Jeff Smith, City Engineer, standing in for Dave Barber, says he doesn’t know how long it’s been, but speaks highly of this consultant. Sandberg says it’s not good public policy to just keep rolling over contracts without going out to bid, so he won’t support it. Spain, speaking on behalf of the City/County Landfill Committee, explains they’re in the process of expanding landfill number 3, and they don’t want to switch horses midstream. He moves to approve, seconded by Irving. Motion passes 9-1 (Sandberg).
  • Item G — Doesn’t support two of the three increases. Turner/Van Auken move to approve; passes 9-1 (Sandberg).
  • Item J — Asks how an 11-member board (Joint Review Board) can legally do business without a quorum present (only 5 members out of 11). City attorney Randy Ray says he doesn’t know. Sandberg goes on to say that this isn’t just a “receive and file”; it also says the council is agreeing that the proposed TIF area is a “blighted area.” Goes back to his original question. How did this come to the Council when the JRB didn’t have a quorum? Ray says that the Council is only receiving and filing, not agreeing that the area is blighted. Sandberg says we shouldn’t receive and file a report that wasn’t really passed by the JRB because they didn’t have a quorum when they “passed” it. “What I’m trying to tell you is, we could get sued down the road” because the process isn’t legal. Van Auken agrees with City attorney. The guy from Teska (I think his name is Hoffman) says JRB doesn’t have to have a quorum under state statute. It’s only those taxing bodies who show up who get to vote.

    Sandberg questions how the JRB came up with their findings. He cites the brevity of the meetings and lack of supporting documentation as reasons he’s skeptical of their conclusions. “This whole process is on a fast track to a conclusion […] there is no independent assessment.” “If this is a blighted area, then let’s just call everything a blighted area except for the growth area out north.” Ardis says this is only a motion to receive an file minutes and the JRB’s action. Says the issues Sandberg is bringing up are not germane to the issue. Riggenbach moves to approve, seconded by Van Auken. Passes 9-1 (Sandberg).

ITEM NO. 3 Communication from the Interim City Manager and Corporation Counsel Requesting Council to Take Action Pertaining to a SITE APPLICATION for a CLASS C (Packaged Liquor Store) LIQUOR LICENSE at 9915 N. KNOXVILLE, SUITES I & J, with Recommendation from the Liquor Commission to DENY.

Irving moves to withdraw application at request of the petitioner.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

(10-299) Communication from the Acting City Manager and Assistant Director of Planning and Growth Management with Request to Concur with the Recommendation from Staff to Adopt an ORDINANCE Granting a SPECIAL USE in a Class R2 (Single Family Residential) District for a SCHOOL for the ARTS for Property Located at 5211 N. BIG HOLLOW ROAD, and with No Recommendation from the Zoning Commission Due to a Tie Vote.

Spears says the neighbors are generally in favor, but want the building set back as far as possible and allow parking in the front yard. The special use is only for this school of the arts, and if it changes at any time, it would have to come back to the council. Spears/Van Auken move to approve. Sandberg says parking along the side will not work as proposed. Also says the west elevation is 110-foot blank wall that faces the nearest single-family home. That home happens to be the home of the petitioner at this time. But no one but the petitioner, Sandberg says, would want to live next to such a structure. “Don’t allow him to aim low,” because we’re setting precedent for future special uses. It’s too much building for the lot, he says. Motion passes 9-1 (Sandberg).

NEW BUSINESS

  • Irving asks for a report back from staff on what the process is for businesses to promote grand openings.
  • Turner has concerns about quality of life ordinance violations in older neighborhoods; specifically a resident using his garage as an auto-repair facility, and a resident not removing an abandoned vehicle, both of which have gone unaddressed by the City.

PRESENTATION

ITEM NO. 1 PRESENTATION by DIANA HALL Regarding LITTER CAMPAIGN. (Moved to start of meeting)

PETITIONS, REMONSTRANCES & COMMUNICATIONS – TOWN OF THE CITY OF PEORIA

ITEM NO. 1 Communication from the Town Attorney Requesting Adoption of a RESOLUTION that Creates the Right of Any Person to ADDRESS the TOWN BOARD of TRUSTEES at any MEETING of the TOWN BOARD of TRUSTEES of the Town of the City of Peoria Consistent with the State Statute and Adopting RULES Consistent with Those Previously Adopted by the City Council.

Irving moves to approve as outlined, seconded by Spain. No discussion. Motion passes unanimously.

CITIZENS’ OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL

Savino Sierra, LaVetta Ricca, and Jessie McGowan addressed the council.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

ADJOURNMENT

And the council will go into executive session to talk about possibly hiring Patrick Urich… or at least, that’s the rumor. What we know for sure is that they’re going into executive session. Goodnight everyone!

City of Peoria, East Bluff, TIF

Joint Review Board approves East Village TIF

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Today at 3:00, the Joint Review Board (JRB) approved the East Village Growth Cell (EVGC) TIF unanimously with no discussion. Dr. David Kinney, representing Peoria Public Schools District 150, voted “present.” The meeting lasted three minutes. A presentation on the EVGC TIF was given to the JRB at the last meeting on December 10, but according to the minutes of that meeting, there was “a desire to continue discussion between Peoria Public School District 150 and the City of Peoria[;] therefore, a motion to defer was requested.”

Any further discussion that took place apparently happened in private, because no public discussion was held. I asked Dr. Kinney afterward what message District 150 was wanting to send by voting “present” instead of coming out for or against the TIF. He replied that TIF districts are generally not good for school districts, and a residential TIF in particular is a “double whammy.” Nevertheless, the district wants to maintain a positive relationship with the City and try to work out an agreement where the school district can share in the TIF revenue.

Present at the meeting in addition to Kinney were Robert Gates (District 150 legal counsel), Stan Browning (Sanitary District), Jim Scroggins (Finance Director, City of Peoria), Patrick Nichting (Treasurer, City of Peoria), Scott Sorrel (Peoria County), Tim Riggenbach (3rd District, City Council Representative), Bobby Gray and Stephanie Doss (both Economic Development, City of Peoria).

Joint Review Board members who were absent included Debbie Ritschel (General Manager of the Civic Center, but officially representing the general public on the JRB), John Stokowski (Greater Peoria Mass Transit/CityLink), Edward Szynaka (Peoria Public Library), and Glen Olson (Airport Authority). These members were also absent from the previous JRB meeting on December 10.

According to the City of Peoria website, “The Joint Review Board (JRB) is made up of one representative from each taxing authority affected by a TIF (i.e. school district, park district, etc.) The JRB also includes at least one member of the general public. The JRB must meet at least annually to review the progress of each TIF. Also, before a TIF is created, the JRB must review the plan for redevelopment for the area.”

There was no other business discussed at today’s meeting, and no citizens addressed the board. No date was set for the next JRB meeting.

Hat tip: Martin Palmer for alerting me that this meeting was taking place today.

East Bluff, OSF St. Francis, TIF

Public skeptical of East Village plans

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The Journal Star covered the public meeting Monday night on the proposed East Village TIF. They report that most people were concerned about eminent domain being used the way it was in the MidTown Plaza TIF. Also, this:

Other concerns expressed by residents focused on what type of development OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, which is also included within the TIF district’s boundaries, might have.

Sue Wozniak, the hospital’s chief operating officer, said there are no specific projects planned. She said in the future, the hospital would be supportive of developing privately owned medical offices that would help generate taxes that would go toward paying public projects – such as sidewalks and road repairs – within the district.

With all due respect, I find this very difficult to believe. OSF is spearheading this effort to establish the East Village TIF. You’re telling me they have no specific plans to take advantage of this TIF once it’s established? Really? This is just a shot in the dark for OSF?

In July, Ron Jost, Vice President of Strategic and Facility Planning for OSF St. Francis Medical Center, was interviewed on WCBU’s “Outside the Horseshoe” program.

Finally, [Jost] explained that OSF is looking at further expansion. Specifically, they’ve acquired the White School and Irving School buildings from District 150, and they’re planning to build a 100,000-200,000 square foot building to house a simulation/conference center for training purposes. They’d like to expand south of Greenleaf Street. Jost also said they would be interested in seeing if there are “other parties” who would be willing to develop and provide housing that could replace OSF’s current dormitory.

Those sound like specific plans to me. They know the location they want to expand, they know what they want built, and they’re looking for an interested developer. Why doesn’t Wozniak just level with the neighbors like Jost did?

City of Peoria, East Bluff, TIF

East Village TIF report raises questions

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The East Village Growth Cell TIF District Redevelopment Plan and Program report by City consultant Teska Associates was published last week on the EastVillagePeoria.com website. I read the report over the weekend and observed the following:

  • The report frequently made reference to the City’s updated (2010) Comprehensive Plan, which has only been published in draft form and has yet to be adopted by the City Council. In contrast, the report never once mentioned the Heart of Peoria Plan, which was completed in 2002, adopted by the City Council “in principle,” and forms the basis for the City’s Land Development Code which governs the East Bluff and near north side. I wonder if the City even provided a copy to Teska Associates. (Incidentally, the City has allowed its registration of the URL “heartofpeoria.com” to lapse, so information on the Heart of Peoria Plan, including the Plan document, is no longer available online from the City.)

  • The report does a good job of documenting just how much the City has neglected the so-called East Village area. Here you will find how many streets and sidewalks have been inadequately maintained, how codes have not been enforced and properties have been allowed to fall into egregious states of dilapidation — with pictures! The report concludes that the East Village qualifies as a “blighted” area, just as the City found 11 years ago when the MidTown Plaza TIF was adopted.

  • The cost to improve infrastructure in the East Village area (which is “generally south of McClure, east of Knoxville, North of Interstate 74, and west of a variable boundary formed by Wayne, Glen Oak, Ravine, and Glen Oak Park,” and includes the near north side) is estimated at just under $42.6 million. That would include streets, sidewalks, driveways, gutters, curbs, streetlights, inlets, combined sanitary and storm sewer improvements (which alone account for $13.3 million of the total), ramps, and street trees. This is significantly less than the $55 million that was recently spent to expand the Civic Center, and only slightly more than the City plans to spend on the Wonderful Development (downtown hotel). If you isolate the cost of improving the streets and sidewalks alone, it comes to about $9.8 million — only $800,000 more than the City plans to pay Gary Matthews as a developer’s fee to build the Wonderful Development.

  • The report includes typical biases against older homes and other structures. “Age of buildings” is one of the factors that qualifies the area as “blighted.” To wit:

    The characteristic of age presumes the existence of problems or limiting conditions resulting from normal and continuous use of structures and exposure to the elements over a period of many years. As a rule, older buildings typically exhibit more problems than buildings constructed in later years because of longer periods of active usage (wear and tear) and the impact of time, temperature and moisture. Additionally, older buildings tend not to be well suited for modern-day uses because of contemporary space and development standards.

    And how old does a building have to be to suffer these deleterious “problems” and “limiting conditions”? A whopping 35 years. That’s right, if a house is more than 35 years old, then it’s contributing to blight. Thus saith the State of Illinois.

  • The report suggests “improvements” that include things discouraged under the Heart of Peoria Plan, such as wider streets and more parking lots/decks.

  • If I’m reading this right, the proposed TIF doesn’t sound like it has much chance of being successful. The report says, “Upon the completion of anticipated redevelopment projects it is estimated that the equalized assessed valuation of real property within the Project Area will be in excess of $96 million” (p. 19). The initial EAV (2009) is listed as $49,626,980 (p. 19). So the increase, or increment (as in “tax increment financing”), would be a little over $46 million. If you take that increment, times the total property tax rate of 8.7548% (that includes the City of Peoria, airport authority, mass transit district, County, Library, Township, ICC, District 150, and Park District), it comes out to $4,059,865.15 in TIF revenue per year for the East Village area. Obviously, this is not a realistic number as the redevelopment projects would not be completed in year one, nor would the property value jump in year one. Nevertheless, let’s take this unrealistically high number at face value for the moment, and times it by the 23-year time span of a TIF district. That comes out to $93,376,898.60 (all in 2010 dollars, of course). The “estimated redevelopment project costs” are listed as $95,000,000 (table 2, p. 16), and include the aforementioned public improvements among other capital costs.

    As you can see, it appears by Teska’s estimates that there would not be enough money generated by the TIF to pay back even the principal on the project cotsts, let alone the interest on such a large investment. This disparity is not addressed specifically in the report. However, the report does list other “authorized sources” of funds to pay back bonds, including funds from adjacent TIF districts and the City’s general fund. It also states that, “the highest priority for the issuance of tax increment revenue obligations shall occur when the commitment is in place for private sector investment necessary to fund the amortization of such obligations,” and that leads me to the next observation.

  • The TIF is clearly designed to primarily benefit OSF St. Francis. This isn’t surprising, given that OSF is paying for the study. Two of the eight objectives for the TIF are OSF-specific: “Continue to work closely with OSF Saint Francis Medical Center to accommodate additional enhancements to their campus while ensuring continued compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood,” and “Provide for new housing opportunities within walking distance to major employers such as OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and other nearby employers in downtown Peoria” (p. 8).

    There are also nine (re)development opportunities listed, and four of them are OSF-specific: “Opportunities for additional retail and restaurant uses in proximity to the OSF Campus,” “Creation of additional high density housing opportunities within walking distance of the OSF St. Francis Medical Center, including potential apartments, townhomes, and/or condominiums,” “Continued improvements to the OSF St. Francis Medical Center consistent with their City-approved Official Development Plan, as amended from time to time,” and “Creation of retail opportunities along Spaulding Avenue, such as restaurants and convenience stores, accessible by nearby housing and the OSF hospital campus” (p. 10).

    The justification for this focus is given on page one: “OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is one of the City’s largest employers. Their new Milestone Building shows a major commitment to this neighborhood, as does their City approved Official Development Plan. The TIF will provide opportunities for the City to partner with OSF and other area employers to continue to reinvest in the East Village Growth Cell.”

    A building project alone does not show “commitment to [a] neighborhood.” What shows real commitment is an effort to work with residents to make any building project fit into the neighborhood such that it doesn’t have a harmful effect on surrounding properties. Last year, OSF requested and got approval to site an energy center immediately adjacent to single-family homes against the wishes and petitions of neighbors; they could have put it elsewhere in their institutional zone, but they didn’t want the view of their Milestone Building obstructed. This makes East Bluff residents question whether this TIF project is really going to be for the benefit of the entire East Village area, or if this large area is just being leveraged to make OSF’s expansion plans possible. Those are legitimate concerns that should be addressed before any TIF is approved.

  • The proposed Redevelopment Sites map (p. 12) shows most of the redevelopment happening around OSF.

  • The Existing Land Use map (p. 5) is riddled with inaccuracies. Several properties are incorrectly shown as being zoned Instutitional. For example, Children’s Home at 2130 Knoxville. Also, the East Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services property is shown as “Open Space.” There are lots of errors like this, which makes it difficult to compare current uses with proposed future uses reliably.

  • The report has this to say about the impact this TIF could have on District 150: “The creation of new residential units may increase the school aged population (although existing residential units in the Project Area may contain a small number of school aged children, who may leave the School District if such units are displaced). As permitted by the Act, a portion of Redevelopment Project Costs may be allocated toward capital and operating costs incurred by School District 150 which are made necessary by development as described in this Redevelopment Plan.” As mentioned in a previous observation, there’s not enough increment to pay for all the estimated redevelopment costs, so one wonders how this intervention could be accomplished.

Someone is bound to ask me if there’s anything I like about this plan. Not really. I like the idea that the City of Peoria would improve the public infrastructure. However, I think that maintaining public infrastructure is the City’s responsibility regardless. The City needn’t establish a TIF and take tax dollars away from other taxing bodies in order to fulfill their own responsibilities.

There is a public hearing on this plan tonight at 6 p.m. Per the public notice, “Monday, November 29, 2010 at 6:00 p.m., at the Glen Oak Community Center Library, 2100 N. Wisconsin Avenue, Peoria, Illinois, a meeting will be held to gather public comment on a proposed redevelopment plan and the designation of a proposed redevelopment project area to be known as the East Village Growth Cell Redevelopment Project Area, and the adoption of Tax Increment Allocation Financing (TIF) therefore.”

City of Peoria, East Bluff, Economic Development, Peoria Public Schools

Open discussion on Peoria High and East Village TIF

28 Comments

I have mixed feelings about the recent windfalls of state money Peoria has been told its getting. In the news recently have been announcements that we’re getting $10 million to upgrade Washington Street and $17 million to renovate Peoria High School and build an addition onto Lincoln Middle School.

On the one hand, the money is going for a good cause, and we can certainly use it. On the other hand, the State of Illinois is in a financial crisis, and this additional spending is not helping to alleviate it.

It has led to an interesting question that I didn’t expect to hear while we’re still reeling from the recent recession: what should we do with all the money? Of course, the Warehouse District money is pretty cut and dried. But the District 150 money is another story. I got this comment recently from school board member Jim Stowell:

CJ – can I please ask if you could open the question of how we should best develop PHS and the surrounding feeder system/neighborhoods – what collaborations we should explore, etc. Thx! In light of the recent funding grant, there exists tremendous opportunity. I am optimistic about the East Bluff residential TIF, but I also have reservations. The Dist. will no doubt be convening meetings, but the discussion needs to begin now. Thanks for providing a forum.

I’d kind of sworn off open threads a while back, but this does sound like it would be an interesting discussion. Other readers have expressed interest in this as well. So, always being happy to oblige my readers, here’s an open thread to discuss Peoria High and the proposed East Village TIF.

I’ll just add that while Mr. Stowell may be “optimistic about the East Bluff residential TIF,” that doesn’t appear to be the official opinion of District 150. The District’s interim comptroller Dr. David Kinney has been attending recent City Council meetings, and when I asked him why, he said it was in case an opportunity came to speak about the proposed TIF. He’s not what you’d call a fan of the idea. On its face, he says it’s a recipe for disaster. The preferred outcome is that it would encourage families to move back into the East Bluff. If it’s successful in doing so, it will require more services from District 150 to educate the increasing number of children, but provide no additional tax revenue to support them. Thus, it would put even more of a strain on District 150’s already stretched finances.

The proposed East Village TIF area is currently being studied for eligibility (this is perfunctory, as no proposed TIF has ever been found ineligible), with the consultant’s report scheduled to come before the council November 9.

City of Peoria, East Bluff, OSF St. Francis

OSF planning more development; TIF will help

5 Comments

On “Outside the Horseshoe” this week, WCBU News director Tanya Koonce interviewed Ron Jost, Vice President of Strategic and Facility Planning for OSF St. Francis Medical Center. You can hear a podcast of the show here.

The broadcast focused on the proposed East Village Growth Cell and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. OSF has offered to front the money for the required studies to establish a TIF. Koonce asked Jost why OSF would want to do that — what’s in it for them? Jost gave several reasons.

First, he emphasized that OSF itself is a “neighbor” in the East Bluff and Near North Side and, like any neighbor, they would like to see their property value increase and live in a safe, stable, viable neighborhood. He also said that, while the hospital is not-for-profit, there are “certain aspects” of their business that do not qualify for tax exemption, and they do pay about $1.1 million per year in property taxes.

Finally, he explained that OSF is looking at further expansion. Specifically, they’ve acquired the White School and Irving School buildings from District 150, and they’re planning to build a 100,000-200,000 square foot building to house a simulation/conference center for training purposes. They’d like to expand south of Greenleaf Street. Jost also said they would be interested in seeing if there are “other parties” who would be willing to develop and provide housing that could replace OSF’s current dormitory.

That last statement explains why OSF would be especially interested in establishing a TIF. Developers would be unlikely to redevelop this area without tax incentives.

Also on the program was Bobby Gray from the City’s Economic Development Department. He emphasized that the boundaries of the “East Village Growth Cell” represent the study area, and may not be the final boundaries of the TIF.