Couch ban

Couches, armchairs and futons are among the traditional indoor furniture banned from Bloomington front porches.

That’s one of the changes the Bloomington City Council approved in the Property Maintenance Code on Nov. 14, 2012.

Housing and Neighborhood Development Director Lisa Abbott said she worked on the changes for months. The code’s most recent update was in 2003.

“The neighborhoods have been asking for this for a long time for a number of reasons,” Abbott said.

She cited neighbor complaints about weather-exposed upholstered furniture that often begins to smell from mildew. Aesthetic concerns about older front porch furniture also played into some complaints, she said.

“You can still sit on your front porch and enjoy the great outdoors,” Abbott said. “You’ll just have to use furniture intended for outdoor use.”

But more than complaints, the decision was also made out of safety concerns, Assistant City Attorney Patty Mulvihill said.

“(Rodents) like the stuffing and the warmness,” she said. “We see a lot of infestation problems coming from the front porches.”

Mulvihill also said she wasn’t sure exactly when the Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission members would read through the code changes, nor did she know definitively if the commission would approve or strike the changes individually or altogether.

“I think it’s an underutilized resource of the average renter in Bloomington,” she said.

The new Bloomington code bans upholstered furniture that would usually go indoors from sitting outside the rental.

Some pieces of furniture you can legally enjoy from your front porch
Adirondack chair — The rustic recliner made of durable wood
Bench/arm chair with removable pillows — A cheap frame option with a comfy, interchangeable addition
Hammock
Plastic chair — cheapest, though most uncomfortable, option