Bloomington council tables Opticos "missing middle" housing report after heated questions

The Bloomington City Council on May 20 received a presentation of a missing-middle housing study by consultant Opticos and then voted to table consideration of the report indefinitely, citing concerns about details, community outreach and next steps.

The report, commissioned by the city to identify regulatory barriers to small-scale, house‑scale multifamily housing, was presented by Jennifer Settle of Opticos and city planner Alyssa Pemberton. "The goal here today is to really highlight, some of the key takeaways and pieces that are in the missing middle housing study for Bloomington," Settle told the council during the presentation.

Council members and several members of the public pressed staff and the consultant for more information about community engagement, specific implementation steps and whether the study would force immediate code changes. City Manager Jeff Jurgens said the resolution before council would "direct staff to say, you're on the right path. We think you did what we asked you to do. Now please go figure out how to implement it," and emphasized that any specific text amendments would still require hearings and planning‑commission review.

Public commenters offered sharply different views. Resident Jackie Beyer urged removal or deferral of a resolution that would adopt the report's findings and recommendations, saying the document would "direct the city to change the code so that housing in this report can be developed by right. That means the developments will get no review, no public hearing, no input from the community." By contrast, Dakota Black, a renter who supported the study, told council that zoning reform "can spur more small scale and local developers to invest here" and help produce housing options for young people and seniors.

Council members raised process questions. Council member Montney asked for details about the two stakeholder sessions Opticos convened and who attended; Pemberton said staff invited neighborhood associations and industry stakeholders and that 14 people attended one of the sessions. Several members said the council had different priorities in prior discussions—such as housing rehabilitation programs—and wanted assurance those items were not being displaced.

Opticos recommended a range of actions including: mapping existing and potential walkable centers for targeted code changes, clarifying the comprehensive plan to specify what densities and building forms are desired in different contexts, lowering barriers such as minimum lot area and parking minimums for house‑scale multifamily, and performing visual and financial feasibility testing before finalizing code changes. Settle described the report as "a starting point, a toolkit or a guidebook to get the conversation started and to understand where Bloomington can start." She said communities commonly use testing and outreach so residents can visualize outcomes before code amendments are drafted.

After extended discussion the council voted on a motion to table the resolution "to be rescheduled later." The motion passed on a roll call with Council members Kearns, Ward, Hendricks and Scott voting yes; the measure was therefore tabled indefinitely.

The council did not adopt any code changes at the meeting. Staff and the consultant said more testing, targeted outreach and financial feasibility work were expected before any zoning text amendments would be drafted for public hearing.

Looking ahead, Opticos and staff recommended steps that include design and financial testing of sample code changes, clearer mapping in the comprehensive plan of where different housing forms are acceptable, and targeted community education to explain tradeoffs such as reduced parking in walkable areas. Council members asked staff to return with more targeted materials and time for broader review before taking the next step.