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Normal Town Council delays action on public gathering ordinance

A large crowd attended Monday's NTC meeting to ask council members to reconsider the large gatherings ordinance.
Braden Fogerson
/
WGLT
A large crowd attended Monday's Normal Town Council meeting, with many asking council members to reconsider a proposed large gatherings ordinance. The vote was ultimately delayed.

The Normal Town Council on Monday unanimously voted to table an ordinance creating new fines for large gatherings.

Dozens of members of the public attended the meeting, with their objections brought up during the public comment portion. Groups represented included Illinois State University's Student Government Association, the Central Illinois chapter of the ACLU, many other ISU students and members of the general public.

The council allowed extra time for public comment to allow all scheduled speakers to address the issue. All of the speakers were against passing the ordinance.

“I don't believe that what we have before us is the best way to address what we're trying to address without also bringing in a whole lot of unintended consequences that I do not want to go down the road of,” said council member Scott Preston.

Criticisms of the proposed ordinance largely centered around vague language. In particular, those making public comments argued the ordinance could negatively affect Normal’s live music scene, peaceful protests or parties.

The ordinance was drawn up in response to disruptions and violence seen in Normal this fall, including so-called pop-up parties held at town parks and at a service station during ISU's homecoming week.

Under the proposed ordinance, organizers and participants of such events would face $1,000 fines. Such an event includes a combination of loud music, obstruction of streets, public consumption of drugs or alcohol, fights, vandalism, open burning, littering and disorderly conduct.

“We in the artistic community believe that we're being potentially grouped in with and punished for events that we have nothing to do with,” said Tanner Johnson, an ISU graduate who frequents music shows in Bloomington-Normal, told the council.

Some argued that such regulation is an overreaction to these incidents, and that fines already are in place for the behavior the ordinance aims to limit. Others had issues with giving Normal police too much power by giving them sole discretion over whether events should be dispersed.

“The ordinance is an overreaction to a small number of incidents,” said David Bentlin, speaking for the ACLU. “An overreaction that places the town at risk of constitutional challenges, places big powers in the hands of a small number of police officers, and relies on an outdated, disproven notion that threatening more severe consequences and punishment will somehow change activities of a large group of people.”

Short-term rentals

Also Monday, the council explored tightening regulations on short-term rentals (STRs). Sixty-three short-term rentals, most commonly offered through Airbnb, are currently available in Normal.

Mercy Davison, Normal town planner, said only 21 of the 63 offerings are registered with the town and paying taxes.

“If you look at the price point that they're selling at, it is reducing the number of relatively affordable homes for people to purchase, which affects the cost of home purchase and the cost of renting,” said Davison. “And then many of the owners we found are not necessarily local, so there are investors buying short-term rentals all across the country now, there are even people building homes to be short-term rentals.”

Recommendations made to the council included prohibiting short-term rentals in certain residential districts, with 5-year amortizations for existing ones. Alternative measures included mandating 1,500 feet between STRs; requiring owner-occupancy; requiring 30-day stays for renters; and increasing documentation required to begin renting out property.

The council also approved conditional site plans for lots in the WH subdivision west of Rivian Motorway and rezoning at the Trails on Sunset Lake subdivision.

Braden Fogerson is a newscaster and correspondent at WGLT.