Bloomington city leaders hope new incentives will increase affordable housing, though some city council members say it’s not enough.
The changes in the city’s Unified Development Ordinance allow homeowners to build on more of their property and reduce required landscaping.
The amendment also raises fees to developers who want to pay into the city’s Housing Development Fund instead of providing a portion of affordable housing.
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Councilmember Dave Rollo said allowing up to 80 percent of a lot to be built on would add to the city’s stormwater runoff problems.
He introduced an amendment with lower surface incentives that increase incrementally for each zone district.
- 30 to 40 percent for R1, intended for large residential lots for single-family homes.
- 40 to 50 percent for R2, intended for medium-sized lots like in single-family neighborhoods.
- 45 to 60 percent for R3, intended for small lots to protect established residential neighborhoods.
- 50 to 65 percent for R4, intended for urban living near public services like bike paths and public transportation.
“I think that provides an incentive and maintains a positive incentive without compromising our environmental code,” Rollo said.
City planning assistant director Jacqueline Scanlan said the amount must be enough to entice builders.
And she said there are guidelines including single-family detached houses or duplexes setting aside 15 percent of the units at or below 90 percent of area median income.
“It’s much more nuanced and smaller I think than we are kind of talking about. We’re not saying we should cover 80 percent of the city with pavement or houses,” she said.
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The payment in lieu option would now only be available for projects that contain more than 30 dwelling units. The developer would have to include 15 percent of affordable housing or pay a formula of $50,000 per unit up from $20,000.
The ordinance passed 6 to 2. Council members Kate Rosenbarger and Matt Flaherty voted no to pressure administration for bigger changes.
