Bloomington leaders review standardized housing-incentive package to spur new development

City Manager Jurgens and Senior Deputy City Manager Billy Tice presented a standardized housing-incentive policy to the Bloomington City Council committee of the whole, describing a package of fee reductions, tax-related incentives and fast-track plan-review options intended to attract new housing development.

The proposal targets affordable housing, workforce housing, “missing middle” housing and multifamily projects and would provide a base 50% reduction in city development fees for qualifying projects and a higher reduction for tax-credit projects. Staff said tax-credit projects could receive a full (100%) waiver of city fees; other incentives discussed included up to a 75% TIF (tax-increment financing) allocation, a density bonus tied to a 20% affordable-unit commitment, a temporary property-tax freeze on the city’s portion of property taxes and possible sales and food-and-beverage tax reductions subject to mayor-and-council approval.

Tice said the program would be time-limited: “We are proposing this program to end by May 31, 2028,” giving developers roughly three years to start projects, a window staff said is intended to accommodate…