![]() Applications are being accepted for the 2021 City of Bloomington Residents Academy, formerly known as the Citizens' Academy. The deadline to apply is July 12. Classes will be held every Thursday from August 26 through October 28 from 6-8 p.m. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of the City of Bloomington, and willing to commit to one evening per week for 10 weeks to participate in the academy. Participants learn about the different departments within the city, and learn about the challenges of running a municipal government. Click here for more information.
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![]() At their June 16 meeting, Bloomington City Council unanimously approved a 10-year abatement for the Retreat at Switchyard, a residential development at 1730 S. Walnut St. The development involves construction of 64 residential units. Of those, 48 units will be devoted to households with low to moderate-incomes for a period of 99 years. Ten of those 48 apartments are set aside for clients of StoneBelt. The five-story building, adjacent to the Switchyard Park east entrance, includes a 3,000-square-foot first-floor retail space. The abatement, which is applicable only to the 48 affordable units, would start at 100% and step down to 5% in year 10. The developer is Real America. The city's Redevelopment Commission intends to convey the land and structure to Real America for $1. That's a value of about $975,000, according to Alex Crowley, director of the city's Economic & Sustainable Development department. Watch the council's June 16 deliberations on CATS here. Read abatement-related materials from the council's meeting packet here. ![]() On June 16, Bloomington Council approved a new ordinance requiring landlords to sign and maintain an affidavit listing occupants of their rental properties. Tenants must also sign. The law applies to buildings with four or fewer units. The original proposal, which council amended, was submitted by the city's Housing & Neighborhood Development (HAND) department and would have required the document be turned into the city. It also would have required tenants to disclose their relationship with each other. Questions about privacy issues prompted revision of the ordinance. The affidavit is intended to help the city track compliance with occupancy limits. Certain zoning districts set a limit of three unrelated adults who can live in a rental unit. Watch the council's June 16 deliberations on CATS here. ![]() The City of Bloomington Utilities Department has released its annual drinking water quality report. As part of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency requires community water systems to deliver this report to their customers each year. The report provides information about local drinking water quality, data from tests conducted the previous year, and contact information for any questions or concerns. Listed in the 2021 report are the 12 contaminants detected in Bloomington's drinking water during 2020, such as disinfectant byproducts (DBPs), lead, and copper. All are within allowable levels, according to the CBU. Read the full report here. ![]() An ordinance requiring landlords and tenants to sign annual occupancy affidavits was postponed by Bloomington Council to their June 16 meeting. The ordinance, intended to better monitor occupancy for smaller residential rentals, would require disclosure of the relationship between tenants (family or unrelated), as well as contact information and signatures. Non-compliance could result in fines and possible felony charges. John Zody, director of the city's Housing & Neighborhood Development department, said that the ordinance is a priority for the administration. Mark Figg, president of the Monroe County Apartment Association, expressed concerns and said landlords hadn't been aware that this ordinance was in the works. Watch the June 2 council deliberations on CATS here. Read the relevant meeting materials here. ![]() Bloomington Council has approved the extension of programs that support downtown businesses, including "parklets," designated pick-up/drop-off zones, and the closing of parts of Kirkwood Avenue. The extension, intended to support downtown businesses as they emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, extends through Oct. 31, 2021. Councilmembers unanimously voted to approve it at their June 2 meeting. Watch the council's deliberations on CATS here. Read the related meeting materials here. ![]() At their June 2 meeting, Monroe County Commissioners approved an agreement with Baker Tilly for consultants to review and analyze the City's of Bloomington's annexation fiscal plan. The contract is for an amount not to exceed $50,000. Commissioners previously released a statement on annexation here. The City of Bloomington has relaunched an annexation effort that began in 2017 but was halted by state legislative action. The city successfully sued the state and resumed a process that is expected to conclude this fall. More information about the city's annexation initiative is here. ![]() Aligning Monroe County with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recent guidance, the county's health officer has rescinded the previous health order as of Monday, May 17. The City of Bloomington also rescinded its health order, effective May 17. This means that people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask or stay socially distant from others in most instances, whether inside or out. Masks may still be advised for people with certain health conditions, such as being immunocompromised, so those with concerns should check with their doctor. The CDC says that people who are not vaccinated should still wear a face covering and remain socially distant from others, except where required by federal, state or local rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. Businesses and organizations can continue to require face coverings and physical distancing if they choose. The Monroe County Board of Health will meet on Wednesday, May 19 to assess data and consider further updates or changes. That meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. via this Zoom link. For more information, visit the City of Bloomington's COVID-19 site at https://bloomington.in.gov/covid-19, or the Monroe County Health Department COVID-19 site here. ![]() The City of Bloomington is holding a public forum on Thursday, May 13 to review the reconstruction of West First Street from South Fairview to South College. The project is part of the broader redevelopment of the Bloomington Hospital site, which the city is acquiring later this year. The forum runs from 6-7 p.m. via this Zoom link. Click here for the project's website. For more information about the overall hospital site redevelopment, click here. ![]() A multi-family housing project with 906 beds is being proposed by Trinitas Ventures for the former Kmart site at 3216 E. 3rd St. Called the District at Latimer Square, it is on the agenda for the Bloomington Plan Commission's May 10 meeting. The development would include five residential buildings, one leasing and amenity building, and a 385-space parking structure. Three student-oriented apartments would be built on the site's northern section. Two buildings on the south side would have multi-family housing. Click here to visit the project's website. UPDATE: The Plan Commission continued discussion of this project to its June 14 meeting. |
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