UDO Amendments Being Drafted for Sept. 5 Plan Commission Meeting

 At its Aug. 29 special meeting, the Bloomington Plan Commission 1) passed one “clean-up” amendment to the draft Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), 2) asked staff to develop six amendments for consideration on Sept. 5, and 3) directed staff to prepare another 11 UDO amendments to consider on Sept. 10 or at subsequent meetings.

Here’s a roundup of amendments that planning staff will be drafting for the Sept. 5 meeting. They were proposed by Planning Commission chair Joe Hoffmann and unanimously supported by the rest of the commission. The substance of the amendments will be debated and likely voted on at the Sept. 5 session, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at city hall council chambers.

UPDATE: It's likely that on Sept. 5 commissioners will only be deliberating on amendments related to duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes. The first set of draft amendments are now posted on the city's UDO update site.

1. An “omnibus” amendment to fix typos, misspellings, cross-references and other clerical errors. 
2. Teardowns. An amendment clarifying how teardowns will be discouraged on lots eligible for duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes.
3. Duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes. Two parallel amendments. One would eliminate “plexes” as a conditional use entirely in R1, R2 and R3 zones. An alternative amendment would return the plexes as a permitted use in those zones, as they were in an earlier draft of the UDO. 
4. ADUs. Two parallel amendments related to accessory dwelling units (ADUs). One would make ADUs a conditional use. The other would leave ADUs as a permitted use and allow two bedrooms, rather than one. It would also allow ADUs to be the same size as other permitted accessory units in the district, like garages. 

For Sept. 10 or later meetings, here are amendments that planning staff will be drafting, based on Plan Commission requests (the name of the commissioner who proposed each amendment is indicated in parentheses):

1. Livestock. An amendment to Chapter 20.07.10 (Defined Words, page 373) changing the definitions of livestock in urban agriculture to categorize them by size and weight, rather than by a list of species. (Brad Wisler)
2. Payment-in-lieu. An amendment to Chapter 20.04.0110(c)(7) (Payment-in-Lieu, page 205) clarifying the procedures and process for developers to use the payment-in-lieu of constructing affordable housing. It would require that the Common Council approve the process, and that the process must be consistent and standardized. The amendment would also clarify how the funds could be used. (Flavia Burrell) NOTE: This is a position that the Chamber has publicly supported.
3. Impervious surfaces, invasive species. Amendments recommended by the city’s Environmental Commission related to adding to the list of invasive species and proposing alternatives to impervious surfaces. (Jillian Kinzie, Karin St. John)
4. Partial demolition. An amendment to Chapter 20.06.50(c) (Demolition Delay Permit, page 268) to ensure that any partial demolition would not alter an historic structure's contributing designation status. (Susan Sandberg)
5. Financial surety. An amendment  to Chapter 20.06.60(c)(iii) (Subdivision Procedures-Secondary Plat, page 298) clarifying the financial surety requirements for secondary plats. (Neil Kopper)
6. PUD criteria. An amendment to Chapter 20.02.50(b) (Planned Unit Development District, page 51) making 6G ("Protection of specific natural, environmental, or scenic resources or green spaces") and 6H ("Retaining natural landforms throughout the development") as qualifying standards. Those are currently listed as "highly-valued" features, not requirements.  (Nick Kappas)
7. Student housing zone. An amendment to Chapter 20.02.30(a) (Mixed-Use Zoning Districts, Student Housing, page 21) providing greater specificity and clarity about where the student housing zones would be located, based on proximity to campus and characteristics. (Joe Hoffmann)
8. Review process. An amendment to Chapter 20.02.10(c)(1) (Zoning Districts Established, page 19) removing “with the City” and adding “with the City’s planning department and reviewed by the Plan Commission.”  (Nick Kappas)
9. Driveway cuts. An amendment to Chapter 20.04.50(c) (Access and Connectivity, page 124) allowing the option of having two driveway cuts for a duplex. (Nick Kappas)
10. Trees. An amendment to Chapter 20.04.80(e) (Table 4-18 Prohibited Plant Species, page 168) to change the classification of certain trees to "invasive" rather than "poor characteristics." (Nick Kappas)
11. Electric vehicle charging. An amendment to Chapter 20.04.60(I)(8) (Electric Vehicle Charging, page 147) to count those charging stations as part of the maximum number of parking spaces allowed. (Jillian Kinzie)

Draft amendments are expected to be posted on the city's UDO update site before the Sept. 5 meeting.

The following were considered "clean-up" amendments and were passed unanimously by Plan Commissioners at their Aug. 29 meeting. The amendment allows duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes as permitted uses for new subdivisions and undeveloped locations of the city, while keeping these "plexes" as conditional uses for other areas. The most recent draft had inadvertently designated all duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes as conditional uses. ​

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