Resident warns Sterling Avenue may become food desert after Kroger closure; raises Expo Gardens sale concerns
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
A resident urged the council to consider urban farming or backyard-chicken allowances on Sterling Avenue after a long-running Kroger store closed and other retailers left; the speaker also questioned future ownership of homes if Expo Gardens is redeveloped.
A resident speaking during public comment July 22 urged the Peoria City Council to address the loss of grocery access near Sterling Avenue after a Kroger that had operated since 1991 closed this week.
The speaker, Jessamyn Jess Hill, said Sterling Avenue has multiple recent retail closures — including Big Lots and a Family Dollar — and that the Kroger closing risks turning that commercial stretch into a food desert. Hill suggested the council consider zoning changes to allow backyard chickens or to create an urban-farming zone for District 1 as ways to increase local food access.
Hill also noted the impending end of the HOA fair after the sale of Expo Gardens and questioned who would buy newly constructed homes in the current market, saying Peoria’s demographic and employment conditions have changed since the 1990s.
The remarks were part of the Citizens Opportunity to Address the City Council public-comment period. No action, staff response or response from council other than thanks was recorded in the meeting minutes; the item was a request for the council to consider policy options that could affect zoning or land-use regulations in District 1.