BLOOMINGTON – The City of Bloomington Plan Commission will hold a special public hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers, 401 North Morton Street, to review the City’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and other land development regulations.
The hearing fulfills a requirement of Indiana House Enrolled Act 1001, or HEA 1001, which directs cities and towns to review zoning and development regulations with the goal of increasing housing development.
The special session comes amid existing work to examine how Bloomington’s development regulations and permitting processes affect housing and development. The City is implementing recommendations from its development review and permitting audit, while separate UDO amendments continue through the Plan Commission and Common Council process. The Oct. 28 session provides an additional public forum to consider how those rules function in practice.
HEA 1001 identifies several areas for review, including housing density and housing types, accessory dwelling units (ADU), adaptive reuse, setbacks, parking, building height and design requirements, permitting timelines, and other regulations that may impact housing development.
The City will use the session to gather input on how Bloomington’s requirements function in practice. Residents, developers, builders, architects, engineers, contractors, housing providers, neighborhood residents, and others who work with or are affected by the UDO are encouraged to attend and provide comments about existing regulations and opportunities to support additional housing and development.
“The state requires us to have this conversation. We want to make it count,” said Mayor Kerry Thomson. “Increasing housing, supporting economic development, and making it easier to invest in Bloomington are priorities of my administration. We also care deeply about affordability, sustainability, strong neighborhoods, and the qualities that make Bloomington a thriving city where everyone has a place to belong. The question is whether our rules consistently help us achieve those outcomes. We especially want to hear from individuals who work with these rules every day about where they serve Bloomington well and where they create barriers.”
Comments received during the hearing will become part of the public records required under HEA 1001 and may inform future consideration of amendments to the UDO.
The Plan Commission reviews proposed UDO amendments and makes recommendations to the Bloomington Common Council. The Common Council has final authority over the amendments to the ordinance.
Meeting materials and participation information will be available at bloomington.in.gov/boards/plan.
