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From YouTube: Council Minute February 16
Description
Mayor Tim Busse provides a recap of Monday’s Council meeting, including a discussion about residential development standards, how boards and commission appointments are made using an updated and improved process, and a welcome to the City’s new Chief of Police.
A
Hello
bloomington,
I'm
mayor
tim
bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
february
14th.
On
monday
night,
the
city
council
had
a
long
discussion
on
the
standards
and
requirements
that
the
city
has
in
place,
regulating
single-family
and
two-family
homes.
The
city
council
has
talked
quite
a
bit
about
expanding
housing
choices
and
options
for
our
residents
and
re-evaluating
zoning
standards
is
one
way
to
do
that.
A
This
is
an
important
topic
for
the
community
to
discuss
updating
our
zoning
code
and
keeping
our
standards
relevant
is
essential
as
we
look
to
keep
our
current
residents
and
attract
new
residential
development.
So
city
staff
examined
our
current
development
standards
and
identified
a
variety
of
potential
amendments
that
would
encourage
more
housing
options,
increase
affordability,
address
racial
equity
by
identifying
potentially
discriminatory
policies
and
encourage
healthy
and
sustainable
communities,
and,
while
those
are
specific
and
separate
goals,
it's
important
to
understand
that
they
are
certainly
interrelated.
A
A
couple
of
examples
of
what
I
mean
by
development
standards.
The
council
discussed
minimum
lot
size
and
we
talked
about
the
pros
and
cons
of
50
60
or
70
foot
lot
widths.
As
with
anything,
there
are
trade-offs,
but
smaller
lot.
Widths
generally
allow
for
more
compact
development
and
better
utilization
of
land,
and
it
expands
opportunity
for
infill
housing
projects
to
become
more
financially
viable.
A
A
The
planning,
commission
and
city
council
reviewed
the
minimum
home
size
about
five
years
ago,
and
we
found
ways
to
be
more
flexible,
such
as
including
finished
basements
into
that
square
footage
calculation.
We
talked
about
minimum
parking
requirements.
Bloomington
currently
requires
a
two-car
garage
for
houses
built
after
2015..
A
We
talked
about
accessory
dwelling
units
which
are
basically
independent
dwelling
units
with
their
own
cooking,
living,
bathroom
and
sleeping
areas.
The
current
city
code
only
allows
accessory
dwelling
units
when
they
are
internal
or
attached
to
a
single
family
home.
We
had
a
very
good
discussion
about
considering
accessory
dwelling
units
as
detached
structures
separate
from
the
main
home
or
even
above
the
garage,
and
finally,
the
council
reviewed
parking
standards
for
apartment
buildings
and
other
forms
of
multi-family
housing.
A
We
looked
at
whether
they
could
be
reduced
to
lower
costs
and
to
provide
environmental
benefits,
while
the
planning,
commission
and
the
housing
and
redevelopment
authority
have
talked
at
length
on
this
entire
topic.
This
was
the
first
meaty
discussion
the
council
has
had,
and
there
were
a
lot
of
questions
and
a
lot
more
requests
for
more
specifics
and
some
of
the
proposed
changes.
A
A
A
If
you
watch,
you
know
that
we
make
appointments
to
our
boards
and
commissions
annually
and
sometimes
even
more
frequently
if
we
have
an
unexpected
opening,
but
this
time
was
a
bit
different
for
the
first
time.
This
year
we
made
appointments
based
off
an
updated
and
improved
process
that
has
been
in
the
works
for
some
time.
A
The
prevailing
thought
of
the
city
council
over
the
past
several
years
was
that
the
process
we
used
to
make
board
and
commission
appointments
generally
worked,
but
that
it
could
be
better.
We
asked
staff,
specifically
the
community
outreach
and
engagement
division
to
coordinate
a
process,
improvement
effort
to
formalize
a
clear
process
that
reflects
clarity,
consistency,
equity
and
transparency.
A
The
folks
in
community
outreach
and
engagement
tapped
into
the
knowledge
of
staff,
liaisons
and
other
employees
who
support
boards
and
commissions.
They
talk
to
current
board
and
commission
members
and
they
talk
to
folks
in
legal
and
city
administration,
to
develop
recommendations
for
the
city
council
to
consider
a
key
component
of
the
process.
Improvements
is
a
new
city
of
bloomington
board
and
commission
policy
that
defines
consistent
procedures
and
guidelines
related
to
the
recruitment,
application,
selection,
appointment
and
onboarding
for
city
boards
and
commissions,
and
on
monday
night.
A
A
Next
came
interview,
panels
made
up
of
council
members,
city
staff
and
members
of
the
various
boards
and
commissions
they
met
with
applicants
via
zoom
to
get
a
better
understanding
of
the
qualifications
of
each
candidate.
After
the
interviews
panel
members
debriefed
and
came
to
consensus
regarding
recommendations
for
appointments
to
each
board
boarding.
Commission
now
you
may
be
thinking
to
yourself.
A
Staff
will
continue
to
look
for
ways
to
improve
the
process
and
finalize
a
born
and
commissioned
policy,
but
I'm
happy
to
say
that
we
now
have
a
process
in
place
that
meets
the
goals
of
clarity,
consistency,
equity
and
transparency,
hats
off
to
staff
for
the
work
that
went
into
this.
I
hope
that
you've
heard
the
news
by
now
that
bloomington
has
hired
a
new
chief
of
police
city
manager.
Jamie
verbrughe
announced
late
last
week
that
booker
hodges
will
step
into
the
important
role
as
police
chief
on
april
4th.
A
Dr
hodges
is
currently
assistant,
commissioner,
at
the
minnesota
department
of
public
safety.
His
past
work
history
includes
time
as
chief
in
prior
lake
undersheriff
at
ramsey,
county
and
sergeant
at
the
dakota
county
sheriff's
office.
Dr
hodge's
experience
in
dakota
county
includes
being
a
patrol
watch
commander,
a
school
resource
officer,
a
narcotics
detective
and
a
swat
operator.
A
He
has
supervised
the
work
of
professional
standards,
training
and
staff
development,
internal
affairs
and
more
in
his
current
capacity.
He
oversees
the
minnesota
state
patrol
the
bca
and
alcohol
and
gambling
enforcement
division,
and
he
was
the
incident
commander
in
the
multi-agency
coordinating
center
during
the
riots
of
2020.,
along
with
council
members,
coulter
and
carter,
I
had
the
chance
to
meet
dr
hodges
during
the
interview
process
and,
frankly
folks.
I
can't
wait
for
the
rest
of
the
city
to
get
that
opportunity
as
well.
A
During
our
conversation,
dr
hodges
stressed
his
commitment
to
community
engagement
and
to
having
a
department
that
reflects
the
community
two
values
that
we've
been
talking
about
here
in
bloomington
for
some
time
now.
I
am
truly
looking
forward
to
having
dr
hodges
on
board
a
quick
thank
you
to
the
officers
of
the
bloomington
police
department
who
provided
input
on
this
entire
process.
The
city
staff,
members
and
community
leaders
who
took
part
in
listening
sessions
and
to
city
manager,
jamie
verrughi
for
his
leadership
in
this
incredibly
important
search
and
hire.