The Bloomington City Council on Wednesday night unanimously approved an amendment that provides an exception to some businesses from the city's "standardized business" ordinance.
The council approved an ordinance in June that set up a the review process for "chain" restaurants and other businesses trying to move into the Courthouse Square and University Village areas downtown. The ordinance aimed to regulate the aesthetic impact of those businesses in the downtown area.
The amendment approved Wednesday, which city planning director Tom Micuda described as "minor but important," creates an exception for businesses on upper floors that could be considered standardized by definition, but have little aesthetic impact from street level.
During the meeting, the council also voted to approve a downtown redevelopment project.
A one story building where Kirkwood Avenue meets the B-Line Trail will be redeveloped into a mixed-use property consisting of office and commercial space, apartments, and condominiums.
Danise Alano-Martin, director of economic and sustainable development for the city, says the project will draw people downtown and keep them there.
"The city for a long time has had goals of adding mixed-use properties to the downtown, so that as our community grows, that density is concentrated in the downtown as opposed to spreading into outer limits of the city," Alano-Martin said.
The project is expected to bring in nearly $15 million in capital investment, 67 jobs, and $4.5 million in annual payroll.
The vote was the last step in a tax abatement approval process for the project.
Council member Andy Ruff proposed an amendment to exclude two proposed penthouse condominiums from the tax abatements in which the building owners plan to reside.
"It was just the wrong thing to do, to abate the taxes for the owners of the building, who are going to be living in these luxury penthouses basically on the top floor, and have that be part of the abatement, I just thought it was bad form," Ruff said.
The amendment passed 8-1, with council President Darryl Neher the lone vote against, and the amended resolution passed 9-0.
