The Bloomington City Council voted unanimously on Monday to relax parking minimum requirements in the city’s zoning code.
Also updated were fencing provisions and special use permits for keeping chickens. Several members of the community previously spoke in favor of the measure during public comments.
Ward 1 council member Jenna Kearns spoke in support not just of reducing parking minimums with new developments, but of potentially eliminating them entirely as a step toward addressing the community's housing crisis. Minimum parking requirements mean that parking lots take up zoning space that many think could instead be used to build more affordable housing.
Kearns tied her remarks to public comments heard earlier in the meeting concerning the homeless encampment near the Bloomington Public Library and Home Sweet Home Ministries. Community members expressed concerns about the impact of the growing homeless population on the residential neighborhood and surrounding businesses, and asked the council to reconsider the encampment’s location.
Bloomington resident Karen Kinsella stated two individuals she believed to be staying at the homeless encampment came to her door and asked for money. She said she “felt very threatened and intimidated,” adding that drug activity has increased significantly in the neighborhood and is negatively impacting nearby businesses.
Kearns said the parking minimums contribute to the housing crisis in Bloomington and moving to reduce or even eliminate parking minimums could be an important step in reducing the local homeless population.
"There’s no magic solution to this, but I think that reducing housing minimums is going down the right path," said Kearns. "But I also want to continue to push the city, and it sounds like they’re moving in that direction, to continue to push to see if we can eliminate them entirely.”
The new parking guidelines are part of a series of zoning changes the city council adopted. The new rules offer more flexibility to meet requirements. For example, three public parking spaces located within 900 feet of a development can be substituted for every one space of off-street parking for residential uses.
The new rules also allow for shared parking to be within 1,000 feet of a property, instead of 300 feet.
Council member Tom Crumpler also spoke briefly about the housing crisis at the end of the meeting, referencing previous reporting by WGLT and work done by District 87 and the Immigration Project showing “practices of fraud, overcharging for basic services, and exploiting individuals and their families through demands for high rent.”
Crumpler added he personally finds such conduct from landlords “unacceptable,” indicating these practices exacerbate the existing housing crisis that the council hopes to address by reducing parking minimums.
Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe also spoke in favor of reducing and potentially eliminating city parking minimums.
"I do appreciate the incremental approach because…once you do something there it’s hard to change things. So, I think it’s prudent to try first and then see what the results are," said Mwilambwe.
In other business, the council:
- Approved a contract with Republic Services to dispose of bulky waste that includes construction and demolition materials. The contract will not exceed $350,000.
- Heard a monthly report from finance director Scott Rathbun. The total proposed budget of $331.7 million for fiscal year 2025 will be the highest in the city’s history. Rathbun also noted the proposed elimination of the Illinois state grocery tax would be a “double-edged sword,” as it would help residents be able to better afford groceries amid rising costs — but also would have a $2.5-3 million impact on the city’s budget.
