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BZA approves easement variance so Parks can build multiuse trail through power‑line corridor
Summary
The Board approved V‑20‑25, granting the City Parks request to temporarily waive the UDO requirement to plat multiple environmental easements for a multiuse trail project in a Duke Energy power‑line corridor; staff said no environmental standards were being waived and future development will still require easement platting.
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a variance (V‑20‑25) requested by Bloomington Parks and Recreation to delay the UDO‑required platting and recording of multiple environmental easements while building a multiuse trail through a Duke Energy power‑line corridor on property owned by the Monroe County Board of Commissioners.
Planning staff explained the variance does not waive the UDO’s environmental protection standards; it only postpones the legal platting of tree‑preservation, karst, steep‑slope and riparian easements that would otherwise be required whenever land‑disturbing activity occurs on parcels with regulated features. "The PROS project meets all of the environmental standards," staff said, and the trail alignment avoids karst features and steep slopes. Parks Director Rebecca Swift told the board the project will respect the 25‑foot setbacks from known karst topography and riparian corridors and will not remove protected closed‑canopy trees.
Staff recommended approval because requiring full easement surveys and legal descriptions at this time would be burdensome and could unduly encumber the site before a larger Monroe County‑led development is planned. The board approved the variance with two conditions: the variance does not relieve any future land‑disturbing activities from UDO requirements, and the approval is valid only for the proposed project as submitted.
Board members voted unanimously to approve the variance. Staff and Parks staff emphasized the decision is project‑specific and that future development of the county‑owned property would still need to provide required easements and conform to environmental standards.
Parks staff said the trail will create a public multiuse connection through the corridor and will include protections such as tree‑line fencing where construction activity falls within 10 feet of existing trees. Staff also said the project has been coordinated with Duke Energy and the county and is intended to be a long‑standing, publicly available trail connection.
