By: Diane Benjamin
The McLean County Regional Planning Commission hired an Indianapolis firm to conduct a local housing survey. The draft version is available here: https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/a2/83/4592f3f04409bcdd453644d32b78/draft-final-rise-plan.pdf
Comments can be made on this document until 3/14.
I’m not close to going through all 97 pages, but problems are pretty easy to see.
The chart on PDF page 9 shows the number of people who responds by Age Group. It shows only 1169 people took the survey.
A chart on the same page shows 1170 people responded.
The chart on PDF page 18 shows 2275 responses. Maybe people were allowed to pick more than one option?
WGLT has done at least 2 stories on this report:
https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2024-03-02/input-sought-on-draft-of-regional-housing-recovery-plan
I haven’t seen coverage of either of the charts below. Duh, property taxes are too high and people want to live in single family homes.
Neither of those are part of the local discussion. Local governments seized on increased property values to raise property taxes which makes housing more unaffordable. They broke the system by allowing people to not pay rent during COVID. They can’t fix what they broke. Why would anyone want to own rental property?
I’m going to keep reading, you need to read it too.
This is one more step by government to end property ownership by its citizens. One step closer to what we see in China or other authoritarian nations. Everyone miserably living in massive apartment buildings that drain the souls and force people to into becoming compliant sheep.
We should be commissioning studies on how to make property/home ownership more achievable. How to keep that soul strengthening dream alive rather than kill it for the government’s convenience sake.
Habitats For Humanity, not Cages For The Animals.
* wonders how much this survey and report cost the taxpayers.
This is the comment I left for the survey….
People could better afford housing if governments at all levels did not tax them so highly. Nice to have, but not essential things like the arts district or the coliseum take value from people and put it in the hands of government, making it more expensive for citizens to live. Bloomington city government grows larger every year with no value delivered. The area transit system has 10 non working electric buses that were purchased based on ideology not on practicality. This is a further waste of money. Get government out of the way if you want people to have affordable housing
Your comments do not reflect the pre- conceived outcomes of the City or MCRPC, therefore it will be ignored. You want to stand up and be counted, but the decision makers don’t care. These outreach efforts are a farce everywhere. All governments could give a rip what you or I think. Besides, they’ve already decided what they are going to do.
yes you are entirely correct. I just want to get under their skin even the smallest amount. I don’t even live in Illinois anymore. I’m one of the ones that has escaped from hell