A Conservation District does not prevent development, it promotes compatible development. 

Small scale, affordable home ownership and investment opportunities have historically been found in Green Acres. A Conservation District is a tool, in combination with local Zoning, that can ensure that demolition review and new construction in Green Acres neighborhood balances the needs of future home owners, current residents, and developers. This makes Green Acres a prime location for the preservation and development of missing middle housing.

A Conservation District in Green Acres will ensure the compatibility of new construction through review of scale, setback, massing, orientation, and height. There is no review of use.

The committee working to create a Conservation District in Green Acres has already committed to three Guiding Principles for District Guidelines development.

1. Protecting Neighborhood Character
   Every home helps make up the neighborhood fabric. Demolition review provisions will preempt the process by stopping speedy teardowns and new construction that doesn't contribute to the neighborhood.

2. Promoting Compatible Development
   Basic design guidelines developed by neighbors could include height, setback, and massing requirements in order to keep new construction compatible with existing homes and street patterns.

3. Preserving a Sense of Place
   Green Acres’ sense of place is a direct result of its historic character and streetscapes. A district can help maintain this commitment to reasoned, good design, and an overall neighborhood plan.

Our Green Acres community of owners does!

All property owners in the district are invited to join the committee to develop Design Guidelines for the district that reflect our commitment to flexible, adaptable, new construction guidance. You are invited to join the group drafting the guidelines. Reach out to GreenAcresCD@gmail.com to express interest in joining the group.

Not if 51% or more of eligible property owners object to elevation via ballot (in writing) during the elevation voting period. (Any eligible ballot not submitted will be counted by default in support of elevation.) Read more about district elevation here.

The Green Acres Conservation District Development Committee does not intend to support elevation of the Conservation District to a full Historic District when the mandatory elevation vote is held 3 years from the creation of the district.

A Conservation District is the right level of protection for our neighborhood. A plan for publicizing and promoting the rejection of elevation of the Conservation District during the balloting period (every 3 years) is being developed now and will be included in the Guidelines when presented for approval.

But IF elevation does happen - we have a plan for that too!

Note that in either type of district designation (Conservation or Local Historic), it is the neighborhood’s Design Guidelines that 'guide' homeowners and the City’s Preservation Commission on how to address changes to structures within a district. The level of review of a particular area of a structure may be very light (staff review) or even designated as 'no review needed.' It is up to the Guidelines - and the Guidelines are up to the Neighborhood.

If you have further questions, please contact the Committee at greenacrescd@gmail.com or City of Bloomington Historic Preservation Program Manager Noah Sandweiss at noah.sandweiss@bloomington.in.gov or 812-349-3507.

Absolutely not! We love our community and neighbors who consist of a mix of students, families, singles, couples, retirees, and even a cooperative living group.

In fact, Green Acres neighborhood has a history of being a neighborhood with strong connections to campus staff and students.

Following the Second World War the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, better known as the GI Bill, offered new financial aid to veterans for home ownership and education. Facing a massive influx of new students and residents, the campus-adjacent neighborhood filled out rapidly in the following two decades providing housing for students, faculty, and workers occupied in the rapidly expanding University. The smooth transition from the prewar gridded plat in the western end of the district to the winding parklike roads streets in the eastern half, occupied by a clear gradient of postwar housing development clearly demonstrates the development and evolving cultural tastes of this important juncture in Bloomington’s history.

The development of Green Acres largely coincides with the tenure of Indiana University President Herman B Wells (1937-1962), a period of massive expansion in the size and academic breadth of the University. The economically mixed suburb located adjacent to campus has been home to many artists, academics, and university staff who were attracted to Bloomington for work and housing opportunities played a part in this cultural, economic, and social transformation. Since the neighborhood’s development, Green Acres has been consistently defined by its cultural, special, and economic relationship to campus as well as the development of Bloomington outward from its prewar core.

Please reach out to GreenAcresCD@gmail.com with any interest to join in our efforts to preserve Green Acres as "the place to be".