The Peoria County Land Use Committee voted unanimously to approve a text amendment that removes a numerical cap on consecutive building permits from the county's Unified Development Ordinance.

Andrew (staff member) told the committee the proposal, zoning case ZVA-2025-0058, would amend Chapter 20, Article 3, Section 3.2 to eliminate a provision limiting the number of permits a project could receive in succession. "The circuit court recently ruled that we could not impose a numerical restriction on the number of permits, and then require them to get a variance," Andrew said, explaining the court determined the restriction should be governed by the building code rather than the zoning code.

The change removes the two-permit cap that had required projects still incomplete after two permits to seek a variance from the zoning board of appeals. Andrew said staff plans to return later with a proposed amendment to Chapter 12 (the building and property maintenance code) to address successive permits through tools such as fee adjustments. "We're doing some research internally, and we'll come forward with an amendment once we feel comfortable with a proposal," he said.

Committee members asked about how permit durations and extensions currently work. Andrew said a single-family new construction permit is issued for two years and carries a 90-day extension (totaling about 27 months). If applicants obtain a subsequent permit, a second permit could add roughly another 27 months; by the point of a third permit a project could span about 44.5 years. He noted some jurisdictions handle repeat permit requests by shortening timelines and increasing fees on repeat permits.

The committee passed the item without a recorded mover or seconder in the transcript; the chair announced the motion "carried unanimously." The committee did not receive public comment on the item. The change will remove the numeric restriction from the zoning code; staff said any policy to limit repeat permits or to adjust fees will be addressed through a separate building-code amendment.