A joint study session of Council, HRA, Planning, Sustainability, and Port Authority reviewed an updated housing nexus study on Bloomington's 2019 Opportunity Housing Ordinance (OHO). Staff recommended raising the in-lieu fee from $9.60 to about $12 per square foot (inflation-adjusted) and adding 30% and 50% AMI compliance tiers to give developers more flexibility, mirroring recent changes in Minneapolis. No formal vote was taken; an ordinance amendment with public hearings before Planning Commission and City Council could come later this year.
Consultants reported the ordinance has produced 621 below-60%-AMI units since adoption, but 62% of those are at the 60% AMI tier versus a city policy goal where more than half of need is at 30% AMI or below. Only one developer has ever paid the in-lieu fee instead of building units on-site, and that developer requested the money back. Financial modeling showed most standard multifamily projects currently don't pencil out (fail to hit target yield-on-cost/IRR thresholds) under current market conditions.
Staff recommended standardizing ownership-housing affordability requirements across housing types at 9% of units affordable at 115% AMI, with an added flexible tier of 4% at 80% AMI, to align the OHO with the city's LAHA (Local Affordable Housing Aid) subsidy. The change would also clarify that cooperatively-owned housing developments are covered by the ordinance. Applies only to developments of 20+ units.
An HRA board member who helped write the original OHO said she was uncomfortable with proposals moving affordability requirements up to 115% AMI, arguing the ordinance's founding purpose was to achieve 'deep affordability' for lower-income households. Consultants responded that deep affordability on the ownership side is financially very difficult to achieve given mortgage qualification and maintenance-cost barriers for lower-income buyers.
Planning staff (Dakota Cassiday) presented the initial framework for the Bloomington 2050 comprehensive plan, a required update to the city's 2040 plan mandated by the Metropolitan Council. New chapters will include climate/natural systems, economic development, and parks/community health, with multi-year community engagement (surveys, pop-ups, a community advisory committee) running through 2028. Met Council projects Bloomington's population reaching about 103,400 by 2050, roughly 11,000 more residents than today.
Council Member Lomen requested staff consider making equity and inclusion its own dedicated chapter in the Bloomington 2050 plan, citing peer cities like Vancouver, WA and Charlotte, NC, and noting that 44% of Bloomington public school students qualify for free/reduced lunch and poverty has risen 37% over the past decade. Staff said they will explore the idea and requested Lomen forward examples from other cities; a second council member endorsed the request, saying equity topics are often 'diluted' when folded into broader chapters.
The full City Council conducted a closed-session 4-month performance review of City Manager Zack Walker on March 9 across eight categories including leadership, financial stewardship, and community engagement. Council members independently rated his performance as fully meeting expectations for an initial review, with Mayor Bussey publicly congratulating him at the meeting.
