Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council receives first reading on expansion of urban decay abatement to include rehabilitation costs
Summary
Councilors received and filed a first-reading amendment that would let owners rehabilitating single-family homes in designated Peoria neighborhoods qualify for a 10-year tax rebate tied to increased assessed value; the change follows a state legislative amendment allowing rehabilitative costs to qualify.
The Peoria City Council on March 11 received and filed the first reading of an amendment to the city’s Urban Decay Abatement Ordinance that would expand tax-abatement eligibility to include rehabilitations of existing single-family owner-occupied homes in specified neighborhoods.
Corporation Counsel explained that the program, adopted in 2021, previously applied to newly built single-family owner-occupied homes in two targeted areas north of downtown and on the South Side. A legislative change at the state level last year allows rehabilitations to qualify; the proposed ordinance would incorporate that change and allow the increased taxes resulting from rehabilitation to be rebated for 10 years.
Council Member Kelly, who led the local legislative effort, said the change is intended to make rehabilitation — which she and staff said is often more economically feasible in the targeted areas — eligible for the ten-year rebate, and that state legislators from both parties helped secure the statutory amendment. Corporation Counsel and staff said the program keeps land taxed at current levels while rebating taxes tied to improvements, and that the program, if adopted, would run for 20 years from council adoption so later applicants could still receive a full 10-year rebate.
Council action on March 11 was to receive and file the ordinance for a later vote. Councilor Kelly moved to receive and file; council member Vailpula seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Staff said the proposed program is designed to encourage single-family owner-occupied homes to be built or rehabilitated in neighborhoods with many vacant lots and demolition activity. Officials noted that property tax abatements under the program are calculated after reviewing sales tax and other collections that affect the special-service-area calculations.
No substantial opposition was recorded at the first reading; council members congratulated Kelly for the multi-year effort to secure the statutory change in Springfield. Staff and councilors said they would consider any future expansions or extensions to the program at later meetings.
