We, the residents of the city of Bloomington and Monroe County, strongly urge that you put the long-term interests of the community and its residents ahead of the "needs" of an out-of-town developer whose purpose is to build and flip an off-campus student dormitory by rejecting the proposed Century Village PUD at the intersection of Indiana State Roads 46 and 446.
We respectfully request that you deny the request for this development for the following reasons:
1) The development does not follow the recommendations outlined in the City's Comprehensive Master Plan. The proposed student dormitory is not mixed use, and is 2+ miles from campus classrooms, at the extreme eastern edge of the city, rather than in "close proximity to the IUB Campus" as called for in the Comprehensive Plan.
2) There is no concrete evidence supporting the claims that additional student housing is needed in Bloomington. Neither is there any concrete evidence supporting the claims that housing costs will decrease because additional large dormitories are built.
3) The proposed project is not in keeping with the vision for Bloomington's future held by the constituents.
4) The development will jeopardize public safety due to increased foot, bicycle, bus, scooter, and automobile traffic.
5) The pay-to-play "donation" to the affordable housing fund is not straightforward or transparent and is not the way we want our city's leaders to conduct business in our name as residents of this city and county. A miniscule donation to the affordable housing fund is no substitute for including affordable housing units from the start that will provide needed affordable housing for the life of the project.
