My journey at IU Bloomington is coming to a close. In a little over a week, I'll attend my commencement ceremony to receive my Master of Public Affairs degree. While much has changed for me over the past two years (including getting engaged), one constant has been my time here with the Chamber. Sadly, the end of my IU journey also means the end of my two-year fellowship with the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. My last day at the Chamber will be this Thursday, May 1st.

I want to start by extending my heartfelt thanks to my colleagues at the Chamber. Their partnership with the O'Neill Leadership Program paved the way for my fellowship. A special shout out to Christopher Emge who brought me in as part of the Advocacy team.

Having previously worked in politics and government, my time with the Chamber offered a new experience--the opportunity to engage in issues-based advocacy. My work with the Chamber also allowed me to test out my classroom learning in real-time. From writing memos and newsletters, to conducting member surveys, tracking legislation, and--my personal highlight--testifying before a State House committee, I gained valuable insight in the advocacy realm. In a more personal light, working with and advocating for our members helped me to connect with Bloomington in a way that I never would have as a commuter student. I'm immensely grateful for the connections I've made, and I have no doubt these experiences will serve me well in my future career.
 
I will always look back fondly on my time here at the Chamber and Bloomington will always have a special place in my heart. For now, a few more days of burning the midnight oil and a well-deserved vacation before tackling whatever comes next.

Farewell,
​Josh

This Saturday, I will be sitting at The Winslow Sports Park—hot dog in hand, surrounded by families cheering on the Little League baseball Jamboree, opening day. There, under the canopy bleachers and over the crack of aluminum bats, I will find something that defines this community: neighbors chatting across generations, Monroe County residents from every corner mingling, and a spirit of togetherness that zoning maps can’t capture.  I call this “community”.

On April 17, the Monroe County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 to approve Ordinances 2025-11 and 2025-12, downzoning more than two hundred parcels in the Sunset Hill and Maple Grove Baby Farms neighborhoods from High Density (HD) to Residential 1 (RES). This was not a tweak—it was a  shift. One that limits housing choice, shrinks opportunity, and ignores the economic needs of our shared future.

Zoning with a Rearview Mirror
Let us be clear: good zoning should look 30 years ahead, not 30 years back. Instead, this vote embraces a “last settler’s mindset”—a planning philosophy that says, “I’m here now, so no one else can come.”

But our economy—and our people—need something more. Monroe County employers are struggling to find housing for their workforce. Young professionals, teachers, healthcare workers, and seniors looking to downsize need options. And yet, this decision removes those options by restricting housing types that are more attainable: duplexes, triplexes, ADUs, tiny homes.

According to County Councilmember David Henry, the downzone "forecloses on opportunities for creative, small-footprint development,” which not only limits affordability but removes tools to actually restore community character.
County Surveyor Trohn Enright-Randolph also weighed in, pointing out that the rezoning will force property owners to jump through more hoops just to make modest improvements. More variances, more red tape, more frustration. Is this how we welcome innovation?

A Missed Opportunity for Smart Growth
The affected parcels fall within the Urban Growth Area—exactly where housing should go. This decision pushes development further out, into rural areas, increasing vehicle miles travel, infrastructure costs, and environmental impact. It is sprawling by policy.

We need smart growth, not the stunted variety. That means focusing on new housing where we already have roads, schools, and utilities. It means building the kind of compact, walkable neighborhoods that serve people at every stage of life. And yes, it means zoning to increase our housing stock, not lock it in amber.

The Fiscal Reality: We Need a Bigger Pie
Monroe County has already lost $3.8 million in revenue due to property tax caps and exemptions. Now, Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) at the Indiana Statehouse threatens to limit local government’s ability to grow property tax revenues even further.

Here is the bottom line: we need more taxpayers, not just higher taxes on the few who remain. We need to increase the tax revenue pie. How else will we fund critical investments like the soon to be bonded Justice Center? Limiting growth where infrastructure already exists only handcuffs the County’s ability to generate the revenue it needs to pay for tomorrow’s needs. This is not theoretical—it's math.

A Voice of Reason: Commissioner Madeira
In the midst of the noise, Commissioner Jody Madeira stood tall. Her vote against the downzoning was a stand for thoughtful planning and economic foresight. She understood the implications—not just for a handful of property owners today, but for the thousands of residents who need housing tomorrow. She recognized that the County cannot plan in isolation or based solely on nostalgia. Her attention to detail and long-term thinking were refreshing reminders that we can govern with both heart and head.

The Anti-Bloomington Crusade
The Chair of the Monroe County Plan Commission seemingly isn’t opposed to housing options, she was opposed to Bloomington itself. In her own words today, Bloomington “has lost its community.”

No community?

Someone might want to tell the 80,000 people who live there, the thousands of local business owners, teachers, nurses, artists, and, yes, Little League families who are part of what is very much a community. Just because you do not like annexation doesn’t mean you get to write off an entire city.

The fixation on the city’s boundaries has veered so far off the mainstream path that she has become a cautionary tale in governance. If your primary goal in land use planning is to block progress out of spite, it may be time to retire the gavel.  We need forward thinkers on the Monroe Plan Commission. 
 
The Chamber’s Position
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce respectfully opposed the downzoning ordinances. As we shared in our public comment:

• These rezonings reduce housing capacity where it is needed most.
• They contradict our community’s long-term development goals.
• They create legal nonconformities, discourage reinvestment, and increase bureaucratic burden.
• And they risk undermining the region’s ability to attract talent and grow local businesses.
  ​

Let us talk about overlays, incentives, and smart land use—not artificial constraints.

Final Thought
At Winslow this weekend, I will be reminded that the community isn’t about zoning categories. It’s about people. It’s about being able to stay, to grow, to invest, and to belong.
Let’s zone for that.

Authors update on 6/9/20:
 
I should have clarified in this blog post that the quote attributed to the Monroe County Plan Commission president was a paraphrase of a longer statement. Due to character limits in our blog template, I summarized her remarks, but mistakenly included the paraphrase in quotation marks. Regardless, we stand by our interpretation that her full statement reflects a belief that Bloomington has lost—and continues to lose—its sense of community.

We now have less than a month until the Indiana General Assembly must statutorily end its legislative session (April 29th). In all likelihood, however, session will end earlier. Both the Senate and House calendars have April 24th as the anticipated last day. There are sure to be some late nights ahead as both chambers work to get through committees, debate bills on the floor, offer up last minute amendments to the budget, and try to hash out difference between House and Senate versions of bills. Further complicating things, since it is a budget year, any bill that impacts the budget must be approved by the Ways and Means Committee in the House and the Appropriations Committee in the Senate.

While the list of bills left alive has whittled down considerably, we are still tracking a number of pieces of legislation. First, it is important to note that the Governor can sign bills as they are passed. He doesn't have to wait until session is over to sign them all at once. Here are a few bills we've been following that have been signed into law by the Governor:

SB 199--Provides that 2 or more candidates of a political party may sign a written statement indicating their desire to name a watcher to be present at a county primary election
HB 1122--Authorizes law enforcement officers to order someone to stop approaching if the officer believes the person's presence within 25 ft of the officer will interfere with their duties
HB 1289--Defines "employment social enterprise"

A handful of bills have passed both chambers but simply await the Governor's signature. We are also tracking some bills authored, co-authored, or sponsored by legislators representing Monroe County. Some of these bills include:

SB 4 (Authored by Sen. Koch) -- Deals with long haul water pipelines and water transfers
SB 126 (Sponsored by Dave Hall) -- Requires municipality that initiates annexation process to with the court a petition approved by signatures of at least 51% of owners of non-tax exempt land in annexation territory
SB 176 (Authored by Sen. Yoder) -- Aims to tackle nursing shortage through increased eligibility to state-accredited programs
SB 287 (Sponsored by Rep. Heaton) -- Requires school board candidates to list party affiliation or to list as independent candidate
HB 1080 (Authored by Rep. Mayfield) -- Authorizes Ellettsville to collect food & beverage tax
HB 1245 (Authored by Rep. Hall) -- Allows counties with state parks to impose surcharge on entrance fees to use for public safety & infrastructure improvements

Many of these bills and others face an uncertain future until signed by the Governor. Many still have to be heard various committees, may get hung up on legislative procedures, or--in rare cases--fall victim to what we call a strip and insert where the bill is stripped of its existing language and replaced with language from another bill that passed its original chamber and hasn't been voted down. As always, you can keep track of all the bills on the Indiana General Assembly's "Legislation" tab here.