Common Council Regular Session

Bloomington Common Council-Regular Session Minutes Bloomington Council Chambers, City Hall, 401 N. Morton Street, Bloomington, Indiana Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 6:30pm 1. CALL TO ORDER Council President Stosberg called the meeting to order. 2. ROLL CALL (*Indicates participation via Zoom) [6:30pm] Councilmembers present: Isak Nti Asare At-Large Courtney Daily District 5, Council Parliamentarian Matt Flaherty At-Large Isabel Piedmont-Smith District 1, Council Vice President Dave Rollo (arrived at 6:50pm) District 4 Kate Rosenbarger* (arrived at 6:36pm) District 2 Andy Ruff At-Large Hopi Stosberg District 3, Council President Sydney Zulich District 6 City staff, officials, and guests present: Nicole Bolden City Clerk Lisa Lehner Council Attorney Christine Chang Temporary Council Legal Research Specialist Kelly Murphy Technology Support Manager, ITS Adam Wason Public Works Director Jane Kupersmith Economic and Sustainable Development Director Anna Killion-Hanson Housing and Neighborhood Development Director 3. AGENDA SUMMATION [6:31pm] Stosberg spoke about the Japanese internment camps in the United States starting in 1942 and gave a brief history. She then summarized the agenda. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES [6:36pm] Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded to approve the minutes of March 12, 2025, March 26, 2025, and May 14, 2025. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. (Rollo arrived at 6:50pm) 5. REPORTS [6:38pm] 5.1. Councilmembers: Piedmont-Smith commented on President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and impacts on community members. There would be food assistance cuts, slashing over $1 trillion from Medicaid and services, and other healthcare impacts, canceling of federal support for clean energy programs, and furthering the privatization of public education through federal voucher programs. The wealthy would benefit with tax cuts. Military spending would increase and there would be a massive increase to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) budget. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the bill would add $3.4 trillion to the federal deficit over ten years. Members of the Indiana General Assembly that supported the bill included Representative Erin Houchin, Senator Jim Banks, and Senator Todd Young. She urged community members to contact their representatives, and to volunteer, advocate, and donate to local organizations. Asare spoke about Tandem, a Community Birth Center and Postpartum House, which served families in Bloomington. The house had four furnished overnight suites and day room retreats. Tandem had eight  Meeting Date: July 16, 2025 postpartum doulas and many trained volunteers, and also distributed free maternity clothing, baby supplies, diapers, car seats, and provided education. He discussed postpartum statistics and different types of assistance for families. Tandem was facing financial strains and Asare urged residents to support the center. Stosberg mentioned her upcoming constituent meeting. She reported on her and Piedmont-Smith’s attendance to the Local Progress 2025 National Convening event in Chicago the previous weekend. She highlighted sessions on council staffing and division of workload, food security, food deserts, municipal grocery stores, and additional intervention assistance. Another session was on budgets and taxation focusing on revenue streams, state funding, and Indiana’s Senate Bill 1. She reported that the Plan Commission had heard petitions for updates to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). Two petitions had been forwarded to a second hearing; single room occupancy and urban agriculture. The other five were less substantive and were forwarded to council with positive recommendations. 5.2. Mayor and City Offices: Adam Wason, Public Works Director, gave a report on progress for a citywide sidewalk plan. The vendor, ICC-IMS, was gathering data on the condition of current sidewalks, American with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps, and more. By the end of the year, there would be publicly accessible data sets, ratings, and visuals. There had been interdepartmental meetings regarding each one’s participation in the improvements. The plan needed to address more than just sidewalks. A Pedestrian Facilities Operations Plan (PFOP) was being developed and would collaborate with the Transportation Commission with the goal of improving pedestrian safety. He gave additional details on potential projects like funding and winter weather enforcement. There was specific discussion on how the data on sidewalks was being collected, how council could support the effort, the Transportation Commission, sidewalk gaps and replacement cycles, priorities, long-term plans, and spending on pedestrian infrastructure. Stosberg extended the time for reports until 7:30pm with no objection. Jane Kupersmith, Director, Economic and Sustainable Development Director, presented the annual tax abatement report. She referenced a report given to council where each tax abatement was presented to council including CF-1 commitments and staff’s finding of compliance or noncompliance. Council discussed payment in lieu payments, council’s responsibility, and noncompliance for Union at Crescent. Kupersmith explained the process should council find Union at Crescent noncompliant. Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that the Council, as the designating body, determine preliminarily that Union at Crescent has not substantially complied with its statement of benefits and that the failure to substantially comply was not caused by factors beyond the control of the property owner. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that the Council hold a public hearing on July 30, 2025, during the Council’s Regular Session beginning at 6:30pm in the Council Chambers to further consider Union at Crescent’s compliance with the statement of benefits provided as part of the tax abatement granted under Resolution 17-30 and Resolution 17-31; and that Council staff provide the required notice of this hearing to the property owner, listing the basis for the Council’s determination: “failure to allocate at least 70% of the units to households with incomes at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (affordable housing requirement).” The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that the Council approve the findings of compliance or substantial compliance for the remaining properties listed in the 2025 Annual Tax Abatement report as recommended by ESD with the exception of Union at Crescent. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 2 Meeting Date: July 16, 2025 Stosberg extended the time for reports until 7:45pm with no objection from the council. Stosberg noted that the following report would be a public hearing. Anna Killion-Hanson, Housing and Neighborhood Development Director, presented the City of Bloomington’s 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan and highlighted efforts to address housing, community development, and economic development needs. The city received an annual allocation for the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnership Program from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Killion-Hanson provided details on the spending plan. She noted that Bloomington was the most housing cost burdened metro area in the state with high cost of living and low wages. She discussed Indiana University students, Census data, rental housing, housing instability, homelessness, Housing Choice Vouchers/Section 8 waitlist, and zoning and land use policies that limited the development of affordable housing. The highest priority need was improving access to quality, affordable housing. Zulich requested that student housing not be referred to as luxury housing because that placed all students into one category which was not accurate. Killion-Hanson said that any new housing would help with affordability. Staff did not know how many AirBnBs there were in the city. Council discussed new developments, vacant homes, collecting data on occupancy rates, and workforce housing. Stosberg extended the time for reports until 8:00pm with no objection from the council. Stosberg called for public comment and hearing none, ended the public hearing portion of the meeting. 5.3. Council Committees: There were no council committee reports. 5.4. Public: Sarah Owen, Community Engagement Coordinator, Exodus Refugee Immigration Bloomington (ERI), spoke about the organization and the impact of HR1, “Big Beautiful Bill,” on ERI’s clients including denying access to healthcare via Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Christopher Emge, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, discussed the unhoused community and some collateral damage that occurs downtown, panhandling, public safety, and security costs. Kevin Keough commented on vacant commercial spaces on the first floors of complexes. 6. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS [8:03pm] There were no appointments to boards or commissions. 7. LEGISLATION FOR FIRST READING [8:03pm] 7.1. Ordinance 2025-23 To Enact Title 10 of the Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Wastewater” Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-23 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Clerk Nicole Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. 3  Meeting Date: July 16, 2025 7.2. Ordinance 2025-24 To Enact Title 13 of the Bloomington Municipal Code Entitled “Stormwater” Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Ordinance 2025-24 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 8, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. (Flaherty out of the room). Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. 7.3. Appropriation Ordinance 2025-07 To Transfer Appropriations in the General Fund to Various Departments and Various Funds to Align Budgets with the 2025 Salary Ordinance Daily moved and Piedmont-Smith seconded that Appropriation Ordinance 2025-07 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Stosberg referred all of the legislation to the next regular session on July 30, 2025. 8. LEGISLATION FOR SECOND READING AND RESOLUTIONS [8:08pm] Stosberg passed the gavel to Piedmont-Smith. 8.1. Resolution 2025-10 To Initiate a Proposal to Amend Title 20 (Unified Development Ordinance) of the Bloomington Municipal Code Re: Preparation of a Proposal to Amend Chapter 20.04.110 (Incentives) and 20.02.040 (Planned Unit Development) Daily moved and Zulich seconded that Resolution 2025-10 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Zulich seconded to adopt Resolution 2025-10. Stosberg presented Resolution 2025-10 and gave reasons in support. The legislation reinitiated part of Resolution 2024-23 which passed the previous November. She said the Plan Commission needed to have held a hearing within sixty days of the passage of Resolution 2024-23, which they did, and vote within 60 days of the hearing, which they did not do. The oversight was due to miscommunication regarding a working group that was not created. Therefore, the timeline timed out. There was no public comment. Flaherty expressed disappointment that the administration had not met the timeline. The motion to adopt Resolution 2025-10 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Piedmont-Smith passed the gavel back to Stosberg. 8.2. Resolution 2025-11 To Initiate a Prior Proposal to Amend Title 20 (Unified Development Ordinance) of the Bloomington Municipal Code by Restating Resolution 2024-25 Re: Single-Room Occupancy Residential Buildings as a Permitted Use Daily moved and Zulich seconded that Resolution 2025-11 be introduced and read by title and synopsis only. The motion received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. Bolden read the legislation by title and synopsis. Daily moved and Zulich seconded to adopt Resolution 2025-11. 4 Meeting Date: July 16, 2025 Piedmont-Smith presented Resolution 2025-11 and noted that the legislation was before council again because the Plan Commission had not heard the proposal within the statutorily required sixty days. Joe Davis spoke against expanding single room occupancy. Piedmont-Smith noted that Planning staff were consulting with the Legal department and others. There were legitimate concerns and the proposal needed to be clarified and refined. She was disappointed that the administration had failed to meet two deadlines regarding the resolutions. Rollo spoke about the need for restricting private equity firms with capital to buy up houses and take advantage of the single room occupancy allowance. Stosberg reiterated that the resolutions were a first step and did not go into detail on what the final language would be. The motion to adopt Resolution 2025-11 received a roll call vote of Ayes: 9, Nays: 0, Abstain: 0. 9. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT [8:31pm] Joe Davis commented on Seminary Park and its torn up ground caused by security patrols, and finding used syringes. 10. COUNCIL SCHEDULE [8:32pm] Stosberg reviewed the upcoming council schedule. Piedmont-Smith noted the upcoming Public Safety Local Income Tax Committee and the Fiscal Committee meetings. 11. ADJOURMENT [8:40pm] Stosberg adjourned the meeting. APPROVED by the Common Council of the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, upon this 03 _______ day of September __________________________________________, 2025. APPROVE: ATTEST: ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ Hopi Stosberg, COUNCIL PRESIDENT City Clerk Nicole Bolden Clerk’s Note: The above minutes summarize the motions passed and issues discussed rather than providing a verbatim account of every word spoken. Bloomington City Council meetings can be watched on the following websites:  Community Action Television Services (CATS) – https://catvstv.net  YouTube – https://youtube.com/@citybloomington Background materials and packets are available at https://bloomington.in.gov/council 5