BPNA November 2009 Meeting Minutes

Bryan Park Neighborhood Association

November 17, 2009

Minutes

The Bryan Park Neighborhood Association met at the Free Methodist Church in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 17, 2009. Jan Sorby, BPNA vice president, presided over the meeting.

Old Business

1. Variances. Jan Sorby reported that Scott Ackerson dropped his requested variance and will build his garage according to city code.

2. Templeton Playground Project. Angela Lexmond reported that the grant application for the Templeton playground project was submitted to the city earlier this month. She announced that the Templeton walk-a-thon raised $2500 and thanked neighborhood donors. Angela also explained that the grant funds will allow the school to double the existing amount of playground equipment.

3. Welcome Bags. Jan Sorby reported that Corrine still has “welcome bags” available for new neighbors. She asked for members to e-mail Corrine when there are new neighbors so the bags can be delivered.

4. Incident Report. Dick Mitchell reported that several cars on Allen Street were broken into recently. Isabel Piedmont-Smith stated that she will contact BPD Officer Scott Oldham to see if he is still the neighborhood contact for BPNA.

New Business

1. Conservation District information. Nancy Heistad, Historic Preservation Program Manager for the City of Bloomington made a power point presentation with information on Conservation District protections and other protective instruments available to the neighborhood. Nancy made the presentation at the request of BPNA. Nancy explained that a conservation district is what is in place in the McDoel neighborhood. She said that at the time, the conservation district was a radical idea, but it did a lot of good things for the neighborhood. According to Nancy, a conservation district : 1) does not need buildings of high architectural value (which keeps houses from being lost to development pressure), 2) does not require full review (reviews required for moves, demolitions and new builds), 3) has a 2 step approval process for new construction and 4) does not regulate additions to existing houses. Nancy also explained the timeline for a conservation district: 1) survey of neighborhood resources, 2) establishment of boundaries, 3) meetings with neighborhood steering committee & appointment of subcommittee, 4) neighborhood notification and public meetings, 5) application, 6) Historic Preservation Commission public hearings, 7) prepare design guidelines, 8) Bloomington City Council meetings, 9) referendum in 3^rd year—all home owners in district vote to keep designation or not. Nancy also described the city’s demolition delay ordinance, noting that it only applies to properties listed on the neighborhood survey. Since 2005, close to 100 properties have been reviewed under the ordinance and 11 demolitions have been granted. She said that BPNA would need to determine whether to rely on demolition delay through the ordinance or go through the conservation district process. On a final note, Nancy noted that the city has money in its budget for another survey of the Bryan Park neighborhood.

2. Next meeting. The next BPNA meeting is scheduled for January 26, 2010.