The City of Bloomington is making adjustments to regulations governing sidewalks and storefront doorways in portions of the downtown area, potentially allowing some businesses to expand their entry areas.
During a brisk, 40-minute meeting Monday, the city council unanimously adopted the staff’s recommended code amendments in the D-1 central business district in conjunction with the “Downtown for All” streetscape master plan.
“Ultimately, we’ve had some requests downtown to consider changing the standards for some recessed entries in buildings,” said Director of Development Services Kelly Pfeifer, noting the staff consulted with the city’s Historic Preservation Commission and traffic engineer about potential changes.
“The new Downtown for All plan actually consciously moved the walkway away from the fronts of the buildings, and is going to allow the programming of those few feet there.”
The city’s current standards for central business district include requirements for recessed entryways, in an effort to preserve an historic aesthetic and appeal.
However, changes to the economic climate have increased the need for businesses to maintain flexibility and maximize floor space. The staff memo to the council on the proposal noted the downtown sidewalks are wide and can accommodate changes in practice, such allowing for outdoor dining.
“We were looking at trying to help these businesses reclaim some of this important square footage on the first floor,” said Pfeifer.
The staff’s recommendations aim to provide operational flexibility while maintaining historic character and ensuring safety and accessibility. Pfeifer said the all the buildings designated as D-1 are “inside the buckle” of Locust, Madison, East and Olive streets.
Under the updated policy, the first few feet of sidewalk adjacent to the building can be used for private business sign boards, planters or other furnishings. The intent is to use these items to serve as physical barriers that would prevent pedestrians from being struck by out-swinging doors.
“We would update those standards to support the economic vitality of the area to give them that important commercial square footage, but we need to have some standards to make sure that people know that a door may open,” said Pfeifer.
One business Pfeifer singled out as currently having a recessed entry that could benefit from the change is Windy City Wieners on Washington Street, where making the entrance flush with the exterior would provide more interior dining space.
“I think this speaks really highly to the fact that when businesses or when individuals reach out to the city, the city is willing to look at how we do things and review that and find a process to possibly change it if it makes sense,” said council member Cody Hendricks.
Other business
While the downtown code amendments were the only item of regular business for the first meeting of the year, the council unanimously approved a consent agenda that contained 12 items. Among them were:
- Authorizing an expense of $55,000 to purchase ballistic vests for the Bloomington Police Department;
- A $50,000 auto liability settlement with an individual whose vehicle was struck by a Bloomington Fire Department engine;
- Increasing a previously authorized settlement by $6,500 to a total of more than $43,600 to cover a claimant’s damage caused by a city contractor during work on a sewer project;
- An intergovernmental agreement with McLean County for temporary shared use of the kitchen space at Grossinger Motors Arena;
- An easement across Constitution Trail in the 2400 block of Washington Street requested by Ameren Illinois to support interconnection for a solar development project;
- A series of appointments and reappointments to various city boards and commissions;
- A road use agreement with Copperleaf Solar allowing the company to utilize heavy vehicles on Bloomington Heights Road during construction of a five-megawatt solar farm; and
- A zoning map amendment reclassifying a property in the 1300 block of Sherman Street from single-family residential to multi-family.
Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington joined the council in recognizing four officers who completed their probationary periods. Each was presented with their commission certificates.
A mayoral proclamation recognized January as Tamil Heritage Month as well as Tamil Day on April 14, the first day of the Tamil calendar.
