Nothing heralds the arrival of spring quite like the opening of Heights Flowers.
The business at 4419 N. Prospect Road is fully stocked with colorful annuals, sturdy perennials, tasty vegetables, stuffed hanging baskets, pots, garden ornaments of every variety, and more.
Click below to view our new Trustee Bios.
The Peoria Heights Zoning Board of Appeals will meet Monday, May 17, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 4901 N. Prospect Road, Peoria Heights, Illinois.
The purpose of the meeKng is to consider the following requests:
Variance applicaKon filed by BeKna and John Fleming, seeking approval of a fence variance to allow construcKon of a front yard fence on a corner lot located at 4978 Grandview Drive, Peoria Heights, Illinois, 61616 (PIN No. 14-22-251-005), which property is currently zoned R-1 (Low Density ResidenKal District).
Variance applicaKon filed by William and Rebecca Cochran seeking approval of a fence
variance to allow construcKon of a front yard fence on a corner lot, which will be located less than 10 feet from the property line abu^ng the street, which is less than required by SecKon 10-4-7(D)(1)(b) for the property located at 5813 N. Galena Road, Peoria Heights, Illinois, 61616 (PIN No. 14-14-351-001), which property is current zoned R-1 (Low Density ResidenKal District).
3. Special Use applicaKon filed by Ali Hariz seeking a special use for operaKon of a used car lot at 3707 N Vincent Avenue, Peoria Heights, Illinois, 61616 (PIN No. 14-27-182-025), which property is currently zoned B-2 (General Retail Business District).
AddiKonal documents and informaKon are available at the Village Administrator's Office in Village Hall and/or by calling 686-2385.
The phones at Village Hall are working again. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Village Hall phone lines are still down due to yesterday's power outage. If you need assistance, please email administration@peoriaheights.org. Thank you for your continued patience.
The April 27th Departmental Meeting has been cancelled.
The hills may be alive with the sound of music, but so is Tower Park in Peoria Heights, which kicks off one of the first events of the warm-weather season starting tonight.
Indeed, the park, situated next door to Peoria Heights Village Hall at 4901 N. Prospect Road, will host a Drum Circle from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today – Friday, April 9. That will continue on the second Friday of every month through the fall.
Drum Circle leader Natasha Greene, a local music teacher, founded the event four years ago and has seen it take off – first in Peoria, then at Forest Park Nature Center in Peoria Heights – but believes she has found the perfect place for it at Tower Park.
All are invited to attend and to participate, if they’d like. Many bring their own percussion instruments of all sorts and sizes, but drums also will be available to borrow upon request. Participants are asked to bring their own stools or chairs. Then, just let the spirit move you as everyone jams together.
Besides the plethora of percussion, there will be live acoustic performances before and after the main event, food – think taco and barbecue trucks – art, a strolling magician, fire artist, face painting, henna tattoos, antiques for sale and more.
“Come with scarves and dance, or come and just sit and listen on a park bench. Come to enjoy some art. Come because you want to your kids to have a musical experience or have that freedom to dance and play,” said Greene. “It’s a family-friendly event.”
“No expectations. Just a smile on your face and you’ve done your part already.”
Meanwhile, get ready to party with Sam Heppard, the owner of the mobile Clink Bar who intends to introduce “Friday Night Heights” to Tower Park starting at 5 p.m. Friday, May 7, and continuing on the first Friday of every month through October.
Again, expect Heppard’s Airstream Clink Bar, live music and food, with a concentration on Heights vendors.
Friday Night Heights – a clever play on words there – will be “almost like a happy hour vibe, a little extended” to about 10 p.m., said Heppard. It will be similar to the events he’s held in the parking lot of the Pabst building, with a bit more room to stretch.
Both Greene and Heppard hope to put the “unity” back in “community” after a long and trying year
complicated by a global pandemic. On that latter point, while we may be seeing the light at the end of the COVID tunnel, the organizers of these two events ask that attendees be responsible and respectful in their interactions. Event staff will be masked and employ all reasonable precautions to keep these events safe and healthy for all.
For both, the choice of Tower Park was a “no-brainer.”
“I live in the Heights. Our business is in the Heights. It’s such a great community, with so many events ... It’s easy to build on that energy,” said Heppard. “The Village is so great to work with. They’re so forward-thinking, they’re so supportive ... I cannot imagine really doing it anywhere else.”
“It’s so comfortable, so welcoming. It’s just such an attractive, gorgeous space,” said Greene, who also will continue with the Drum Circle at Forest Park down the hill on the last Friday of every month.
“Music and art have really suffered this year,” and artists in both camps need “a place to get back out there,” she said.
Again, all from 8 to 80 and beyond are welcome. In the meantime, please watch the recent Tower Talk broadcast with Natasha Greene and Sam Heppard here.
Michael Phelan won a second term as mayor of Peoria Heights on Tuesday, April 6, while two new though not unfamiliar faces will occupy seats
at the Village Board table.
Phelan was uncontested and garnered 142 votes. In the race for three openings on the Village Board, attorney Matthew Wigginton led the pack with 113 votes, followed by Dave Marfell with 99 and incumbent Jeff Goett with 96. In the other Heights race on the ballot, Stephanie Turner won reelection to the village clerk position with 134 votes.
Wigginton and Marfell may be new to the Village Board but they should be recognizable names to many Heights residents. Wigginton has served on the Heights Zoning Board of Appeals, and Marfell was the Heights water superintendent for 10 years, leaving that post for work in the private sector at the turn of 2021. They will be succeeding current Village Board members Diane Mariscal and Sherryl Carter, respectively.
“I’m just really excited to continue building on what we’ve started in the Heights over the last four years, from the fiscal stability we’ve achieved with our budget to the economic development success we’ve had,” said Phelan.
“We’ll be adopting a long-term comprehensive plan in the coming months, which we hope will be a springboard for even greater commercial, residential and recreational growth and for improvements in the quality of life that we already enjoy.”
Beyond that, neighborhoods will be getting special emphasis in a Phelan second term, with the Village pursuing grants for new and improved but affordable housing. With village finances in good shape, the Village also hopes to put a capital budget in place, with a sidewalk program to be a major component of that.
The newly elected members will be seated in May.
The Peoria Heights semi-annual hydrant flushing program will begin on Monday, April 12, 2021 and continue through Friday, April 16, 2021 weather and schedule permitting.
Monday, April 12
North of Seiberling, west of Prospect
Tuesday, April 13
East of Prospect from Glen to Voss including Grandview Drive
Wednesday, April 14
Galena area below the bluff
Thursday, April 15
West of Prospect from Hines to Toledo
Friday, April 16
South of Hines, west of Prospect
Hydrant flushing will occur on these days from 7:30am to 3:30pm. Use of water for laundry purposes is not advisable during flushing due to the possibility of discoloration. Iron remover detergent is available upon request. This condition does NOT pose any health hazard.
For further information, please call the Water Office at (309) 686-2375.
Chris Chandler
Superintendent of Water
The Peoria Heights Zoning Board of Appeals will meet Monday, April 19, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. at Village Hall, 4901 N. Prospect Road, Peoria Heights, Illinois.
The purpose of the meeting is to consider the following requests:
1. Rezoning application filed by John Kepple/AZ Property One, L.L.C. seeking approval of a map amendment rezoning the property located on East Duryea Avenue, Peoria Heights, Illinois, 61616 (PIN No. 14-22-327-017), from the current zoning classification of I-1 (Industrial District) to R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential District).
2. Variance application filed by John Kepple/AZ Property One, L.L.C. seeking a building height variance to allow construction of structures with a height of 54 feet, which is ten feet higher than the maximum height allowed as set forth in Section 10-7C-3-D of the Village Code and a parking variance to allow for 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit, which is fewer than the 2 parking spaces per dwelling unit required by Section 10-7C-3-F of the Village Code, for the property located at 1013 East Duryea Avenue, Peoria Heights, Illinois, 61616 (PIN Nos. 14-22-327-017 and 14-22-327-018), which property is current zoned I-1 (Industrial District) and R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential District).
3. Site Plan Approval application filed by John Kepple/AZ Property One, L.L.C., seeking approval of a site plan for development of a multi-family residential development for the property located at 1013 East Duryea Avenue, Peoria Heights, Illinois, 61616 (PIN Nos. 14-22-327-017 and 14-22-327-018), which property is currently zoned I-1 (Industrial District) and R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential District).
4. Site Plan Approval application filed by Scott Lewis seeking approval of a site plan for development a single family home for the property located at 1324 Samuel Avenue, Peoria Heights, Illinois 61616 (PIN No. 14-22-402-027), which property is currently zoned R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential District).
5. Variance application filed by Scott Lewis seeking a lot size variance to allow a 5,625 square foot lot, which is less than the 15,000 square foot lot size required by Section 10-7C-3-A of the Village Code, and set back variances to allow a 20-foot set back in the front yard, a 4-foot setback in the side yard, and a 12-foot set back in the rear yard, which are smaller than required by Section 10-7C-3-E-1, E-2, and E-3, respectively, of the Village Code, for the property located at 1324 Samuel Avenue, Peoria Heights, Illinois 61616 (PIN No. 14-22-402-027), which property is currently zoned R-3 (Multiple-Family Residential District).
6. Variance application filed by Sara Legel, seeking approval of a fence variance to allow construction of a fence with 7-foot set-backs instead of the required 10-foot setback, and at a height not to exceed 6 feet, which is 2 feet higher than the maximum height allowed as set forth in Section 10-4-7-D-1 of the Village Code, for the property located at 1022 E. Highland Place, Peoria Heights, Illinois, 61616 (PIN No. 14-22-160-007), which property is currently zoned R-1 (Low Density Residential District).
7. Variance application filed by Chris and Monica Chandler, seeking a setback variance to allow construction of a garage and porch addition with a 1-foot setback in the side yard and a 20-foot setback in the front yard, which is less than required by Section 10-7A-5 of the Village Code, for the property located at 4916 N. Glen Elm Drive, Peoria Heights, Illinois 61616 (PIN No. 14-21-281-030), which property is currently zoned R-1 (Low Density Residential District).
Additional documents and information are available at the Village Administrator's Office in Village Hall and/or by calling 686-2385.