The Monroe County Plan Commission will review a draft zoning module at its Dec. 14 meeting, as part of a major zoning overhaul that the county is undertaking. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. via this Zoom link. The draft module, which focuses on administrative procedures, is available here.

This revision of the County Development Ordinance (CDO) is being undertaken by consultants McBride Dale Clarion and consists of three modules. Module 2 focuses on zoning districts and uses, while Module 3 will cover dimensional and development standards and definitions.

Background and more info is on the Monroe County CDO site.

A draft of Module 1 for Monroe County's County Development Ordinance (CDO) was reviewed at the Nov. 18 meeting of the Ordinance Review Committee. Module 1 focuses on administration, processes, subdivision control, and enforcement.

This project is being led by consultant McBride Dale Clarion. The ordinance is divided into three modules, which the county Plan Commission will review separately but approve as a whole, likely in 2021. The CDO will then move to the Monroe County Commissioners for approval.

Click here for information about the CDO process.

The City of Bloomington is holding a second public forum about the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) mapping process to focus on the new student housing zone. The meeting on Thursday, Oct. 29 starts at 5:30 p.m. via this Zoom link.

The city is continuing a two-year overhaul of the UDO, the city's main zoning document. In addition to updating its zoning map, planning staff are bringing forward text amendments related to duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes. The proposal, if approved by city council, would allow such structures as either conditional or permitted uses in more residential districts.
 
​More information, including an online survey, is available on the UDO mapping website. You can watch a recording of the city's Oct. 27 forum, which provided a general overview, here. The planning staff is expected to present a formal proposal to the Bloomington Plan Commission in early 2021.

The City of Bloomington has released a draft zoning map as the last phase of a two-year overhaul of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), the city's main zoning document.

A public forum will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, Oct. 27 from 5:30-7 p.m. with a presentation on the proposed changes and a Q&A session. There will be at least four more meetings in the coming weeks to seek public input, as well as opportunities to provide feedback via online surveys.

A website for the mapping project also contains a proposed housing diversity story map, an interactive map where residents can enter their address, and information about opportunities to provide feedback over the next eight weeks. The input collected during this period will help city staff prepare for public hearings in early 2021 to consider and adopt the new zoning map for the city, along with text amendments. 

A forum on Tuesday, June 16 will focus on getting input for the redevelopment of a 24-acre site where the IU Health Bloomington Hospital is now located. The City of Bloomington will be taking over ownership of that area in 2021.

The public forum starts at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Registration is required – click here to register. The event will also be livestreamed on the city's Facebook page.

​Unable to attend? Give your input by taking this online survey.

​Click here to view the project's website.

As part of the process to update the Monroe County Consolidated Development Ordinance (CDO), county planning staff are asking residents to participate in focus groups in the coming months.

The focus groups are organized into these topics:

• Affordable Housing/Neighborhood Development
• Environmental Protections
• Engineering/Surveyors/Realtors/Architect/Land Use Lawyers
• Historic Preservation
• Citizen Advisory (made up of County residents)
• Economic Development
• Agricultural Provisions

Click here to sign up for a CDO focus group. Get more information about the CDO process here.

Wednesday, May 27 is the kickoff for the overhaul of Monroe County's zoning, known as the CDO (consolidated development ordinance). Party down, right?

Consultants hired by the county – McBride Dale Clarion – will give a presentation to the County Plan Commission starting at 5:30 p.m. On the 27th you can join the Zoom meeting here .

Check out the county's CDO site for more information.

Work will start later this year on a redesigned 4th St. garage, following approval of required variances by the Bloomington Board of Zoning Appeals. It will be built on the existing footprint with 7 stories, 537 spaces and ground floor commercial space. The estimated completion date is August 2021.

The city also has dropped its appeal in the eminent domain lawsuit it filed to take the JuanSells.com building at the south end of the block. 

The variances granted by the BZA at its March 19 meeting included allowing the parking structure’s entrance driveway to be wider than would ordinarily be allowed under city code, and allowing the driveway to be closer to Walnut Street than the code allows.

The downtown garage was closed in late 2018 because of structural flaws. It was subsequently demolished last year. ​

Monroe County is in the process of selecting a consultant to overhaul the county's zoning code.

At their Dec. 18 work session, Monroe County Commissioners heard from Larry Wilson, the county's planning director. He said that staff and the county Plan Commission recommended hiring Clarion Associates for the new County Development Ordinance (CDO). 

Clarion recently did the City of Bloomington's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The firm also has done work for Indianapolis/Marion County, Fort Wayne/Allen County, and hundreds of other communities nationwide.

Wilson said that $105,000 remained from the previous CDO appropriation. The county previously hired Calfee Zoning, but that firm was unable to complete the project and reached a settlement with the county to end their contract.

Commissioner Julie Thomas, who also serves on the county Plan Commission, said she preferred the other finalist, Clearzoning, because she thought their writing was clearer. "But I'm happy to go with the majority of my colleagues," she added. 

Wilson reported that Clearzoning, which is based in Michigan, had no experience with projects in Indiana, and would need to learn Indiana statutory requirements.

​The three-member Monroe County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the contract at their Jan. 8 meeting. The seven-member County Council would then be asked to appropriate funds for the work at their Jan. 14 meeting. Wilson told commissioners that he hoped the bulk of the CDO could be completed in 2020.

Click here to watch the Dec. 18 working session on CATS.

The Bloomington City Council has scheduled a series of meetings to work on the draft Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a major overhaul of the city's zoning code. A new page on the city's website will track all council action on the UDO.

All meetings will begin at 6 p.m. at city hall council chambers, 401 N. Morton, and will include opportunity for public comment. Click here for the memo outlining the council's UDO process.

Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019
Staff presentation on Chapter 1 (Ordinance Foundation) and Chapter 2 (Zoning Districts)

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019
Staff presentation on Chapter 3 (Use Regulations). This section includes regulations related to duplex/triplex/quadplex development and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in core neighborhoods.

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019
Staff presentation on Chapter 4 (Development Standards & Incentives) and Chapter 5 (Subdivision Regulations). Chapter 4 includes regulations related to the affordable housing payment-in-lieu process.

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019
Staff presentation on Chapter 6 (Administration & Procedures) and Chapter 7 (Definitions)

Monday, Nov. 4, 2019 at noon
First deadline for council to submit amendments

Council will consider proposed amendments at meetings on the following dates:
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019 
Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019

Second deadline for council to submit amendments: Monday, Nov. 25 at noon.

Additional UDO meetings might take place on the following dates:
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019
Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019  
Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019  
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019  
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019

The Chamber's Advocacy Team has been tracking this process since it began in early 2018. Our current advocacy efforts are focused on zoning that eliminates barriers to address this community's residential housing shortage. We're also advocating for greater transparency and clarity in the city's affordable housing payment-in-lieu process.