Bloomington City Council will be voting to adopt the city's Climate Action Plan on April 21. It is a companion document to the Sustainability Action Plan, which was adopted in 2018.

The CAP focuses on ways to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience. 

Click here to read the full Climate Action Plan.

The Monroe County Health Department is distributing signs reminding the public that a mask mandate is still in effect at least through May 28. 

Face coverings are required in public, as is maintaining 6 feet of social distancing. Private gatherings are limited to 50 people in Monroe County outside of Bloomington, and limited to 15 people in the City of Bloomington.

​The current public health order, which took effect on April 7, remains in place until May 28. Confusion has arisen because some other parts of the state have lifted these regulations.

Monroe County officials hope that businesses and other organizations will place the signs prominently. Click here and here to download the signs. The signs are also available in Spanish here and here.

The Bloomington Plan Commission voted unanimously to approve a project converting the hotel at 1722 N. Walnut to 85 studio apartments. No additional approval is required, and the conversion might be completed by the fall of 2021.

The hotel, currently called America's Best Value Inn, is located just south of the former Motel 6 site, where a new apartment complex is being built.

The Plan Commission's vote occurred at its April 12 meeting.

The final 2021 Indiana Legislative Update took place on Saturday, April 10, with briefings from Rep. Peggy Mayfield (District 60) and Rep. Matt Pierce (District 61). 

The monthly forums, held while the Indiana General Assembly is in session, are co-hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters of Monroe County, and the LWV of Brown County.
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Watch the April 10 forum on CATS here.

The City of Bloomington's Trades District parking garage, located near 10th Street and the B-Line, is opening on Saturday, April 17 with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. 

The new structure has 350 spaces with ground-floor commercial/retail space. It includes a public art installation, Aurora Almanac, by artist Esteban Garcia Bravo.

Click here to learn more about the Trades District garage.

On a 5-4 vote, the Bloomington Plan Commission supported permitting duplexes in all residential zones. Voting in favor were Flavia Burrell, Chris Cockerham, Jillian Kinzie, Karin St. John and Brad Wisler. Voting against were Beth Cate, Andrew Cibor, Susan Sandberg and Israel Herrera.

Earlier in the meeting, commissioners rejected an amendment that would have prevented duplexes in all residential districts. That vote was 1-8, with support only from Susan Sandberg.

Commissioners also voted 6-3 to remove a requirement that would have prevented more than one duplex built within a 150-foot buffer for a two-year period.
 
The administration/planning staff had recommended duplexes as conditional uses in all residential districts. The recommendation for triplexes and quadplexes is conditional in only R-4, and that remains unchanged at this point.
 
This is part of the city’s UDO update. The next meeting is on Thursday, April 1, at 5:30 p.m. and Beth Cate has indicated that she’ll propose putting a cap on the number of duplexes allowed in each district.
 
After the Plan Commission finishes their updates, this will go to Bloomington Council for final approval. 

Watch the March 29 Plan Commission meeting here. More information about the UDO process is here.

Friends of Lake Monroe's Maggie Sullivan briefed Monroe County Council on the development of a watershed management plan at ​the council's March 23 work session.

The project is creating a plan of action for addressing water quality goals by identifying problems and solutions with the watershed, a 440-square-mile area around Lake Monroe. Built in 1964 as a reservoir, Lake Monroe is the largest lake in Indiana and the primary water source for this region.

​Click here to watch the presentation on CATS.

Clear Creek Urban, a proposed five-building mixed-use project on South Rogers in Perry Township, was approved by Monroe County Plan Commission on March 23.

The vote was 6-3. It will now move to the three-member Monroe County Commissioners for final approval. Commissioner Julie Thomas, who also serves on the Plan Commission, voted against it.

Click here to watch the Plan Commission's deliberations on CATS.

The Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute presented a report to Monroe County Commissioners about this area's climate resilience.

The Hoosier Resilience Index is a survey to help local governments understand how prepared they are for the impacts of climate change. The main impacts are increases in extreme heat and extreme precipitation. The most vulnerable populations, including low-income and minority residents, will be the first to feel the impacts, according to researchers Andrea Webster and Zach Richardson.

Watch the presentation at the commissioners' March 24 working session here. A written report is forthcoming.

A March panel discussion hosted by the United Way of Monroe County focused on evictions, housing security and local programs that address those issues. 

Moderated by Mark Fraley, panelists were Beacon Inc. Rapid Rehousing Coordinator Amy Harrison, Housing & Eviction Prevention Project Coordinator Tonda Radewan, and Monroe Circuit Court IV Judge Catherine Stafford.

Click here to watch a video of the panel discussion.