The Journal Star reported yesterday that some residents just north of Peoria are trying to preempt annexation to Peoria by annexing themselves to Dunlap. Not a bad idea. Peoria’s population keeps moving north, and the city keeps chasing them via annexation:
For Peoria, annexation is simply following the bread crumbs of development.
Pat Landes, the city’s director of planning and growth management, says the city is just responding to developers’ requests; policy dictates the property be contiguous, and those seeking annexation conform to certain guidelines such as how the property is to be developed.
But here’s my question: what happens when Peoria runs out of annexation opportunities? The “bread crumbs” will end someday, just like it ended at the borders of West Peoria, Peoria Heights, and Bartonville. Communities will incorporate or annex themselves to surrounding communities to avoid being annexed into Peoria, and eventually we’ll be, for all feasible purposes, boxed in. Then what?
Well, of course, we’ll have to start focusing on how to improve and more efficiently use the land we already have. We’ll have to start thinking strategically about infill development. We’ll have to start pursuing regional partnerships to share the costs of certain resources (we’re starting to see that already with the airport taxing authority being extended to all of Peoria county and negotiations between Peoria and West Peoria on sewer repair costs). I could go on.
But the next question is, are we pursuing those things enough right now? Or are we pinning all our growth strategies on annexation? Is there a 50-year vision for Peoria and, if so, what does it look like?
If everybody escapes to Dunlap, then Dunlap can annex Peoria, change it’s name to Peoria, then everybody can escape to Edelstein.
If all the folks who live in Peoria want out and move to Dunlap then the character of Dunlap will become the same character as Peoria is today except not as many old houses and neighborhoods. Values and behavior in Peoria are carried with the folks who depart. Unless the people who live in Peoria do not exhibit the character and behavior that has branded Peoria for so many years, and once they leave, the remaining people will be true Peorians because that is what is making up the bulk of the city.
I’m for bussing to Dunlap!
The bread crumbs unfotunately don’t satisfy. Picking up hundreds of acres of low-density residential development does little to help a balanced budget. IT only stretches resources, such as fire & police protection further. The city’s development standards for roadways cause miles of uncessary travel lanes and roadway width. This costs money to maintain.
The long term plan for the City is to continue to “capture” this growth to prevent it from developing even more haphazardly in the County.
If the county of Peoria would take an exceptionally strong stance on preservation of ag-land and rural character, most of this sprawl, in Peoria County, could be eliminated. In this region, all sides of the river need to have common planning goals for the region….not the individual communities. They need to realize that a new “ring-road” in Woodford County pulls traffic off Rt. 29 in Peoria County. The ring-road shortens (temporarily) drive times from Morton to the shopping on the northside of Peoria. This encourages additional residential development in Tazewell and Woodford Counties.
This isn’t just a City issue. Regional planning is critically needed and needs to include all taxing bodies in the metro area. All have to be committed to achieving the metro area goals.
Allowing developers to develop unabatedly or pin one community against another is a sure way to hasten the decline of the Heart of Illinois.
There are a lot of Cat folks who would love to see a ring road… more for having a bridge up by Mossville than anything else.
50 year vision…. East St. Louis….
“The guy” and Mahkno are right in my opinion. Have you seen the number of shoddy, cookie-cutter homes along Allen Rd lately? What does that say about Peoria character?
And the Landes comment of responding to developers requests. All developers want to do is make as much money as possible (not that there is anything wrong with that, but they don’t give a damn about planning, character or quality of life). Therefore, the best farmland in the world is torn up for these future slums. I feel sorry for those who have lived up there for 20, 30 or 40 years who now have to put up with the mass exodus from Peoria. They were there first and I wouldn’t blame them for seeking protection from Peoria’s annexation games.
I am unclear as to who [whom] the Precinct Committeeman is referring to as “true Peorians?” If he means the wealthy, all controlling, politically inept mob of ‘old’ Peoria families, then we are all better off becoming new Dunlapers [?], Chillicotheans, Washingtonites, the list goes on. Soon the remaing vultures [the wealthy, all controlling, politically inept mob of ‘old’ Peoria families], will be gloriously picking over the corpse that was downtown Peoria.
I probably was not as clear as I would like so I will restate my view. The values and behavior of the city as of this date has been combed and curried thru decades of incidents and happenings. The view of those who are not from or currently outside the city limits is colored by these past events and circumstances. If those folks who would like to liberate themselves from the current situation, they could move to Dunlap or any other locality and more than likely bring their learned and aquired behavior to the new locality. These values and behaviors would become part of the new location i.e. Dunlap. If they (the ones who move out)bring these values and behaviors with them, the ones who remain will by definition shape what Peoria values and behaviors will be. The left behinds are what we will see as the center of attention in the community. If the left behinds are industrious and hard working then the reputation will change to that. If it is lazy and slothful then the view will be such, for outsiders to evaluate and decide whether or not they will choose Peoria as a destination.Whoever is standing in the streets and shops of Peoria is truly what Peoria will be known for.
How could anyone not want as much vinyl siding as possible in a subdivision?