Goat Farm Developer, Like Church, Doesn't Have A Prayer

At today’s Bloomington Plan Commission meeting a draft of planning considerations meant to govern future development of the property will be discussed. In 2001 a proposal by the Church of the Good Shepherd ran into environmental issues that will surely be a roadblock for the current proposal. The property near the High Street / Winslow Road roundabout has been purchased and the developer would like to build a residential development there. However, the City Planning Department doesn’t see the current proposal fitting within their concept of the way this area should be developed. They are proposing an amendment to the Growth Policies Plan to designate this area as a “critical sub-area”. They want the development to be designed to protect wildlife habitat and safeguard the environmentally sensitive features, such as the floodplain. The developer questioned the timing and added, “The city needed to be more detailed and direct about expectations”. Why on earth would the City want to be more detailed and direct when it routinely gets away with dictating what your property rights will be? Of the three items on this evenings agenda, all three are getting negative recommendations due to environmental concerns, so what’s new? As the City gradually amends the Growth Policies Plan into it’s No Growth Policies Plan, the citizens of Monroe County will soon understand the true meaning of urban sprawl. I’m sorry, but this developer has nearly as good a chance playing tidily winks with his butt cheeks as he does getting the necessary approvals to convert this area into a housing addition.