On Nov. 6, Bloomington City Councilmembers Susan Sandberg and Chris Sturbaum released the final report of the Affordable Living Committee that they've been working on since 2015. From the introduction: "This report is not intended to be the authoritative word on affordability in Bloomington. Instead, it is intended to point out the need for a systems view of affordability – a vision that is bigger than just housing. It is our hope that as the community conversation about affordable housing continues to evolve, that it does so mindful of a comprehensive approach to the problem. One that includes, but is not limited to: wages, housing, child care, health care, and food. " Click here for a copy of the report.
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The City of Bloomington has hired RDG Consultants to conduct an in-depth housing study, examining the city's existing rental and owner-occupied housing stock, its location, price points and condition. Based on this analysis, the city plans to complete an assessment of future housing needs. As part of this effort, the city is holding "listening sessions" to get input on Bloomington's current and future housing needs. Sessions will be held Oct. 21 through Oct. 24. For details on specific times and to sign up to attend a session, please click here. Bloomington's housing study is building on the recent Indiana Uplands Regional Housing Study, which was also conducted by RDG Consultants and includes an assessment of Monroe County. Click here for more information on that effort. An 11-county study of workforce housing needs has been released this week, assessing the regional housing market and proposing strategies for addressing challenges. The 339-page Indiana Uplands Regional Housing Study includes the Bloomington/Monroe County community. Reports for individual counties also can be downloaded on the housing study's website. Six main strategies are identified by the report (pp 318-337):
ROI is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, and is funded through a $25.87 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. Bloomington Transit has set dates for a series of public sessions to get feedback and provide information on proposed route changes. The effort is part of BT's Route Optimization Study, which began in 2018.
See the chart below for details on times and locations. More information about the proposed changes are available on BT's website. BT is also looking for feedback via its Bloomington Community Rider Survey. Click here to take the survey. Following a directive from the Bloomington City Council earlier this year, new scooter license application forms and processes were approved by the Board of Public Works at its Sept. 17 meeting. Licensing fees to operate in Bloomington will be $10,000 annually per company, plus 15 cents per ride, per month. That per-ride fee could be reduced to 10 cents if the scooter company agrees to deploy shared-use bikes in a ratio of one bike to every five scooters. Click here to view the staff report and sample forms. Adam Wason, director of public works, said the city is also working on other scooter-related issues, including an expanded dismount zone and enforcement. Wason told the board that he expects they'll have two applications to consider at their next meeting on Sept. 30. That meeting begins at noon at city hall's McCloskey conference room, 401 N. Morton. Lime and Bird both currently operate in Bloomington under interim operating agreements. Click here to watch the discussion on CATS. The Bloomington Plan Commission has scheduled three additional meetings to consider amendments to the draft Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). All meetings start at 5:30 p.m.:
1) Duplexes, Triplexes and Quadplexes (Amendments 4A and 4B). In a six-hour meeting on Sept. 5, commissioners heard from 37 residents during a public hearing on the "plexes." In the draft UDO, plexes are a "conditional use" in core neighborhood zones, meaning that the project must go through the city's approval process in order to be built. About half of the speakers were concerned about the additional density that such units would bring to the city's core neighborhoods, and argued that they shouldn't be allowed at all in those parts of the city. An equal number of speakers believed the city needs more housing stock of all kinds, and that this is one way to achieve that goal. OUTCOME: Plexes will remain as a conditional use in core neighborhoods (in the UDO draft), after a Plan Commission amendment to make them permitted use (by right) failed on a 4-5 vote. Voting for by right were Brad Wisler, Nick Kappas, Flavia Burrell and Neil Kopper. Voting against were Beth Cate, Joe Hoffmann, Jillian Kinzie, Susan Sandberg and Karin St. John. Watch the deliberations on CATS here. 2) Accessory Dwelling Units (Amendments 5A and 5B). Plan Commissioners considered these amendments on Sept. 10. In the draft UDO, ADUs were allowed by right. Amendment 5A – making ADUs a conditional use – passed on a 5-4 vote. Voting in favor: Joe Hoffmann, Susan Sandberg, Beth Cate, Jillian Kinzie, and Karin St. John. On an 8-1 vote (with Susan Sandberg opposing), Plan Commissioners also approved Amendment 5B, which increased the number of bedrooms and the permitted size of an ADU. As amended, ADUs will be allowed with up to 2 bedrooms and a maximum 840-square-foot size. OUTCOME: In the UDO draft, ADUs will be a conditional use with up to 2 bedrooms allowed and an 840-square-foot maximum size. Watch the deliberations on CATS here. 3) Payment-in-Lieu (Amendment 7). This amendment was brought forward by Commissioner Flavia Burrell, responding to a recommendation by the Chamber. The intent was to make the process of determining a payment-in-lieu more transparent by requiring approval from the Common Council. Staff objected to that process, however, so on Sept. 10 the Plan Commission amended out the approval requirement. The resulting language is vague and does not specify how the city determines the payment-in-lieu amount. OUTCOME: Amendment 7 passed without the requirement that the Common Council adopt administrative procedures for calculating, collecting, accounting for and spending payment-in-lieu funds. Watch the deliberations on CATS here. Click here to see the city's UDO update site, with details about other amendments, links to the full UDO draft and ways to submit written comments. An uptick in downtown graffiti – on both public and private property – is getting attention from city officials, though in some cases their options for addressing it are limited. It's important to deal with graffiti quickly, as that's the best way to deter additional vandalism. The City of Bloomington sends out crews to clean off or paint over tags on public property. You can report graffiti by calling the city's Safe and Civil City hotline at 812-355-7777 or using the city's online UReport system. What if the graffiti is on private property? Then it's the responsibility of the property owner, and you need their permission to take action. Bloomington's Safe and Civil City staff can help with that – contact them at 812-355-7777 or safeandcivil@bloomington.in.gov. Check out the city's "How to Organize a Graffiti Clean-Up" site for graffiti-removal tips. Another useful resource: The City of Milwaukee's detailed description of graffiti-removal techniques. The site gives advice on choosing the correct solvent, deciding whether to paint over the graffiti or wash it off, and dealing with graffiti on different types of surfaces, such as concrete, stone, brick, metal or wood. Seattle's "Red Wagon Paint Out" is another approach. That city provides tips for preventing graffiti, as well as free materials – delivered in a little red wagon – and training for volunteers to deal with graffiti. Graffiti is unlawful conduct under Chapter 14.36.050 of the City of Bloomington code. It's a violation of Indiana Code 35.43.1.2, punishable as a Class A misdemeanor if property damage is more than $750 and less than $50,000, or a Level 6 felony if damage is over $50,000. The Bloomington Redevelopment Commission recently got an update on the proposed schematic design of the 4th Street parking structure, a six-floor, 504-space structure with 9,800 square feet of retail/office space facing Walnut. Commissioners Don Griffin, Sue Sgambelluri and Eric Sandweiss heard from Josh Scism of CORE Planning Strategies, Bill Riggert of the civil engineering firm BRCJ, and Joe Raper of CSO Architects, the firm hired to design this estimated $18.5 million project. F.A. Wilhelm Construction is the construction manager. The team described design features including two public restrooms, 50 bike parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations, public art, solar roof panels, and a drop-off zone for buses, delivery vehicles and rideshares like Uber and Lyft. The design is also oriented for possible future connection to an expanded convention center. Scism also discussed two issues affecting the site's south end: 1) a parcel on the southeast corner that the city hopes to acquire, currently owned by Juan Carlos Carrasquel of JuanSells.com Realty Co., and 2) underground and overhead utilities – for AT&T and Duke Energy – that need to be moved. The construction budget includes costs related to utility relocations, though the exact amount hasn't been determined. Carrasquel attended the meeting and spoke to commissioners about the city's efforts to buy his property through eminent domain. On June 7, the city filed a Complaint for Condemnation with the Monroe County Circuit Court, beginning the process to purchase Carrosquel's land through eminent domain. "I'm the owner of the property to the south, and I'm not a willing seller and I want everybody to know that," Carrasquel told commissioners, calling the public purpose of the city's action "questionable" and "illegitimate." He didn't take issue with building the garage. He suggested an alternative of building the structure higher and eliminating retail space, allowing the city to have the same number of spaces while letting his LLC– called 222 Hats – keep the property. City attorney Larry Allen told RDC members that the city's Board of Public Works determined that this project – including the proposed retail space – is for the public good. They made that determination at their April 30, 2019 meeting. The city is working to determine a fair valuation of the property, he said. The in-court proceedings and out-of-court negotiations are happening on parallel paths, he said. Susan Sandberg, who serves on City Council and the Plan Commission, told the RDC that she's been very impressed by the professionalism of the project team, and stressed that the entire project is for the public benefit. Allen noted that the Uniform Development Code (UDO) requires retail space in projects like this. The relevant section is within the Overlay Chapter 20.03 for the Downtown Core Overlay – specifically, section 20.03.120 (e) Ground Floor Non-residential uses. An excerpt: "(2) All properties to which this subsection applies shall provide ground floor nonresidential uses along the applicable street frontage. No less than fifty percent (50%) of the total ground floor area shall be used for such nonresidential uses. Enclosed parking garages shall not be counted toward the required nonresidential uses." During the meeting, Alex Crowley, the city's director of economic and sustainable development, talked about outreach that the city is doing to businesses, including the garage's key tenants. He noted that two businesses – Blockhouse Bar and The Back Door – can only be accessed through the alley along the west side of the garage. The city is working with them to understand their needs, he said. Other outreach will be happening with nearby neighbors and businesses, as well as the general public, Crowley said. Later in the meeting, the RDC approved an increase to CSO Architect's contract for work at both the 4th Street and Trades District garages, for an amount not to exceed $1,197,950. The item had been added to the RDC's agenda at the start of its meeting. Funding for these projects is coming from the city's Tax Increment Financing (TIF), which the RDC oversees. A Technical Review Committee has given input on the design. Chamber President and CEO Erin Predmore serves on that committee. The RDC is not required to approve the design. The project will be presented to the city's Plan Commission at their July 8 meeting, which will also include a public hearing on the design. Next steps also include submitting requests to the city for variances needed on the site and starting the bid process for demolition. The city is also negotiating a guaranteed maximum price and a base contract for construction, which will determine the bond issuance, according to city controller Jeff Underwood. "The market's good and it looks like it's going to stay good," he told RDC commissioners. At its next meeting on Monday, July 1, the RDC will be asked to approve a final contract with F.A. Wilhelm Construction for the project's "construction manager as constructor (CMc)." That meeting starts at 5 p.m. at city hall, 401 N. Morton. Click here for the meeting packet. Watch the RDC's June 17 discussion on CATS here. Read a report by Indiana Public Media here. The City of Bloomington is planning to join MetroLab Network, a consortium that supports partnerships between cities and the universities in their community to boost civic innovation. Devta (pronounced DAVE-tuh) Kidd, the city's Innovation Director, announced the plans at the City Council's June 12 meeting as part of a broader presentation on her work. MetroLab's goal "is to help cities establish formal relationships with their local university to treat the city as a living laboratory and leverage the braintrust of the university, especially in research, for those really big, thorny issues that we encounter," Kidd said. The application process requires a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Mayor John Hamilton and either Indiana University President Michael McRobbie, Provost Lauren Robel or Vice President for Research Fred Cate. Currently, South Bend is the only Indiana city that's a MetroLab member, partnering with the University of Notre Dame. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg wrote about the partnership in his book, "Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model." He also gave the keynote at MetroLab's 2017 annual summit, describing a project that put "smart sensors" into the city's sewer system. Check out MetroLab Network's website to learn more about this effort, including a list of members and projects. Did you know that the City of Bloomington has a quick way to report problems with services or facilities? The uReport is an online tool to alert the city about issues with parking, street repair, parks, hazardous situations and more. For example, click on the Cleanup & Sanitation icon to see a list of specific issues to report: debris removal, excessive growth (presumably not economic growth!), graffiti, leaf collection, recycling, trash, and yard waste. You can upload a photo of the situation and write a brief description before submitting. Interested in tracking city performance? The Bclear portal provides information on a range of operations, from filling potholes to annual compensation reports. There are 181 datasets available on Bclear so far, including nine that relate to business/economy. One of the Chamber's roles is to ensure our members and residents are well-informed so that they can be more engaged participants in our community. Have an issue you'd like to learn more about? Let us know! Contact Mary Morgan, the Chamber's Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, at mmorgan@chamberbloomington.org or call 812-336-6381. |
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