City preserves conservation area

The first regular city council meeting of the new term began and ended with a unanimous vote to keep the McDoel Gardens District a conservation district.\nThe McDoel Gardens District, located south of the Bloomington Hospital, was designated a conservation district in February 2001. The ordinance called for the Housing and Neighborhood Development department to survey owners of the property within the district regarding the future of the district after three years and report to the council.\nThe council voted to keep the district as a conservation district instead of elevating the status of the neighborhood to a historical district, which many current owners of the district and council members also oppose.\n"McDoel is a wonderful neighborhood," said District I Representative Chris Sturbaum. "It's a very successful place to live, and I think others will look to this neighborhood as a pattern for other neighborhoods in the future."\nThe residents and property owners of the neighborhood were given the opportunity to vote on whether or not to keep the district the way it currently is. Of the 265 ballots received, 105 residents voted to retain the conservation district and 121 voted to not elevate it to a historic district.\nMany council members were opposed to making the district a historical one.\n"If the council upgrades the district, it will place a much higher bar on the property," said Council-at-Large, Tim Mayer. "A historical district would take away affordability and make it harder for people -- especially younger people -- to buy homes here."\nThe district was established to provide protection from demolition and establish a border around homes to prevent further erosion of the neighborhood.\nDanielle Bachant-Bell, member of the executive committee for the McDoel Gardens neighborhood, said she is happy with the current status of the neighborhood.\n"I realize how safe it is to walk in this neighborhood. It is also a very diverse neighborhood. We have older couples, younger couples, veterans, teachers, with all kinds of background," Bachant-Bell said. "The neighborhood really gets along well, and it's a nice, small community that the conservation district has helped to establish as a great neighborhood."\n-- Contact staff writer Lindsay Jancek at lmjancek@indiana.edu.