Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson announced changes Tuesday to permitting for homes, business and construction, the same day a consultant's report discussed developers' criticisms.
"In our stakeholder sessions, we frequently heard comments from city staff about how they felt the development community would at times be evasive," said the report by American Structurepoint of Indianapolis. "On the reverse, we often heard comments from the development stakeholders stating that they felt that the staff was being evasive and attempting to not work with them.
"At times throughout this process, we heard comments implying that the process was so broken that it could not be repaired. From our findings we do not believe this to be accurate."
Thomson noted in the announcment the importance of an efficient permitting process.
"Permitting shapes whether a family can build a home, whether a local business can open or expand, and whether employers can attract people who are also able to live here," Thomson said. "A strong permitting process ensures a clear and dependable process for creating a built environment that protects the standards our community has set."
Among the changes:
- Increased use of electronic permitting and licensing
- Various departments doing the review process at the same time "so conflicting directions can be identified and resolved before it reaches the applicant."
- Reviews will focus on code compliance and cite relevant codes.
- Create review timelines.
- Clarify staff roles and strengthen training.
Longer-term recommendations in the report for more centralized permitting "will be considered after the City implements and evaluates improvements to its existing systems."
"The recommended changes are intended to make City requirements easier to understand, provide applicants with a single coordinated response, offer tools and support to City staff, and create a more reliable path from application to decision," the city's announcement said. "They do not change what may be built, where projects may be located, or whether a particular application should be approved. Those decisions will continue to be governed by Bloomington’s adopted plans, codes, public hearings, and legal requirements."
