Sherwood Oaks Neighbors held a General Members Meeting on the 11th of November
Start Time: 7:00pm
End Time: 8:40pm
Discussion with and Questions for Councilmen (Daryl and Tom)
Q: What is the most effective way for neighborhoods to proceed when working with the council? What are examples (successful and unsuccessful) of efforts he has worked on for various neighborhoods in his district. Why did they succeed or fail?
A: Be active--show up to public hearings and voice concerns. Get involved early in the process and reach out to developers to influence the outcome.
Q: Why is there no plan for the south side for quality multi use projects such as those by the Bryant Part neighborhood or as along the B-Line?
A: This is a success story was due to a core group of neighborhood members coming to meet with the city and site developers. Come present a convincing argument at the public hearing and your voice will be influential.
Q: What effort is the city making for attracting higher end retail to the south side? Lucky's is a good start, but we need more of that.
A: They are coming. There will be a revitalization of the vacant Marsh. There is no new news. Planning does not have a large roll to play in reusing buildings but has a much larger role to play in new construction and multi building projects.
Q: Why is there so much lower income housing on the south side? I think giving them Brenda's list is a good idea.
A: The city is in the process of remaking the comprehensive plan, which is a visioning document and is very much used during future planning. There are components of land use and housing policies. In 2015 there will be a draft plan out for public hearing. Past the planning process code and zone changes will take a few years after the plan is complete.
Q: The area on mid South Walnut between Dodds and Southern could use significant improvement. Is there anything the city can do to move this area towards revitalization? While it does not directly impact on Sherwood Oaks it is symptomatic of of problems on the south side.
A: The emergence of switch yard park is going to increase property values and attract real estate investments. Once the B-Line was announced, property values increased and the area was revitalized. This is anticipated with the emergence of the park.
South Walnut is mainly used as a thoroughfare to get places, and as such there is not a lot of beauty and shopping. South Walnut is currently among a list of areas to revitalize--but that would mean changing the road, increasing sidewalks and reducing the amount of traffic flow.There is a 10 acre property for sale. Zoned Residential Multifamily (Low Density). Capped at 70 units. The property is currently 100% wooded with steep slopes. 5 acres cannot be developed due to sink holes, and environmental constraints. We will be contacted if there are plans for development. There will be a public hearing for any development plans.
A: Why city has refused to extend hillside from walnut to Rogers street? Traffic jam at walnut grimes intersection is ridiculous.
Q: Currently there are no plans to extend hillside because 1) it would be very complex to do work in a floodplain over clear creek; 2) the city plans to do a large community park on the south side which would be in the place of the road.
Q: What is happening with I-69?
A: I-69 is coming. Preliminary construction starting with That Rd and moving north. Completion in 2016. Tapp and Rockport will become a stop light. Fullerton Pike improvement beginning at Kroger South and moving toward I-69. The county will be making a presentation about the plans for road improvement in December. Look in your newspaper for more news and updates.
Q: Will the new downtown transportation hub stimulate any changes to our neighborhood bus service?
A: No not currently.
A: No not currently.
Q: Are there plans to expand the bus route schedule to come to SWO every half hour instead of only hourly.
A: No not currently.
A: No not currently.
Q: What is the future transportation plan for the city? Expansions? Contractions? Fare increases? Alternate ways to collect fares -- passes, etc.?
A: No changes at this time. Density and demand drive bus routes. There won't necessarily be expansion of routes.
Additional information presented during Discussion:
--The speedway noise is an issue in the neighborhood. Daryl will ask about the noise. We can draft a letter to the 3 commissioners on behalf of the neighborhood asking to impose a quiet time.
--The clubhouse at Acadia court is not in violation of building permits, although it remains incomplete. Tom will call on our behalf for more information.
--Regarding Parking Meters: there have not been any complaints from constituents, but from business about hours of enforcement. Some SON members complained about no longer going downtown to park. Others voiced that they enjoy not having to circle for a spot downtown any more. The City is concerned with students warehousing cars downtown and thus have chosen longer enforecement hours to decrease the likelihood of this occurring. One member would like to see a "grace period" for ticketing--not ticketing within 20minutes of the meter expiring, but rather issuing a warning during this time as a sign of compassion.
--The speedway noise is an issue in the neighborhood. Daryl will ask about the noise. We can draft a letter to the 3 commissioners on behalf of the neighborhood asking to impose a quiet time.
--The clubhouse at Acadia court is not in violation of building permits, although it remains incomplete. Tom will call on our behalf for more information.
--Regarding Parking Meters: there have not been any complaints from constituents, but from business about hours of enforcement. Some SON members complained about no longer going downtown to park. Others voiced that they enjoy not having to circle for a spot downtown any more. The City is concerned with students warehousing cars downtown and thus have chosen longer enforecement hours to decrease the likelihood of this occurring. One member would like to see a "grace period" for ticketing--not ticketing within 20minutes of the meter expiring, but rather issuing a warning during this time as a sign of compassion.
--There was a complaint that the city should mandate parking be built-in for new construction. Tom expressed that it is difficult if not impossible in many areas to build underground parking garages due to the topography and bedrock in the area.
--Improving the intersection at Allendale, Winslow and the YMCA intersection was discussed. Introducing crosswalks, warning lights and monitoring traffic violations are all improvements SON would like to see occur in the spring/summer. An evaluation process would lead to discussion with SON and recommendations.
Executive Board Update and Election
--Adam Morrison was elected to the Executive Board
--A member asked what was the role of SON and similarly, the roles of members of the executive board as well as the neighborhood mission statement overall. Executive Board meeting minutes are disseminated after each meeting. The board has chosen to have some designated roles to facilitate organization such as President, Treasurer, Secretary and a Community Outreach/Block Captain Lead member. The mission of the overall neighborhood group can be found on the Facebook page and blog. If the mission statement is updated and/or longterm and short term goals are formulated/discussed, they will be detailed in the minutes. The designated roles of board members will be discussed at the next Executive Board meeting and will be sent out to the general membership.
--The primary goal of SON at this time is to facilitate growing an active community within Sherwood Oaks. The primary goal of the SON Executive Board is to act as a unified voice on behalf of SON amongst the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) and and represent SON within the City of Bloomington.
Miles of Lights Luminary Display
--DATE: December 14th 6:00pm
-->Rain Date of December 21st.
More information to come!!
Please e-mail sherwoodoaksneighbors@gmail.
