Council delays Hopewell PUD vote after hours of debate over affordability, sidewalks and fire access

Bloomington Mayor Mary Thompson asked the Common Council on Tuesday to delay a final vote on the Hopewell planned‑unit development unless members were prepared to adopt no material changes to the developer’s submission. “Unless you plan to vote without… materially changing what has been submitted, I would ask you not to vote on it,” Thompson said, urging council members to use April meetings to hammer out details.

Council members spent more than four hours weighing a bundle of 13 “reasonable conditions” that would alter the PUD’s affordability commitments, street sections and other technical standards. Sponsors of the most ambitious affordability proposal — which would require 50 percent of the PUD’s homes be permanently affordable (15 percent at or below 90 percent AMI and 35 percent at or below 120 percent AMI) — said the mandate would preserve long‑term access to homeownership on city‑owned land. “We have an opportunity here because the city owns this land,” Council member Rosenbarger said, arguing the council should seek a higher share of permanently affordable units.

Redevelopment…