After setting a stop time of 10:30 p.m. for its meeting on Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council managed to grind through eight ordinances that change the city’s basic law on land use, which is the unified development ordinance (UDO).

Wednesday’s meeting ended just as the clock hit half past 10 o’clock.

The votes on all eight ordinances were unanimous on the nine-member council, even if the votes on some proposed amendments were split.

A few of the ordinances were technical corrections or clarifications that were so uncontroversial that they received no council debate or public comment, before passing on a 9–0 vote.

That means out of the 10-ordinance package that was recommended to the city council by the city’s plan commission, just two pieces of legislation are left for consideration.

The two remaining ordinances, which are controversial, will get their first deliberations on Wednesday (April 29April 28) next week, at a committee-of-the-whole session.

One of the disputed ordinances covers the allowed use of duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes in residential neighborhoods where they’re currently not allowed.

The other ordinance that’s expected to generate contentious debate is the proposed new citywide zoning map. The map includes areas designated as R4 (urban residential), which is a new kind of district that includes triplexes and quadplexes among its allowable uses. Continue reading “UDO action highlights: No notices for by-right ADUs, no reduction in parking max for medical clinics” →