City Council approves conservation district

The Bloomington City Council voted 6-0 Wednesday night to approve the Matlock Heights Conservation District, with two council members abstaining.

Those who abstained objected to the confusion of the process, city council member Chris Sturbaum said.

“We recently upgraded our ordinance, and there’s a certain amount of uncertainty in people’s minds about how that’s going to work,” he said.

There was also concern about the state law that forces a conservation district to become historic if the majority of property owners do not object in writing 60 to 180 days before the third anniversary of its establishment.

The guidelines for this potential historic district within Matlock have not been
drawn up.

Confusion aside, Sturbaum said he thinks the city council made the right decision.

“The district had historic integrity from that post-war era, and the condition and neighborhood was worthy of being preserved, that was why it was supported,” he said.

Built in the 1950s and 1960s, Matlock Heights has a mid-century modern feel to it.
Sturbaum said the preservation of Matlock’s distinct character is likely to draw in buyers and investors in the future, which will be good for the economic development of the neighborhood.

“In the end, it was really a pretty simple decision, and we should be proud to have the first district of mid-century modern houses in the state,” Sturbaum said.

— Kate Starr

An earlier version of this story had an incorrect vote count. The IDS regrets this error.