PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria will soon have a land bank.
City Council voted on Tuesday night by a 9-1 count to adopt the ordinance that will establish it, thanks in part to a $300,000 grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
The basic purpose of the bank is to obtain and rehabilitate properties before they become irreparable.
Additionally, it will allow for land assembly for larger redevelopment projects, improving the County Trustee auction process, increase the number of properties on the tax rolls, and expand maintenance resources of publicly controlled land to avoid negatively impacting property values.
A Peoria Land Bank Board will be established, as will the paid positions of land manager, community service inspector, and legal administrator.
District One Councilwoman Denise Jackson expressed contentment at the passage, though she said residents need to have input.
“I was glad to finally hear about the city moving forward on the proposal for the land bank. I heard about it quite a few years ago when I attended a regional neighborhood association meeting,” she said.
“I have to say as a representative of the First District, we probably have the largest number of vacant properties and old structures, so there has to be some guarantee folks impacted by it will have some say so at the table as to how their concerns are met.
“I am in favor of it, but we have to make sure it’s not just another land bank. They can be very successful if the folks impacted by them are heard and at the table.”
The lone “nay” vote came from At-Large Councilman John Kelly.
“I’m not against what this is supposed to be doing, but we can already do it. But, if we want to get the state money in here, we have to create a big new bureaucracy to do what we can already do,” he said.
“We cut the budget in those departments, and that’s how those positions got eliminated. It seems to me in our budget discussions, we can replace that money if this is a priority, and I think it’s a worthwhile priority.
“So, to me, this is just a show we care, but we’re not going to be doing anything more than we could already today without the big bureaucracy.”
At-Large Councilwoman Beth Jensen rebutted Kelly, “all we’re doing is setting up a land bank program that will add one new staff person full-time, and then two part-time staff people. That’s not a big bureaucracy.”
The council was targeting June 8 as the start date for the land bank employees.
