If a new county jail is to be built on the southeast side of Bloomington, the city plan commission will have to rezone the nearly 90-acre plot.
The Monroe County Commissioners Monday held the first of two hearings on the county’s request to rezone the site as mixed-use institutional. It’s currently zoned for mixed-use employment, which does not allow for a jail or detention facility.
“We do have some concerns about this particular map amendment request and how it does or does not align with the comprehensive plan,” said Jackie Scanlan, development services manager in the Department of Planning and Transportation.
The city’s concerns focused on environmental considerations, site access, site design and the fact that no bus lines go to the site on the northeast corner I-69 and West Fullerton Pike.
County commissioner Julie Thomas said having public transportation to the jail was vital to the project, and that preliminary talks with Bloomington Transit have occurred about adding routes if the jail is built on the site.
“We understand that we're certainly never going to be putting this forward and moving forward and building a single thing until we know we have more than adequate transportation lined up,” Thomas said.
Jeff Cockerill, the county’s attorney, said if a deal with Bloomington Transit could not be worked out, the county would make sure public transportation to the site was available through Rural Transit or other means.
“We did not want this next to housing,” he said. “We wanted this to be somewhere that we could buffer it from other uses the three quarters, or at least half to three quarters of this site have a nice tree buffer. The other side is I-69. And I think it's important to note that Fullerton Pike is not a thoroughfare that went from this site all the way to the Kroger south.”
The environmental considerations are based on the fact that much of the land is in a karst region. The site was used as a staging area during the construction of I-69, and that led to some flooding on neighboring properties.
Duncan Campbell owns 32 acres on the north side of the proposed site and spoke at the meeting. He’s worried about the impact the site would have on the water table and noted other projects that have been proposed for the area but didn’t go through because of environmental concerns.
“We've seen contamination from disruption, and what’s concerning to me is that adequate protections can happen in a terrain that is almost unmappable,” Campbell said.
Thomas said they were aware of the flooding caused by the construction of I-69 and vowed to work to fix those issues if the jail is approved.
“One of the things that happens is sometimes land is best left fallow and untouched and that helps with drainage. Clearly, that's not what's happening now,” she said. “So, I think getting this property developed with an appropriate drainage with retention basins, will actually make things better for those surrounding the area. And we'll fix the issues that have been left behind with the construction of I- 69.”
Multiple plan commission members noted the potential loss of a large tract of land zoned for mixed-use employment the city could use to lure future businesses, especially one just off an I-69 interchange.
“These locations have significant employment and commercial interests, and the completion of I-69 is expected to increase those interests,” Scanlan said. “Interchanges offer key opportunities as premier entry points into Bloomington.”
Chris Cockerham of the plan commission challenged the county to make sure there was enough mixed use-employment plots in their new County Development Ordinance to make up for the lost land, assuming the commissioners do grant the rezoning and allow the jail to be built there.
The plan commission will meet on the jail site again next month and decide whether or not to approve the rezoning and forward the plan to the city council.
