A rendering of what the group homes may look like if built.
(Courtesy of City of Bloomington)
The Indiana Center for Recovery wants to build two, three-story group homes west of downtown Bloomington, but the city is opposing the proposal.
The center has requested a rezone of 1.66 acres at the end of West First Street to put the homes on the north and south sides of West First Street near Walker Street.
The land, on which the center owns property, is currently zoned for residential use. The center wants to change that to mixed-use healthcare.
Members of the city plan commission heard the center’s request Monday. At that same meeting, city staff, city council officials and commission members said they have concerns.
Eric Greulich, city senior zoning planner, said while the rezone is possible, it seems out of place. No mixed-use healthcare zoning exists adjacent to the site or anywhere else in the city.
“While the petitioners’ general land use for the group care homes, or residential-style buildings, might be appropriate, we do have some concerns about how the placement of the mixed-use healthcare zoning district would be located here at the corner within the neighborhood,” Greulich said.
Eric Greulich (Courtesy of Community Access Television Services)
The land was previously zoned as mixed-use healthcare but changed to residential when the city adopted a new zoning map in 2021.
That’s something Cheyenne Riker, legal counsel for the Indiana Center for Recovery, mentioned to the commission. Riker said the land was zoned as mixed-use healthcare when the center bought properties on it.
“Maybe there’s no place else in the city that has mixed-use healthcare, but we’re only asking that because that’s where we were when we bought it,” he said. “We’re just asking to be placed back where we were, as was suggested back in 2021, when we went through this remapping process.”
In a December letter to the city, Riker wrote the city unlawfully rezoned the property in 2021.
Riker’s letter argues the site was spot-zoned or singled out for a different treatment from that of the surrounding land.
“In our opinion, it was perfect when we bought the properties, and we didn't really see the need for it to be changed,” he said. “We made the objection. City council said, 'come back to us and ask for the rezone,' and so we're taking them up on their offer.”
He also wrote the center’s patients, who receive treatment for substance abuse disorder as well as mental and behavioral health disorders, are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Fair Housing Act.
Even so, the city says the request does not align with its goal for more housing in the area.
City council members Isabel Piedmont-Smith and Hopi Stosberg both spoke against the petition Monday.
Piedmont-Smith, who lives near the site, said temporary housing for people receiving treatment is important but it’s not considered housing, as outlined in the city’s comprehensive plan.
“I am in favor of substance use disorder treatment — I think we need it, people in our community need it, people in the region need it — but this is a for-profit business,” Piedmont-Smith said. “Most of the clients are not from Bloomington, and I need to uphold our own plans and our own neighborhood integrity.”
Isabel Piedmont-Smith (Courtesy of Community Access Television Services)
Stosberg, a commission member, said she is concerned about the rezone because of the land’s proximity to the planned future Hopewell neighborhood, the former Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital site. The city wants to use the land for mixed-income residential development.
“I think that the future of that area is residential because that is what that entire Hopewell site is basically moving towards,” she said. “I have a lot of concerns right now with the idea of moving to mixed-use healthcare. It feels like a step back instead of a step forward.”
Hopi Stosberg (Courtesy of Community Access Television Services)
Monday’s hearing was the first of two required for the petition. The plan commission will hold a second hearing March 11, at which point it could recommend for or against the request.
The city council, which has the final word on the rezone request, will consider the recommendation afterward.
