Council introduces three ordinances affecting housing incentives, PUD standards and city salaries

The Bloomington Common Council introduced three ordinances for first reading during its Jan. 7 organizational meeting, moving them into the legislative process for subsequent hearings and votes.

Clerk read the synopses. Ordinance 20 26-01 would amend Title 20 (the Unified Development Ordinance) to change affordable housing incentives and payment-in-lieu provisions, including increasing maximum impervious-surface coverage allowances for single-family and duplex lots in certain residential zoning districts when owner-occupied projects use the incentives, and increasing the payment-in-lieu eligibility dollar amount. Ordinance 20 26-02 would amend Title 20’s qualifying standards for Planned Unit Developments (PUDs), reduce certain area median income (AMI) thresholds for incentives, revise PUD qualifying standards, and remove the defined term 'workforce housing' from the code. Ordinance 20 26-03 would amend the city’s salary ordinance (20 25-40) to update salaries for appointed officers, non-union staff and AFSCME employees to align with a newly approved 2026 labor agreement with AFSCME Local 2487.

All three ordinances were introduced and read by title and synopsis only; motions to introduce and read were seconded and approved by voice vote. Details of eligibility thresholds, exact AMI percentages, and the dollar amounts for payment-in-lieu eligibility were included in the synopses read by the clerk; the council did not take final votes on the ordinances at this meeting, which were recorded as first readings and now move to later hearings and formal readings.

The clerk’s synopses noted that the changes to Title 20 are in response to prior council resolutions and aim to adjust incentives, qualifying standards and definitions to implement recent policy direction.

Next steps: the ordinances will proceed through the standard second-reading process and additional committee review as required by the city’s procedures.