ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and Director of Community Development with a Request to Concur with the Recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Commission and Staff to APPROVE a RESOLUTION Amending the OFFICIAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN by Incorporating the LOCAL FOODS, LOCAL PLACES PLAN.
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BACKGROUND: The City of Peoria is a member of the Building Healthy Communities collaborative, a cross-sector group that aims to improve health outcomes through the built environment. Building Healthy Communities, with the City serving as project lead, applied for and received technical assistance as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "Local Foods, Local Places" program, one of only fifteen communities nationwide to be selected. In May 2019, the EPA led a two-day workshop focused on food access and food system sustainability on the Southside, with over forty partners in attendance, including community members, local agency staff, and more.
In summer 2019, the local steering committee developed a plan based upon workshop, the EPA providing guidance along the way. Main goals include establishing a "food equity center," where a food hub and grocery store could be collocated with financial planning services, health screening facilities, workforce development opportunities, and more. Another major goal is to connect neighborhood voices to the redevelopment process to ensure that the project(s) that grow out of the plan align with community needs, wants, and culture. Other goals include increasing the demand for locally-grown agricultural products as well as providing business development and educational resources around food and farming on the Southside.
Both in scope and timeframe, the Local Foods work has run parallel to the development of the South Village Implementation Plan featuring the MacArthur Corridor Plan, Southern Gateway Plan, and Western Avenue Plan, approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission as well as City Counci...
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