Density debate kicks off growth meetings

The Bloomington City Council kicked off round one of a series of special meetings designed to debate and vote on 18 different amendments to the city's Growth Policies Plan Monday night. \nThe GPP is a document that articulates the city government's goals for how the city should develop.\nThe Council looked at three amendments to the plan Monday. \nMost intensely debated was an amendment to change specific areas of a downtown redevelopment program to designate certain neighborhoods as off-limits for developments with 100 housing units per acre -- up from the normal 15 per acre. \nIntroduced by Councilwoman Patricia Cole, on behalf of the Bloomington Historical Preservation Commission, the debate over her amendment pitted preservationists and others who want to manage growth in Bloomington against developers looking for a more open property market, one without regulations on how properties can be developed.\nIn the end, Cole's amendment passed by a vote of 6-3, thus beginning a process to designate certain areas off-limits for high-density building in the Downtown Development Opportunity Overlay. The Overlay is an area of downtown Bloomington the council previously targeted with incentives for more residential housing.\nBut managing sprawl on the edge of the city by building more housing downtown could destroy Bloomington's unique characteristics, said Chris Sternbarn, of the BHPC. \nSternbarn said that "Restaurant Row" on Fourth Street, in between Indiana Avenue and Lincoln Street, is a prime example where incentives should not be given for large housing developments.\n"What would Bloomington look like if every site in the DDOO was developed with 100 units per acre? We don't need planning with a sledgehammer," Sternbarn said.\nCole said the amendment doesn't get rid of incentives downtown.\n"This amendment nuances the downtown plan," Cole said. "When you tear down buildings, they're not the same. You lose a feeling, a smell, something that can't be recreated."\nOpponents offered a number of arguments against the amendment.\nCouncilman Jeff Willsey was one of the three council members who voted no on the amendment. "This amendment might start to move us toward a narrowness and lack of dynamic downtown," he said. "We don't want to lock ourselves into certain structures and certain blocks."\nDoug Bruce, a local architect, argued that the incentives are an important in keeping downtown vibrant.\nThe Council also voted 9-0 on an amendment designed to create a city-wide greenspace acquisition program. Results from the vote on a third amendment were not available as of press time. \nThe next meeting on the growth plan will be held at 7 p.m. Monday in the council chambers.