By: Diane Benjamin Missing Middle Housing is supposed to be on the September 8th Bloomington City Council Agenda. There are some things the City and the Council either don’t know or do and aren’t telling you. No wonder some on the Council wanted a fast vote. Opticos has been using the same canned program for […]
By: Diane Benjamin Opticos Designs is the California based consultant who is recommending zoning changes to single family neighborhoods in Bloomington. Note that Normal isn’t doing anything close. Guess what? Opticos is pushing the same talking points in Maryland: https://montgomeryplanning.org/events/what-is-missing-middle-housing-presentation-to-the-silver-spring-community-from-opticos-design/ This event will feature Tony Perez from Opticos Design who is a Missing Middle Housing expert in […]
By: Diane Benjamin I’ve done many stories on Opticos and Missing Middle Housing. Review this story, it contains what the Council told staff they wanted back in July 2024 to solve the “housing crisis”: https://blnnews.com/2025/05/31/remember-when-i-told-you-staff-wouldnt-drop-it/ There is ZERO in those instructions about creating “walkable neighborhoods” or hiring a consultant from California. That didn’t stop Jeff […]
By: Diane Benjamin Last night’s Bloomington Committee of the Whole: Also on the agenda was a discussion of video gaming. Start with the Public Comment at 33:35 from a downtown bar owner that isn’t allowed to have video gaming because of the arbitrary limit on the number of establishments the City set. Now see 2:11:20. […]
By: Diane Benjamin Luckily Alderman won’t be voting on the Middle Missing Housing report tonight, Committee of the Whole is meant to assess policy. It will reveal who believes government solves problems and who knows they don’t however. The Bloomington City Council has approved MANY housing projects, almost all have ZERO action from developers. The […]
By: Diane Benjamin Monday night the Bloomington City Council is circling back to the May 27th discussion of Missing Middle Housing. In case you forgot, the City hired a California group called Opticos Design Inc. Some things you need to know: -The report is littered with the term “Best Practices”. That is a ridiculous term […]
