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Council adopts two housing resolutions and approves annual UDO amendments
Summary
Council adopted two resolutions directing Plan Commission and HAND to pursue zoning and affordability tools (reducing lot sizes, electrification incentives, and parking minimum removals) and approved the city's annual Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) technical amendments and related code changes.
The Bloomington Common Council on May 20 adopted a pair of initiatives targeting housing affordability and sustainability and approved several Unified Development Ordinance amendments.
Resolution 20 26-05, sponsored by Council member Flaherty, directs the Plan Commission to prepare UDO amendments to: (1) reduce minimum lot widths, lot areas and setbacks to align opportunities with historic neighborhood patterns; (2) incorporate electrification and sustainability into incentive and Planned Unit Development (PUD) processes; and (3) evaluate eliminating minimum parking requirements where appropriate. Flaherty said the measures are intended to unlock historically common, smaller-lot housing and to use incentives to advance building electrification aligned with the Bloomington Climate Action Plan. The council approved the resolution by recorded vote (carried 9–0 for the adoption sequence described in the packet).
Resolution 20 26-06, sponsored by Council member Zulek, directs the Housing and Neighborhood Development Department (HAND) to develop a legally permissible framework for long-term affordability tools — including silent second mortgages, rights of first refusal and shared-equity mechanisms — and to return to council with recommendations (deadline: 120 days to account for imminent council recess). The resolution passed on a roll-call 7–2.
Separately, the council adopted four ordinances containing the Planning Department's annual UDO amendments (Ordinances 20 26-08 through 20 26-11). Highlights include technical corrections across the code and a substantive change to sidewalk policy: the UDO will remove the determinate sidewalk variance option and enable a payment-in-lieu option that contributes to the Alternative Transportation Fund (planning commission to set a per-foot/per-year rate annually). The amendments also recalibrate parking-lot landscaping calculations and remove a standardized-business provision that had proven difficult to administer.
Council members and public commenters debated trade-offs: some urged aggressive change to increase housing supply and reduce parking requirements, while others cautioned about implementation details, staffing, and how incentive programs are enforced. Council members noted the resolutions direct staff and the Plan Commission to develop concrete ordinance language and that final zoning and code changes will return to council for formal votes.
Next steps: the Plan Commission and HAND will prepare draft ordinance language and public hearings; the council can expect follow-up packets and proposed ordinances in the months ahead.
