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Council adds missing-middle housing types to Opportunity Housing and rental rules
Summary
Bloomington adopted a supplemental ordinance April 27 adding five missing-middle housing types (three-family, fourplex, detached townhouses, multiplexes, cottage courts) into opportunity housing and rental licensing chapters; council and staff said the change simply aligns definitions across code and does not change incentives.
Planning staff presented a supplemental ordinance intended to align Bloomington's zoning and administrative code after the March 23 adoption that established five new housing types. The supplemental measure adds those housing types into the Opportunity Housing Ordinance (OHO) standards and into rental licensing where appropriate.
Staff explained the supplemental ordinance does not change OHO incentives or area median income thresholds; it adds the new housing types into chapters outside zoning so definitions and cross-references are consistent. Staff said OHO requirements apply only when a missing-middle development contains 20 or more units; they do not expect many projects to hit that threshold, but the language ensures parity for larger developments.
Resident Brian Savick asked during public comment what changes mean for single-family neighborhoods and whether a neighbor could convert a single-family lot to a three-family home without consent; staff offered to meet with him afterward to explain likely constraints and steps. Council members expressed broad support and asked staff to consider incentives favoring owner-occupancy where possible.
Council member D'Alessandro moved and the council adopted the supplemental ordinance updating chapter 9.14 and appendix A of city code and directed summary publication; vote carried 7–0.
Staff and council said the change is primarily technical: "dotting i's and crossing t's" to reflect the definitions passed in March and to avoid conflicts across chapters. The council asked staff to consider owner-occupied incentives in future work and to review the role of homeowners associations and other barriers to achieving more multifamily or condo product types in Bloomington.
