Tag: rezoning

Wheeler Mission shelter rezone request gets nod from Bloomington plan commission, now goes to city council

bordered Low res for inset R Map Wheeler Mission YYYxxxx
annotated cropped high res for inset R Map Wheeler Mission YYYxxxx

A request for a rezoning of Wheeler Mission’s property on Westplex Avenue off 3rd Street won an 8–1 recommendation of approval from Bloomington’s plan commission at the group’s regular monthly meeting on Monday.

Dissenting on the vote was Israel Herrera. The request now goes to the city council, which will have 90 days to either approve or reject the proposal. If the council takes no action, the outcome is automatic approval.

The rezone, from mixed-use employment (ME) to mixed-use medium scale (MM), is being requested so that Wheeler Mission can expand its programs by moving some of its shelter beds to a parcel that it acquired in May of this year.

Dana Jones, director of Wheeler Mission Ministries, told plan commissioners the expansion of program space does not mean an expansion of bed capacity. The idea is to return to the same capacity as in pre-pandemic times, which is 130 beds.

Programs for which there would be more space, if the rezone request is approved, include life skills training, financial management and job readiness.

Public commentary during the plan commission’s meeting came from surrounding business owners, who described the impact they’ve seen from the behavior of some Wheeler Mission shelter guests.

Continue reading “Wheeler Mission shelter rezone request gets nod from Bloomington plan commission, now goes to city council” →

Monroe County commissioners OK rezone, which could mean 330 more housing units on edge of Bloomington

The property that was rezoned by county commissioners sits just on the boundary of the city of Bloomington. It’s a part of Area 1A that was included in the city of Bloomington annexation proposal in 2017, which was suspended by the state legislature. (Image links to dynamic map)
This aerial image, which is dated April 2020, is from the Pictometry module of Monroe County’s online property lookup system.

A rezoning for 38 acres of former farmland on the western boundary of Bloomington was approved at the regular Wednesday meeting of Monroe County commissioners.

That clears the way for the developer to submit to the county planning department a site plan for a development that would include 330 new apartments. The development, by Domo Development Company and Redhawk Multifamily, is also planned to include 11,000 square feet of retail and 22,000 square feet of private office suites.

Even if the final approval for the project is not done, the major hurdle of the zoning has been cleared.

On the housing side, the proposed rental unit mix will be 10 percent studios, 50 percent 1-bedroom, 35 percent 2-bedroom, and 5 percent 3-bedroom units, according to the meeting information packet. The projected rent will range between $875 and $1,500 a month. Continue reading “Monroe County commissioners OK rezone, which could mean 330 more housing units on edge of Bloomington” →

Bloomington OKs rezoning for Comcast, because new UDO does not allow use variances

borderd low res R Map Comcast Rezone YYYxxxx
labeled revised inset high res R Map Comcast Rezone YYYxxxx

The Comcast property that sits in the wedge formed by Adams Street and West Fountain Drive will eventually not be recognizable by its communications tower.

The dismantling of the tower will be made possible by the construction of a new building on the site, which will expand the kind of equipment that can be housed there.

The construction of the new building will be made possible by the approval by Bloomington’s city council of a rezone for the property, from residential (R2) to employment (EM).

The city council approved the rezoning at its meeting last Wednesday on a unanimous vote. The city’s plan commission had previously forwarded to the council its unanimous recommendation for the rezone.

How is it even possible for a property that is zoned for residential use to be used as a contractor’s yard and communications facility for at least the last two decades? Continue reading “Bloomington OKs rezoning for Comcast, because new UDO does not allow use variances” →

Bloomington city council OKs rezoning to make way for bigger student housing project

Aerial view from Monroe County GIS system of the Brownstone Terrace in spring 2020.
Aerial view from Monroe County GIS system of the Brownstone Terrace in spring 2020.
bordered New low res R Map The Standard locator YYYxxxx
inset New high res R Map The Standard locator YYYxxxx

On Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council cleared the way for a new 1,072-bedroom residential project a few blocks south of Indiana University’s football stadium.

It would allow for the replacement of the predominantly student-rented Brownstone Terrace with an even larger student-oriented development called The Standard. Brownstone Terrace consists of two-story buildings with a total of 120 apartments. The Standard would include 433 apartments in five- and six-story buildings and a parking garage with 681 spaces.

What the city council did on Wednesday night was approve a rezoning request, from planned unit development (PUD) to a new zoning classification in the recently adopted unified development ordinance (UDO), which is mixed-use student housing (MS).

The rezoning had been recommended by Bloomington’s plan commission on a unanimous vote.  Now that the city council has approved the zoning, the site plan can go in front of the plan commission for approval.

Based on the timeline provided by the developer, Landmark Properties, the major site plan review will be submitted before the end of the year and could be in front of the plan commission in January or February. From March to July, a grading permit review will be sought, with construction slated to start in July 2021. The project is expected to be complete by August 2023.

The tally on the city council on Wednesday night was 8–1, with dissent from Steve Volan, who cited some benefits to the project before voting against it. “It’s definitely going to have an effect on the demand for housing in single-family neighborhoods that I think non-student residents are going to appreciate,” Volan said. Continue reading “Bloomington city council OKs rezoning to make way for bigger student housing project” →

Monroe County officials apologize: Change to denser zoning went through automatically when 90-day window was missed

A 5.34-acre parcel just south of Bloomington, where just a single house stands, now has the right zoning for the eventual construction of a couple dozen residences.

The developer is Charles Layne LLC with Bynum Fanyo & Associates as the engineering consultant.

In Monroe County’s zoning scheme, the parcel has been rezoned from Estate Residential I (REI) to High Density Residential (HR). The old zoning allowed for just one residence per acre. The new zoning, with some commitments made by the developer, makes for a density of around 4.2 residences per acre.

The news of the rezoning was announced at Wednesday morning’s regular meeting of Monroe County’s board of commissioners. It came with apologies all around.

The Holland Pines rezoning was not the result of a decision made by the three commissioners. It was due to a missed deadline. Continue reading “Monroe County officials apologize: Change to denser zoning went through automatically when 90-day window was missed” →