Tag Archives: AMVETS building

City Council, City of Peoria, History

Historic Duroc building doomed

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The Peoria City Council denied historic preservation for the AMVETS building, 237 NE Monroe, at tonight’s council meeting. First district councilman Clyde Gulley moved to deny the request, seconded by at-large councilman Eric Turner. The vote was 9-1 in favor of Gulley’s motion to not landmark the building (Councilman Sandberg voted against; Councilman Jacob abstained).

This was no surprise. AMVETS members started lobbying the council before the Historic Preservation Commission even heard the case or made a recommendation, so the vote was practically preordained. Several council members spoke to the issue.

  • “It’s not pro-business or pro-development,” Councilman Turner said about the historic preservation process.
  • Second district council member Barbara Van Auken concurred, but said historic preservation should be pro-business and pro-development and certainly can be; thus, she reported that she has asked Planning and Growth director Pat Landes to look at how historic preservation is handled in other communities.
  • Fifth district council member Pat Nichting gave his time to AMVETS Post 64 Commander Richard Mitchell to address the council. Mr. Mitchell is opposed to historic preservation for this building because it impedes his organization from selling it to Riverside Community Church, which wants to demolish it. Find more info on the building maintenance and facilities services here.
  • At-large councilman Gary Sandberg cited the Easton mansion as an example of a building where a previous owner did not want historic preservation, but was ultimately preserved and is now a beautiful, well-preserved building with a successful business (Converse Marketing) housed in it. He also argued that the item before the council is whether this building meets the standard for historic preservation; it does, and therefore should be landmarked. He also mentioned that, in response to concerns over economic development, not landmarking this building will not give any economic advantage to the city, since it will most likely be sold to a non-profit organization, which is going to raze it.
  • Fourth district councilman Bill Spears doesn’t want to vote against a veterans organization.
  • Mayor Jim Ardis stated his frustration with the last-minute nature of this situation. He also stated that there’s no independent arbiter to determine whether a building is historic or not. This was a curious statement, as I thought that was why we had a Historic Preservation Commission. What is their role if not to be just such an independent arbiter? Ardis also stated that non-profit organizations such as churches improve the area and make it more conducive to economic development, even though they don’t provide economic development themselves.

Les Kenyon was given the privilege of the floor and spoke in favor of landmarking the building, but his pleas were all for naught. The council voted against landmarking this building, not on the merits of whether the building is historic or not, but on the circumstances surrounding the application.

So, Peoria will soon lose yet another historic building. But we can put big pictures of it in the new history museum we’re going to build downtown once that sales tax referendum is passed. Eventually, a museum is the only place you’ll be able to see any historic architecture in Peoria.

City Council, City of Peoria

No “wonderful development” on agenda for Tuesday

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Of course it could be revised on Friday, but as of today there is no “wonderful development” on the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting. However, there are some other interesting items:

  • AMVETS building landmark status: The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) voted in favor of preserving the AMVETS building (formerly United Duroc building), but the city council informally voted against it when they were polled by the AMVETS before the issue even went to the HPC. So now it’s really a muddled mess. If the council votes for landmark status, the AMVETS will feel disenfranchised as property owners because it will make their building harder to sell. If the council votes against landmark status, it marginalizes the HPC and sets up a precedent of bypassing them altogether. Oh, and it will mean the loss of another historic building, but that’s nothing new. Peoria never has much cared for preservation. I predict the council will not landmark the building, and it will be torn down before the end of the year. The lesson to take away: don’t wait until the last minute to request historic designation.

  • Convenience loan restrictions: The moratorium is about to expire on any new so-called convenience loan establishments from opening. The city has done some research on possible restrictions to keep such establishments from clustering the way they have along University between War Memorial and Forrest Hill. Their recommendation:

    a. Permitting the use of Convenience Cash Businesses, as permitted and/or special uses only in the B1, CG, C1, and C2 zoning districts (Currently permitted in these districts plus 01, 02, and CN).

    b. Distance requirements of a 1500 foot radius from other Convenience Cash businesses (Note that the City has an inventory of 1,681 parcels with appropriate base zoning {B1, CG, C1, and C2}. Of that inventory, 61% or 1026 parcels meet the distance requirements and could be developed with new convenience cash businesses {Map 2}).

    c. If the distance requirements cannot be met business owners would have the option of obtaining Special Use approval.

    The Zoning Commission had some slightly different suggestions, such as requiring the convenience loan establishment to be 1500 feet away from any residential-zoned district, which would leave only two parcels in all of Peoria where a new loan place could locate. No doubt there will be no small amount of discussion on the council floor before a vote is taken on this one.

  • 4 a.m. liquor license area expansion: Most bars in the area have to close at 2 a.m. But there’s a small area downtown where you can get a special subclass of license allowing you to stay open until 4 a.m. The council is considering a pretty major expansion of that area — one that will include the Warehouse District and extend all the way to South Street. Here’s a map of the current license area and the proposed addition:

    This would include the Club Apollo and Excalibur nightclubs. Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard is in favor of the expansion, and the Liquor Commission approved it 5-0. It looks like a shoo-in for approval by the council, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few citizens who ask for the privilege of the floor to try to persuade the council against it.

There will also be more discussion on the 2009 budget. You see the proposed budget by visiting the PeoriaBudget.com website.