The Bloomington City Council is allowing developers to build up to 4,250 homes on a piece of undeveloped land on the city’s southwest side.
(Courtesy, Bloomington Plan Commission)
The Bloomington City Council is allowing developers to build up to 4,250 homes on a piece of undeveloped land on the city’s southwest side.
The council on Wednesday approved Sudbury Development Partner’s request for a rezone of 138.51 acres north of RCA Community Park to a Planned Unit Development. The vote was 7-2, with council members Dave Rollo and Andy Ruff voting against it.
The council also passed nine “reasonable conditions,” some of which were revised from their original forms. This is in addition to other conditions the council approved at a previous meeting.
Among other things, the conditions achieve the following:
Caps the maximum amount of units able to be built at 4,250 and requires an update to traffic and sewer studies for any future development adding to this number
Limits the maximum building heights from 86 to 65 feet and from 75 to 55 feet in certain planned districts
Requires at least 15 percent of constructed units to be income-restricted to households earning less than 100 percent of the local area median income
Requires at least 20 percent of units in each neighborhood and at least 40 percent of units in the overall project to be developed to enable individual ownership.
Rollo said he was partially satisfied with the conditions.
“I was hoping for two things to be optimized: one was reducing density, and the other was reducing building height,” he said. Rollo has repeatedly advocated for the project to be less dense — something residents who live near the planned development site have also asked for.
Rollo attending the Wednesday council meeting over Zoom. (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Wednesday was the third council hearing on this project. Nevertheless, both Rollo and Ruff felt there was not enough time to debate it.
Rollo motioned to postpone consideration until a June council meeting, which received support from some members of the public who were in attendance. However, most of the council rejected the motion. Ruff supported it.
“There are other ways — better ways, I think — more in keeping with the spirit of Bloomington and with the intent of the current Comprehensive Plan and current residents and projected growth based on what we really should be pursuing,” Ruff said.
Ruff in the city council chambers. (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Council member Hopi Stosberg, who supported the project, said she had personally given the project ample time and consideration. She pushed back on a commenter who said the council didn't give the project due diligence.
“The very first meeting that I had about this project was last February, and I just want to note that was when I was actually running for office,” Stosberg said. “To accuse me at this point, at least — I can’t speak for my eight colleagues — of not having done my due diligence on this project is just not understanding how much time I have spent, starting when I was barely a candidate for office.”
Stosberg at the council meeting. (Courtesy, Community Access Television Services)
Stosberg also briefly touched on aspects of the project she thinks will benefit the community. She mentioned diverse housing options and the planned connections for Adams Street and Sudbury Drive.
"I think that Bloomington is actually getting a whole lot of benefit from this development existing," she said. "I really, really paid attention to these details, because I wanted to make sure that for all these things Bloomington is getting, we weren't giving up things that were uber-important."
Stosberg also addressed residents' concerns that the project may cause more traffic than the area can handle, particularly on Weimer Road.
"I think that it might relieve some traffic on Weimer because traffic can actually cut through this development to get to other sides of town," she said.
She added that although a geological study was not conducted, the project must follow the city's environmental standards.
As the clock approached midnight, council members were still giving their final comments on the proposal. Isak Asare successfully motioned to call the question, which meant the council had to vote without further discussion.
Rollo said he was shocked and disappointed by this decision.
“We have never concluded something of this magnitude … without thoroughly hearing from our colleagues in terms of final comment,” he said. “It’s an affront. Proceed if you want; I object. … I’m so disappointed in my colleagues.”
The project will be built over 10 years. The city will hold the developers to deadlines along the way to ensure the project does not stall.
Developer Travis Vencel, who is partnering on the project with Tyler Ridge, was not immediately available for comment.
