Peoria approves $12.5M Wisconsin Avenue reconstruction, implements 90-day STR moratorium
PEORIA, ARIZONA — November 2, 2021

Peoria approves $12.5M Wisconsin Avenue reconstruction, implements 90-day STR moratorium

Special city council meeting focused on biennial budget, 2022-2023 with major infrastructure investments, short-term rental enforcement moratorium due to process concerns, and pension liability discussion.

Peoria Council Approves STR Moratorium Amid Enforcement Chaos; Backs Major Infrastructure Budget

Peoria's special city council meeting on November 2, 2021, delivered three major outcomes: a controversial 90-day moratorium on short-term rental enforcement actions, unanimous approval of $12.5 million in infrastructure investments, and amended biennial budget amendments totaling $1.12 million in additional general fund revenue. The STR vote passed 11-3, but only after a heated debate that exposed deep divisions over enforcement fairness, municipal procedure, and competing visions for neighborhood protection versus business accommodation.

The meeting also surfaced procedural complaints from council members and citizens about the adequacy of notice for agenda items and allegations that the council violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act during its prior week's fire engine staffing vote.

STR Moratorium: The Core Controversy

The motion, moved by Councilman Zachary Oyler and seconded by Councilmember Ruck Regal, reads:

"Move to direct staff to place a 90-day moratorium on enforcement action related to operating a short-term rental without a special use to allow those currently operating to come into compliance with city of peoria ordinances and void previously issued citations for failure to obtain a special use prior to operating a short-term rental as long as they come into compliance or cease operation." — Councilman Zachary Oyler, motion

The nine council members voting yes included Zachary Oyler, Regal, Dr. Kiran Velpula, Timothy Riggenbach, Dr. Andre W. Allen, Rodrigo, John Kelly, and Jackson. Three voted no: Jensen, Graham, and one other. The deadline for compliance is February 1, 2022.

The Enforcement Breakdown

Director Doolin and the police enforcement process had issued 17 citations for operating short-term rentals without a required special-use permit. The ordinance itself was adopted in March 2021. Staff stated that only three or four of the 17 cited owners had actually contacted the city to begin the special-use application process; the remainder had not responded to citations before or after receiving them.

Two specific addresses drew intense scrutiny. At 1005 West Moss Avenue, the property owner Dmitry Atanasoff testified that he did not receive the initial notice of violation, learned of the city's concerns only when Airbnb contacted him on October 12, and came to city hall the same day (October 12 or 13) to request a special-use application. Yet on October 13—one day after his visit—a second $6,000 fine arrived at a different property address (404 West Dubai Court), mailed in a certified envelope but not certified. Atanasoff and his wife also provided their personal residential address to city staff when they visited to comply; those addresses appeared in the citation records.

"We truly did not receive that notice... the way that we found out that there was an issue with our property was when we were contacted by airbnb on the 12th of october at 10 am on that day within couple hours i personally came in the city and i asked to meet joe dolan at that time i expressed desire to file a short-term license application for all three of our properties and i started that process we have both been very compliant and to our surprise we received a second fine of six thousand dollars that was mailed to a different property address of ours." — Dmitry Atanasoff, property owner

Similarly, Bill Kwan (408 West Ravenwoods) testified that he received two citations before his first hearing was scheduled, with no intermediate contact from staff, and learned of the violations too late to respond before being fined.

"I got two uh bills or whatever you want to call it and didn't have a chance even come to the first hearing so there's definitely something that is an issue and no one and one last thing uh councilman jensen i appreciate if you had these letters i wish someone would have called me because i would have addressed them at that time i got the letters only." — Bill Kwan, property owner

Neighborhood Opposition

Public comment from neighbors, however, painted a different picture. Richard Blanco, who lives at 1011 West Moss Avenue (two doors from 1005), reported that the short-term rental generated frequent turnover of unrelated visitors, including "up to four or five different out-of-state vehicles," and posed safety concerns for his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Bill Ott, who has lived on Moss Avenue for 54 years.

"It is a shared driveway that particular residence has a negative impact on her family both from a personal safety standpoint and from the future value of that home and to the estate of their family... the owner of this property owns multiple properties other commercial problems in which case they would be familiar with this process." — Richard Blanco, resident, 1011 West Moss Avenue

Bill Ott himself spoke: "My mother lives at 1007 west moss the only thing i really want to add on to what rick has to say there is my mother is very frightened right now she has seen multiple people over there and that's the big concern of mine." — Bill Ott, son

West Bluff neighborhood council president Conrad Stinnett expressed opposition to the moratorium:

"We recently had our last meeting we evaluated short-term rentals they do not fit into our strategy has always been to increase homeownership and to focus on owner occupancy within the west bluff... short-term rentals or don't fit into that strategy... the uplands actually has a goal to become a single family neighborhood once again uh something that short-term rentals don't fit it with." — Conrad Stinnett, West Bluff Council President

The Council Divide

Councilwoman Beth Jensen and Councilman Graham argued forcefully against the moratorium, contending it undermined the enforcement of ordinances and that the city should not "waive" fines for those who violated rules. Jensen stated:

"I haven't made any changes to that ordinance except for the changes that were made about a month ago that added three limitations three additional limitations upon mr riggenbach's motion none of these citations are for violations of the newly enacted limitations these are violations for operating a short-term rental without a special use... my understanding so some of these i'm fairly familiar with because i was getting complaints... one of them on moss avenue operating illegally it was reported to staff notified the owner and he still continued to rent according to airbnb a short-term rental even though he'd been advised that he was in violation of the regulations he had not applied to get a special use permit and he continued to flagrantly violate what the city's requirements are." — Councilwoman Beth Jensen

Councilman Graham delivered a stern warning:

"My fellow counselors we must be a city with laws that are applied equally to all we don't have application for one set of application for the little people quote unquote and then another set of application for the connected people that's where we are tonight... council you're getting into very dangerous ground now i've never been part of a council that has allowed this type of lawlessness." — Councilman Graham

He also criticized the selective timing and process, noting that one address (1005 Moss) had been cited twice, questioning why citations were issued before staff exhausted direct contact options with owners.

Timothy Riggenbach and Dr. Kiran Velpula supported the moratorium on grounds that the ordinance had shifted multiple times over six to seven months, creating genuine confusion, and that the city's communication to the public had been inadequate.

"I think for me my support for this resolution comes from the fact that many have viewed the action of the enforcement process as punitive and let's be honest with the changes that we've made almost weekly it's really an unfair expectation to expect people to be able to keep up with our ever changing regulations we need 90 days in order to get the word out in order to encourage the compliance that we need." — Councilmember Timothy Riogenbach

Councilmember Rodrigo acknowledged both sides of the neighborhood conflict—letters supporting and opposing the STR businesses—and appealed for community dialogue rather than acrimony.

"I think that we do have a we have an opportunity here to do the right thing is it that we couldn't enforce these no we could but sometimes there's a greater message to be given which is the fact that you know what let's own the fact that we've made this process hard and we also want to be able to balance our neighborhood interests with those and these aren't people from out of town these are our friends and our neighbors." — Councilmember Rodrigo

Infrastructure and Budget Actions

The council unanimously approved nine budget motions over the course of the meeting. The most notable:

Wisconsin Avenue Street Reconstruction ($12.5M)

Timothy Riggenbach moved to restore $12.5 million for the Wisconsin Avenue street project, part of the 2014 Wisconsin Business Corridor Plan. The design phase will include pavement core testing to determine whether a milling overlay or full reconstruction is needed—a distinction that could yield significant savings. The motion passed unanimously.

School Demolition and Allen Road ($2.068M)

Councilwoman Denise Jackson moved approval of $2.068 million in fiscal recovery funds for demolition of McKinley and Harrison schools and improvements to Allen Road from War Memorial north to Denise Jackson noted this was a long-term priority for the first district. The motion passed unanimously.

"I would like to make a motion to amend the city of peoria proposed 2022-2023 biennial budget for an additional 2 million 68 403 dollars in fiscal recovery funds use for demolition of mckinley and harrison schools and a portion of the allen road project." — Councilwoman Denise Jackson, motion

General Fund Revenue and Expense Adjustments

City Manager Yurik proposed and the council approved additional general fund revenue of $1.12 million and expense cuts of $875,000 for 2022, and $1.8 million in additional revenue with $890,500 in cuts for 2023. These adjustments addressed pension liability concerns and allowed the city to avoid drawing down reserves. The revenue increases came from new state grants (distressed communities grant of $1.2M, mayor's youth program grant of $125K each year), reduced debt service from recent bond refinancing ($223,752 in 2022, $15,739 in 2023), and restored positions funded by American Rescue Plan dollars.

"We believe that we should be able to increase our revenues and then also make some reductions in the public works budget and then human resources for our contributions to the health fund and that will end up putting more money into our fund balance for the general fund." — City Manager (in response to Dr. Kiran Velpula question)

Other budget motions approved:

Pension Liability: The Looming Crisis

During budget discussion, Councilmember Rodrigo raised sharp questions about the city's unfunded pension liability for police and fire. According to Finance Director reports, the combined net pension liability for both funds stood at just over $333 million in 2018 (the year the city imposed a dedicated pension fee). By 2021, it had grown to nearly $396 million—a $63 million increase despite the pension fee. Over a 19-year amortization period, annual payments must rise as the window shrinks.

"We have an extra 63 million dollars of pension liability from where we were three years ago... this is one of the hardest things that we have facing our city." — Councilmember Rodrigo, summarizing the finance director's report

City Manager Yurik explained that investment returns are smoothed over a five-year period, meaning strong recent market performance should moderate liability growth in coming years, but the fundamental challenge—rising required contributions on a shrinking amortization timeline—remains acute. Next week's agenda will address the potential sunset of the public safety pension fee (currently set to expire at year-end) and a proposal to freeze storm water utility rates.

Procedural Controversies and Open Meetings Questions

The meeting concluded with pointed public comments and council discussion about procedural violations. Two citizens and a council member (Councilman Graham) raised concerns about the prior week's fire engine staffing vote, citing alleged violations of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (failure to provide 48-hour notice) and Robert's Rules of Order.

Citizen Carrie Alms submitted written remarks detailing:

Corporation Counsel Pratt responded by email (summarized by the mayor) that the city had inquired with the Illinois Attorney General's office but had not yet received an opinion. She noted that a motion to reconsider (under council rule 26) would require a second by a council member who voted on the prevailing side and must be filed by Friday. Alternatively, the city could place the matter back on the agenda for a "ratification vote" to remove ambiguity, though Pratt stated she was "not particularly familiar" with that procedure in this context.

Zachary Oyler and Councilmember Ruck Regal urged reconsideration, arguing that because the city manager already possessed statutory authority to staff fire engines, the council's vote was procedurally improper and should be removed from the record. Councilman Graham defended the prior vote, citing the need for the additional fire engine during a high-rise fire that occurred on November 1 and implying that procedural objections were merely the result of disagreement with the outcome.

Other Agenda Items

Snow Removal Operations

Director Sai Maroon and Public Works Director Rick Powers presented the 2021-2022 snow removal plan. The city is currently operating 17 snow routes (down from 21 pre-pandemic) with 47 total staff (32 permanent, 15 temporary). Routes use an ABC system to ensure no neighborhood is consistently first or last to be plowed. Staff requested approval to return to 21 routes and corresponding staffing levels, citing the challenge of hiring during the pandemic. Councilmember Jensen asked whether additional funding from the American Rescue Plan could accelerate the return to pre-pandemic levels; staff indicated operational complexity and collective bargaining issues made that unlikely before next season. The presentation received and filed unanimously.

Westlake Shopping Center SSA Loan Amendment

Attorney Bob Hall (Miller Hall and Triggs) requested approval of an additional $2 million loan from Morton Community Bank to the Special Service Area for Westlake Shopping Center rehabilitation and maintenance. Hall addressed prior "misconceptions" about the center's failure to pay bills, noting that PJ Hair (union contractor) had completed over $21 million in contracts at the center and the center generates approximately $4.5 million in annual sales taxes. The center's storm water fee (previously disputed) has been paid in full. The motion passed 14-1 (Timothy Riggenbach voted no).

Vote Breakdown

Short-Term Rental Moratorium (21-337)

Wisconsin Avenue Street Reconstruction

School Demolition and Allen Road Project

Westlake SSA Loan Amendment (21-313)

Budget Amendments (nine motions)

Snow Removal Presentation (21-336)

Declaration of Local State of Emergency (21-335)

Timeline

Controversies & Context

STR Enforcement Inconsistency

The moratorium was driven by allegations that the city's enforcement process was arbitrary and procedurally deficient. Of 17 cited owners, only three or four had actually engaged with staff to seek compliance; the remainder were fined without adequate notice or opportunity to respond. One address (1005 Moss) received two citations, with the second following within 24 hours of the owner's voluntary visit to city hall to request a special-use application. A second owner (Kwan) had two fines issued before his first hearing date, leaving no opportunity to address the initial violation before being hit with a second penalty.

Director Doolin stated that the citations were written to prompt compliance and that staff would have recommended dismissal for first-time offenders who came into compliance—but because most owners did not respond, the enforcement escalated unilaterally. Councilwoman Jensen and Councilman Graham argued this was appropriate enforcement of a law adopted in March 2021; others contended the city's communication to the public had been inadequate and that shifting ordinance language (with three additional restrictions added in recent months) created genuine confusion.

Neighborhood vs. Business Interests

The debate exposed a fundamental tension between protecting neighborhood quality of life and accommodating entrepreneurship. The West Bluff neighborhood association and residents living near short-term rentals opposed the moratorium, viewing it as enabling non-compliant operators and undermining the city's regulatory authority. Others—including multiple council members and property owners—argued the city had failed to communicate clearly and had picked winners and losers capriciously.

Pension Liability

The city's combined police and fire pension liability has surged from $333M (2018) to nearly $396M (2021), growing $63M despite the adoption of a dedicated pension fee. With a 19-year amortization window, required contributions are rising inexorably. Investment returns have been strong recently (smoothed over five years), but structural pressure remains. The public safety pension fee is set to sunset at year-end 2021, and next week's council agenda will address its potential extension.

Procedural Allegations

Citizens and council members raised serious questions about whether the October 26 vote to direct the city manager to allocate funds for fire engine staffing was properly noticed and whether it violated Robert's Rules of Order and the Illinois Open Meetings Act. The city attorney's office has inquired with the state Attorney General; a response is pending. Council members may move to reconsider before Friday or place a ratification vote on next week's agenda to remove ambiguity, though the mayor and others suggested the issue was procedurally complex and best left to legal counsel.

Duration

Project Details (STR Moratorium)

Other Notable Items

Illinois American Water Opposition: Brad Rieser, an employee of Illinois American Water, publicly objected to any use of COVID recovery funds for a municipal water system takeover, citing the company's track record and the stress buyout discussions place on employees and families. The city manager did not signal immediate intent to pursue such a takeover in the 2022-2023 budget.

Downtown Warehouse District Parking: Zachary Oyler motion to allocate $5.07 million for property acquisition and surface parking in the 800-1000 blocks of Washington Street addressed a long-standing downtown development bottleneck. The project was unanimously approved.