Bloomington city leaders have set a path for addressing the city’s lingering housing crisis.
“This is beyond just needing a few units. We need to do something and do it now,” said Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus.
The city council acted on a series of three ordinances and resolutions on the housing matter during Monday’s more than three-hour regular meeting before a packed boardroom at the McLean County Government Center.
While the first two actions dealt with adopting code text amendments pertaining to downtown development, multi-family residential districts, lot sizes and building heights, the more contentious action involved the commissioned “missing middle” analysis report submitted by Opticos Design, Inc.
“There’s no silver bullet, there’s no magic wand, there’s no one type of housing that we’re going to be able to do,” said Tyus. “Missing middle is not the answer to all of our issues. It’s part of a puzzle.”
Among some of the suggestions in the Opticos report was developing walkable communities. The city also is considering creating “overlay districts” that would allow for certain housing standards in areas only where they make sense.
But Tyus noted the council was not being asked to adopt any recommendations contained in the Opticos report.
“What we’re asking for is that staff be given direction to specifically target particular areas in our community where this type of housing might be most appropriate, where we would go out and look at different areas of the community,” he said.
In making his motion to approve acknowledgement of the Opticos report, council member Cody Hendricks sought to dispel what he characterized as “misinformation.”
“This is something that government told bodies do, we accept reports — that we have paid for — of information and then we decide to come back later on when we act on individual portions within it,” said Hendricks. “There is nothing we are voting on tonight that creates any change. There never was.”
The first text amendment ordinance addressed downtown development intensity in regard to commercial uses and single-family residential units, with staff adding an amendment to require special-use approval for accessory development units [ADU].
The second text amendment ordinance updated city code text regarding the “practical buildability” of mixed- and multiple-family housing in residential districts. All three actions passed on 7-2 votes, with Sheila Montney and Kent Lee voting in the minority.
A majority of the 26 people who spoke during the 80-minute public comments period were residents of the Old Farm Lakes and Harvest Point subdivisions.
Many expressed concerns that any blanket code changes for multi-family developments in R-2 zoning districts would negatively impact their neighborhoods, stressing existing services, and reducing property values.
“The city’s stated goals are important — addressing a projected housing shortage and increasing housing diversity, especially for seniors, students and young professionals. I support these goals,” said Judy Ficek. “However, I’m concerned this proposal applies blanket zoning changes, including increased density and by-right development, without accounting for infrastructure needs or neighborhood realities.”
But others advocated for a continued conversation over the city’s push toward developing accessible housing to fill the “missing middle” gap.
“Simply put, we need more housing,” said Tracy Patkunas, president of the Mid-Illinois Realtors Association.
“In order to increase the housing supply, we need policies that are fair, pro-growth and promote a housing market that works for everyone.”
New contract for police body cameras
In another matter, the council unanimously approved a long-term contract between Bloomington Police and the company that provides its body-worn cameras, tasers, drones and other equipment.
The action taken by the council authorized a 15-month early termination of the police department’s current contract with Axon Enterprises, replacing it with a 12-year, $13.6 million service agreement.
"Based on the bundling that’s in the contract versus the list price and MSRP [manufacturer’s suggested retail price], if we would get this as an ala carte — for instance, pick and choose certain things — that comes at a higher cost,” said Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington during a 30-minute presentation and discussion.
“So for the entirety of this agreement, this would save us over $11 million.”
The BPD and Axon first partnered in 2003 for tasers, expanding the arrangement in 2018 to include bodycams, in-car video systems and cloud-based digital evidence storage.
The agreement includes a new records management system for Axon data. City officials say McLean County’s new records management project has experienced significant delays and remains incomplete.
Historic buildings set for redevelopment
Two historic downtown buildings are on track for redevelopment after the council approved tax breaks for the proposed project at the site of the former CVS Pharmacy on Center Street.
The agreement with development group FMB Holdings will use tax increment financing dollars to reimburse project costs. The group wants to convert the first floor into commercial space and have residential units on the upper floors.
The currently vacant location on the west side of the court house square is actually two brick buildings — the Marblestone Building at 208 N. Center St. and the Benjamin & Schermerhorn Building at 210 N. Center.
They are the only remaining buildings that survived the June 1900 downtown fire, with the 210 building pre-dating the Civil War, according to the council memo on the agenda.
The agreement calls for the city to reimburse TIF-eligible expenses in decreasing percentages through 2048. The item was approved as part of the consent agenda.
Other business
In an item pulled from the consent agenda by council member Mollie Ward, the council postponed voting on a proposal establishing fees for reimbursement of the cost of staff time allocated to fulfilling certain Freedom of Information Act requests.
Additional items approved as part of the consent agenda include:
- Spending up to $280,000 on services from Hutchison Engineering for water main design work along the Illinois Department of Transportation’s renovation of Illinois 9;
- A four-year, $173,000 agreement with FirstWatch Systems for real-time data analysis and dashboard services to assist the fire department;
- Entering into an agreement with SiteMed to provide required medical surveillance and physical evaluations;
- A series of appointments and reappointments to various city boards, commissions and committees, with council member Micheal Mosley recusing himself as one of the appointees; and
- A change of ownership liquor license transfer for Mulligans at 531 N. Main St.
The meeting opened with recognitions of new fire captains and firefighters who completed their probation, and residents who recently obtained U.S. citizenship. Proclamations honored National Emblem Club Week and Welcoming Week.
