A dispute over proposed changes to Bloomington’s Hopewell ordinance has delayed a decision on the project for at least another week.
City council proposed 13 changes or “reasonable conditions” for Wednesday’s meeting.
The city agreed to four of them citing the conditions are consistent to what has already been certified by the redevelopment and plan commission.
City attorney Margie Rice said the others would be considered amendments and according to state law, are not permissible.
“The redevelopment commission already spoke, what they wanted to go to the plan commission and what they want you to approve is before you tonight,” she said.
That is to adopt or reject the ordinance as is.
Council member Matt Flaherty and some others disagreed.
“We can’t move forward in a productive way with the remaining reasonable conditions when we have new legal guidance from the corporation council that contradicts the legal guidance we’ve been following for a decade,” he said.
Rice said she hasn’t looked back at every petition, but some of those cases could be changes the property owner agreed.
Mayor Kerry Thomson said it’s a catch-22, if all proposals were accepted, Hopewell wouldn’t be affordable.
“The sidewalk and lane changes, things like that. That’s going to change the lot layout and the number of lots we have and thereby the affordability and it will cost us design money,” she said.
Council member Hopi Stosberg said the driving issue is about requirements on permanent affordability.
Council’s fourth condition would require at least 50 percent of Hopewell units or properties to remain permanently affordable. The Unified Development Ordinance requires 15 percent.
Stosberg said it should be council’s responsibility to ensure there is as much affordability as possible.
“It should not be city government’s use of resources to make sure that a few people get to gain lots of equity in a home that they bought cheaply,” she said.
Council member Sydney Zulich said Hopewell discussions have been going on for years and delaying the project further contributes to the affordable housing crisis.
“Out of the nine of us here, I’m the only one that doesn’t own property. All of my eight colleagues do and my generation has no hope of following in their footsteps if we continue to let perfect prevent good,” she said.
Read more: Mayor responds to council passing over Hopewell ordinance
Flaherty said it’s the council’s right to use the 90-day window to make sure the project is done right and that shouldn’t be blamed as a delay.
Council voted 6-3 to postpone the ordinance to April 1 to hire an attorney on the legality of reasonable conditions and continue discussions of affordability, transportation, and sustainability.
Council members Piedmont-Smith, Rollo, Ruff, Rosenbarger, Flaherty, and Stosberg voted yes. Zulich, Asare, and Daily voted no.
