Ellettsville town council OKs 3 months of transit funding, future uncertain after that

From left: Ellettsville town councilors Scott Oldham and William Ellis (Dec. 11, 2023)

The blue shading indicates “urban area” as defined by the US Census and Federal Transit Administration. The current, pre-annexation city boundary for Bloomington is shown in black. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1irTiPkrnMPTnxXQcejdpvF0EMyR1jvo&usp=sharing

Rural Transit riders who use the transportation service to make on-demand trips inside Monroe County’s urban area will continue to be able to do that—at least through the end of March 2024.

But after March, it’s not clear who will pay the bill for Ellettsville-based trips.

Ellettsville’s town council voted on Monday to pay monthly invoices from Rural Transit based on actual rides given, starting in February, for rides taken the previous month.

But the vote reflects a commitment just for three months. After that, the council will reassess the town’s financial situation. Based on the town council’s deliberations on the topic, which lasted around 50 minutes, it’s not clear from which fund the money for the trips will be drawn.

But Ellettsville clerk treasurer Sandra Hash will take the steps to give public notice of the additional appropriation.

Based on historical data, Ellettsville’s cost for the whole year would work out to $132,000. Continue reading “Ellettsville town council OKs 3 months of transit funding, future uncertain after that” →

No decision yet on duplex recommendation from Bloomington plan commission

The building shown is an existing duplex in Bloomington. Depending on the recommendation from the plan commission and subsequent action from the city council, from left to right, duplexes in R1, R2, R3 districts could be: not allowed, allowed as a conditional use, or allowed as a permitted (by-right) use.

Bloomington’s plan commission did not take any substantive votes at its Thursday special session, which was dedicated to just one of 10 ordinances currently under consideration to amend the city’s unified development ordinance (UDO).

But the commission did hear about three hours worth of public commentary from 54 different people, about a possible amendment to the ordinance that was on Thursday’s agenda.

The areas of the city affected by the ordinance are commonly called the “core neighborhoods.” In zoning terms, it’s the R1 (residential large lot), R2 (residential medium lot) and R3 (residential small lot) zoning districts.

Whether the plan commission will recommend to the city council that a duplex in the R1 through R4 districts is a permitted (by-right) use, a conditional use, or a completely disallowed use will have to wait until the next meeting of the plan commission.

The next meeting of the plan commission is set for Monday (March 29) at 5:30 p.m. Continue reading “No decision yet on duplex recommendation from Bloomington plan commission” →

Two meetings held on remapping of Bloomington’s zoning districts, more to come

The first two public presentations about a zoning map revision for the city of Bloomington are in the books.

R4 (Residential Urban) and MS (Mixed-Use Student Housing) zoning districts don’t yet appear on Bloomington’s zoning map. They’re proposed to be established in the olive- and wine-colored areas. The image links to the zoning map project page.

More are planned for the week after next. Dates will be posted on the zoning map project web page.

Tuesday night’s presentation by the city’s development services manager, Jackie Scanlan, included an introduction to the online tools that city planners have built for the project.

Also on Tuesday, Scanlan gave an overview of the mapping project, which comes after last year’s update to the text of the city’s unified development ordinance (UDO).

That text update included the creation of some new zoning districts, like R4 (Residential Urban) and MS (Mixed-Use Student Housing), which don’t yet appear anywhere on the zoning map of the city.

A developer has already requested that the Brownstone Terrace, south of the Indiana University football stadium, be rezoned to MS, so that it can be replaced with a larger student-oriented housing development. That request has been recommended for approval by the plan commission and will appear on an upcoming city council agenda.

During Thursday’s presentation, which focussed on the MS zoning district, Scanlan said it’s important to proactively rezone parcels to MS, based on the city’s comprehensive plan, and not just respond in a reactive way to petition requests.

While the placement of proposed MS zoning districts on the map was based on the city’s comprehensive plan, spots on the map for the R4 district were more or less calculated. The calculation was based on those lots in existing R2 and R3 districts that have less than the minimum lot size for R3 districts, and that can be analyzed as a cluster. Continue reading “Two meetings held on remapping of Bloomington’s zoning districts, more to come” →

Collegiate Development Group’s modified student housing proposal rejected by Bloomington city council

Councilmembers Steve Volan (left) and Jim Sims (Dave Askins/Beacon)

Brandt Stiles, Collegiate Development Group (Dave Askins/Beacon)

Bloomington’s city council voted Wednesday night on proposed zoning for a student-oriented housing development at the site of the current Motel 6 on North Walnut Street. The outcome was 3–5–1.

That is, it got three votes in favor, five against, and one abstention from the nine-member council.

That tally defeated Collegiate Development Group’s proposal for planned unit development (PUD) zoning, to accommodate a 750-bed development at the site.

The bedroom count had been trimmed, from 820, in the week since the council’s land use committee met for a second time on the proposal. The committee’s vote on its recommendation to the full council was 0-1-3. The reduced number of bedrooms was a result of slicing the top floor off one of the buildings. Based on the formula used by CDG to calculate its contribution to the city’s housing development fund, the bedroom reduction dropped the amount from $2.46 million to $2.25 million.

Other changes in the last week included the addition of a 2,000 square foot green roof and 50 solar panels that could generate 20kW of power—for common areas and the 457-space parking structure that was a part of the development. Continue reading “Collegiate Development Group’s modified student housing proposal rejected by Bloomington city council” →

Land use committee sends 820-bed student housing proposal to full council with zero votes of support

Initial proposal from Collegiate Development group, with parking in front of the building.

Revised proposal based on land use committee feedback without parking in front.

Last Wednesday (Aug. 28) the Bloomington city council’s four-member land use committee signaled its dissatisfaction with several aspects of a proposed 820-bed student-oriented housing development at the site of the current Motel 6 property on North Walnut.

Three members abstained from the vote (Allison Chopra, Steve Volan and Chris Sturbaum) and one voted outright no (Isabel Piedmont-Smith) on the committee’s recommendation.

The committee’s roll call left the proposal with no votes of support, as it heads to back to the full council’s agenda. The full council will be considering the proposal as a second reading this Wednesday (Sept. 4).

Collegiate Development Group is requesting planned unit development zoning (PUD) for its site plan—that’s why it’s in front of the city council, even after receiving a recommendation of approval from the plan commission in mid-June. Zoning is enacted through ordinances, so PUDs have to go through the city council.

Part of the mix in the PUD proposal is a proposed donation to the city’s housing development fund of around $2.46 million, and the funding of an additional bus route in the Bloomington Transit fixed-route system.

Continue reading “Land use committee sends 820-bed student housing proposal to full council with zero votes of support” →