Discussion and possible action to amend the Council Approval Conditions of Development Agreement between ZonaPart, LLC and the city of Peoria, to extend the deadline to June 20, 2023, for the Developer to submit a Development Plan and conduct public outreach meetings to obtain public input for city approval, pursuant to the conditional approval of Council on October 25, 2022.

In November of 2021, the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Old Town Redevelopment (now referred to as Historic Downtown).  Through the RFP process, on October 25, 2022, staff brought forward to the City Council the recommendation to enter into an Economic Development Agreement (EDA) with ZonaPart, LLC for discussion and possible action. 

• 15 Citizens expressed opposition, all of whom requested postponement of the agenda item.
• 0 Citizens were in favor of approval.
• Opposition reasons given included:
  • The developer not providing a development plan as part of the development agreement;
  • The developer had not engaged with the local community

On October 25, 2022, Council voted for conditional approval of the EDA, with specific conditions and stipulations including:

• Final approval requires the developer to create a Development Plan;
• Final approval requires community outreach meetings to solicit public input;
• To bring the development plan and the community feedback to Council within sixty (60) days of conditional approval to obtain final approval;
• The terms of the agreement would move forward based on conducting the required public input and if the Development Plan was approved by Council. 

The sixty (60) day conditional approval timeframe expired on December 26, 2022.  As of April 25, 2023 (180 days since conditional approval), a development plan has not been presented to the City and no community outreach meetings have been held. 

It is important to note and recognize that the 60-day conditional approval spanned the holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) and there has been transition at the Mayor and Council and at the executive staff level around this same time.  It is reasonable to ascertain that at least some of this caused delays that were out of the developer’s control.  Over the past month, staff has been working with leadership and the developer to communicate and align the new vision for Peoria’s Historic Downtown conceptual plan.  These meetings too have taken some time. 

Because of these reasons, it is staff’s recommendation to provide the developer the additional time and opportunity to provide the Development Plan and conduct public outreach, by extending the deadline to June 20, 2023.

Finally, because the approval of the EDA was conditional, with specific conditions set by Council, amendments and extensions require Council approval. 

• June 20, 2023 – Recommended new deadline
• April 25, 2023 – 180 days since conditional Council Approval
• December 26, 2022 – Deadline to obtain Public Input
• October 25, 2022 – Council Conditionally Approved the Development Agreement
• September 13, 2022 – Council Executive Session
• November 15, 2021 – City issues a Request for Proposals for Old Town Redevelopment

Staff recommends granting the extension to June 20, 2023, to allow time for the developer to provide the Development Plan, conduct public outreach, and obtain final Council approval, pursuant to Council’s action on October 25, 2022.

This amendment has no fiscal impact.