The Bloomington Board of Realtors
The Bloomington Board of Realtors recognizes the need for planning and we are not opposed to it. In most cases proper planning leads to sustainable home values. With such an important issue being considered, it made sense to take advantage of a benefit provided by the National Association of Realtors that includes an analysis of the Proposed Monroe County Comprehensive Land Use Plan provided by Robinson & Cole, a national consulting firm with experts in the area of comprehensive planning. There are several issues addressed in the analysis that cause us to take issue with the final version of the plan as it was passed by the Planning Commission.If we are to plan for our land use for the next 20 years then it seems elementary to create such a plan based on good data. There are several examples of figures or graphs included in the plan that do not appear to be supported by data, are included without explanation or context, or appear to misconstrue or misinterpret data. Most notably is the graph depicting population growth and projected growth which provides a skewed view of future population growth. The horizontal axis representing time uses an inconsistent scale. Years 1900 through 2000 are graphed at twenty year increments. Mid-chart, years 2000 through 2008 are graphed at two year increments. Subsequently the period of projected growth from years 2020 to 2040 switches back to use a twenty year increment. This inconsistency creates a graph that does not accurately represent population growth. As drawn, it looks as if population grew quickly between 1900 and 2000 and then leveled out to a much slower rate of growth over the past decade. The graph visually suggests a slowing of population growth in recent years with a continuation of fairly slow growth over the next 30 years.
In reviewing the graph we note the following: Population in Year 2000 was 120,000. Population in Year 2008 was 129,000. Projected population for Year 2040 is 142,000. This data does not cite the most recent Monroe County Census Data indicating a 2010 population of approximately 138,000. With a growth of approximately 18,000 people over the past 10 years, nearly 9,000 of that increase coming in the past 2 years, does it seem realistic to develop a vision and plan for our community based on a growth of a mere 4,000 people over the next 30 years?
Unless the intent of this plan is to stifle growth by inhibiting job creation and the availability of housing then we need to take the time to make assurances that we are planning based on accurate data and depicting the actual growth patterns in an accurate and transparent manner. A sustainable community will be difficult to achieve if we plan the use of our land over the next 20 years based on the data and misleading depictions of growth patterns provided in the most recent version of the plan.
Other figures may also leave a thoughtful reader of the Plan with unanswered questions. For instance, how was Figure 14, the Flood Prone Road map created? What qualifies a road as flood prone? The process used to identify such roads and the standards applied to their evaluation are not included or explained. Similarly, what data was used for Figure 16, Vacant Land Characterized by Slope, and how was it analyzed to create the map?
Ideally, all of the data contained in a Plan should be attributed to its source. Methods of analysis should be identified and presented in a transparent way. Data that is unattributed and analysis that is unclear or presented in a misleading way undermines the credibility of a plan and calls into question the validity of its conclusions and the soundness of its recommendations.
The Plan does not address many of the existing and future factors that will shape land use in the county. The mission statement observes that a comprehensive plan must be "based on a factual understanding of the forces and trends shaping the community. It pays little attention to how the Indiana University and Ivy Tech will impact the county.
According to the plan, 42,000 students were enrolled for the 2009 Fall Semester at IU. Ivy Tech’s main campus in Bloomington has a population of 4,700 students. The plan does not discuss how the student population impacts county housing demand, nor does it address methods for ensuring the availability of housing that is affordable to people with limited means. We note that the plan falls short as a comprehensive plan to guide the county’s future development because it does not pay enough attention to known factors that are beyond the county’s control. Housing and other demands of a growing student population have the potential to greatly influence demand in the county for development of various types. We ask the county to revisit the plan to analyze these factors and impact the county’s future development patterns, its infrastructure and services.
BBOR, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, and the BEDC have already noted that the plan announces specific policies at a level of detail and with language that is more appropriate for a zoning ordinance than for a comprehensive plan. We continue to stress this concern and point out the plan’s inconsistency between its introductory language advising that a plan is not intended to provide specific regulatory detail but then it goes on to include an overly complex and detailed set of requirements defined in Chapter 9 for the creation of new parcels which, in many cases, will require a civil engineer, an attorney and a surveyor to help a land owner understand what he or she can do with their property.
We appreciate the hard work put forth by our planning commission but we strongly recommend the county hire a professional land use firm to take the plan as it is today and help them mold it into a good plan that will positively impact our county. Land use planning professionals are educated and experienced, it is what they do and it is the right thing to do.
The Bloomington Board of Realtors supports a widely allocated ownership of land. Simply said, we support the philosophy that citizens should have every opportunity to own land. This plan may very likely lead to shortages in the housing and land supply. It will most definitely limit the creation of smaller parcels of land. When supply is low and parcels are large, prices are high. This limits citizen’s ability to own a home or land. We urge the commissioners to consider this as they make their decision.
