Tag Archives: City Council

City Council, City of Peoria

Council greasing the skids for Big Al’s move

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On the agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting is a change to the city’s adult business ordinance that would allow Big Al’s to move to a new location while keeping their “grandfathered in” status. The council communication explains:

Since approximately 1978, the City has had an adult business ordinance that restricted the locations of adult businesses by limiting their distances from other adult businesses, from churches and schools, and from residentially zoned properties. There has always been at least one adult business that has not been in compliance with the ordinance but has been grandfathered and, therefore, allowed to continue at its present location. The attached ordinance would allow such a business to relocate, obtain an adult use license for a property which brings the location more into compliance. The relocation may provide an opportunity for the City to take advantage of a significant development opportunity.

In other words, Big Al’s adult use license would follow them to a new location. They wouldn’t have to reapply. And they continue to be “grandfathered in.” Couple this with the liquor license that was requested for 414 NE Hamilton (which the Liquor Commission didn’t approve or deny), and I think you see where this is going.

Once again, oblique reference is made to “a significant development opportunity,” which is rumored to be either an expansion to the Pere Marquette or a new hotel that will be connected to the Civic Center somehow (pedestrian bridge?). In any case, the deal apparently hinges on allowing Big Al’s to move without giving up their adult use license, so the city is doing everything in its power to facilitate that.

I’m concerned that by doing this, the council will be invalidating their adult use ordinance. What I mean is, they’re changing the ordinance to benefit one business. If they do this for one adult business and not another, with no consistent or reasonable justification for such discrimination, the ordinance becomes arbitrary and capricious, and ultimately unconstitutional.

For example, in 2002, the owner of 617 W. Main St., Frank Genusa, also had a grandfathered-in business called Playmate Video. When he changed tenants to a business called The Dungeon Music and Apparel that sold the same kind of adult material, the city revoked his adult use license, saying the grandfathering no longer applies — even though it was the same landlord, the same type of business, and the same location. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that place is gone, but you see my point: the rules seem to be rigidly applied to one owner, but easily changed for another.

The next year, the strip club now known as Elliott’s started its effort to get an adult use license at its North University Street location. The city fought that by denying a Class A liquor license for the establishment (a requirement for selling liquor if the establishment also holds an adult-use license). That resulted in a lawsuit that eventually cost the taxpayers several thousand dollars, and they got their liquor license after all. Again, the rules are applied aggressively to one business, but bent and rewritten for another.

Why the double standard? This “significant development opportunity” must be a real doozy. I wonder when the public will be let in on the council’s little secret.

City Council, City of Peoria

Secrecy the order of the day at City Hall

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The City of Peoria’s liquor commission can’t even get information on what’s happening with Big Al’s plans to move, resulting in a “no decision” Monday on whether to grant them a liquor license. Via 1470 WMBD radio:

[A] NO recommendation was forwarded to the City Council concerning a change in liquor class for the former EuroJacks and an application for a liquor license at 414 Hamilton Boulevard by the owner’s of Big Al’s. The Commission cited the owners could not produce enough information at this time on specific plans for the properties.

But apparently some city officials know what’s going on, as evidenced by these quotes from a recent Journal Star article:

“They are basically moving to make way for what could be a wonderful development,” city attorney Randy Ray said, declining to discuss specifics. “At this point, it’s just a tremendous opportunity to develop the Downtown.”

Added 1st District City Councilman Clyde Gulley Jr., who represents the Downtown, “we need to move (Big Al’s) because of another project.”

Others involved at City Hall and Zuccarini remained tight-lipped about what they have planned.

The city attorney, first district councilman, and unspecified “others involved at City Hall” all know what this “tremendous opportunity” and “wonderful development” is all about. The rest of us, however, will just have to wait to find out — probably until after it’s a done deal.

Secrecy fever has found its way into the budget process as well. At a special City Council meeting Monday night, it was announced that staff had cut the budget deficit from $2.2 million to half a million dollars. When Councilman Gary Sandberg asked how they accomplished that, he was told he’d have to come in tomorrow and talk to interim City Manager Holling in private to find out. In other words, they weren’t going to divulge that information on the council floor where citizens might hear.

Of course, the sad truth is that most citizens wouldn’t have heard since the meeting was on a Monday when there’s no radio or television coverage like on Tuesday nights. Interestingly, some council members (Van Auken, Manning, Nichting, Mayor Ardis) seemed to know what was going on, while the rest of the council was in the dark about this budgeting miracle.

And it was only a few months ago that the Journal Star reported, “City officials decided in June that this year, the budget process would be more open to the public, transparent, and easily communicated between city staff members and the council.” So much for that plan.

City Council, City of Peoria

Press conference tomorrow regarding “serious” crime issues

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I have no idea what this is about. I’ve checked all the usual news sources, but found nothing, so if you have any details, please share. From a press release:

Mayor Jim Ardis and Members of the Peoria City Council, will hold a news conference on Sunday, November 2, 2008, at 12:00 Noon. The news conference will be held in front of the Peoria Police Department, 600 S. W. Adams Street.

The news conference will address serious concerns relating to crime issues in Peoria, specifically addressing the Friday night shooting directed at our police officers and a recent drug bust in a central Peoria neighborhood.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who explained the situation in the comments section. As someone pointed out, the Journal Star has the story up on their site now:

Peoria police shot a man to death early this morning after the man allegedly opened fire at officers with a semi-automatic assault rifle.

The 27-year-old Peoria man, whose name has not been released, reportedly shot a patrol car near the intersection of Idaho and Montana streets about 12:45 a.m.

If you’re wondering where Idaho and Montana streets are, they’re on the south side, near Harrison Homes.

UPDATE 2: The press release also says they’re going to discuss “a recent drug bust in a central Peoria neighborhood.” That would probably be this one, reported by HOI News:

HOI 19 news has learned that three people arrested during a drug and weapons raid this week are out of jail without posting bond [emphasis mine] and neighbors say they are outraged…. Peoria city councilman Bob Manning, who represents that area, says many concerned neighbors have contacted him. He says city leaders are planning on sitting down with the police department tomorrow to discuss this situation further.

City Council, City of Peoria

Enterprise Zone now to include all of Glen Hollow

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On July 22, the council approved a huge addition to the city’s Enterprise Zone (EZ). Click on the thumbnail to the right for a map of the parcels added then. You’ll notice that those parcels include, among other things, Westlake Shopping Center, all of the “convenience loan” establishments along University, Wal-Mart, Auto Zone, Comcast Cable, and Best Buy.

But that apparently wasn’t enough. It’s back on the agenda this week with eight more parcels added. What poor, blighted businesses are getting the benefit of EZ status this time, you ask? The entire Glen Hollow shopping center. You know, blighted stores like Target, Petsmart, Cub Foods, Lowe’s, Wendy’s, Barnes & Noble, Hometown Buffet. Slums, all of them. And how were they added? According to the council communication, “At the request of one of the City’s Planning Commissioner’s [sic]….” Not all of them; not even a majority of them. One of them. I guess that’s all it takes.

Once again, the city communication makes this comical statement:

These areas are located within the core of our City and property owners have encountered challenges in attracting investment since many businesses are choosing to move to the northern parameters of the City.

And I’ll point out again that one of the reasons they’re choosing to move there is because the City is incentivizing it through annexation and, yes, even EZ status. So now they’re using the Enterprise Zone in the 2nd and 4th districts to compete against the Enterprise Zone in the 5th district. What other self-defeating strategies will the City dream up?