HomeMy WebLinkAboutPetitioner's Response to Letter #01
January 21, 2019
Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals
Caucus Rooms, 2nd Floor
One Civic Square
Carmel, IN 46032
SUBJECT: Response to Letter #1
Dear Carmel Zoning Board,
Please review this correspondence to Letter #1 submitted by Mr. & Mrs. Rod & Letitia Haywood
living at 11429 Scheel Lane, Carmel, IN 46032 in relation to our location on Lot 54 of Guilford
Park in Carmel, Indiana. I found several arguments outlined in the letter are non-factual,
exaggerated and completely biased based on their personal interests and impossibly high
standards imposed on us.
address in the following:
a. Parking
My family moved into their current home in the beginning of July, 2018. On our first day
couple feet away from the boundary of their driveway. This happened to my parents, myself and
my fiance in 3 separate occasions during our move-in and each time the car was clear from
their driveway. We cou the U-haul truck we rented was
there. Since then, we parked on our driveway as much as we could to keep him pleased.
guests to park on our driveway or on the street. One time, a guest of ours parked on the street
next to his driveway (again, clear from his driveway) and went jogging on Monon trail. Mr.
Haywood asked my 12-year-old brother to inform my parents to move the car in which the boy
parents. In the next half hour, Mr. Haywood showed up at our doorstep with another big guy and
condemned my parents for not moving the car. My mom was confused, scared and in chaos
we REQUIRED
our guests to park on our driveway and my parents parked their only car either in garage or
on street and stayed away from his driveway. However, during a party he held a couple months
they always want to get along with our neighbors.
We have a 2-car garage and a driveway that easily fits 2 cars. My parents own 1 car and
we have at most 2 cars by our guests at a time. This already provides plenty of space for the
parking between my parents and our guests. Our guests are typically away and bring their car
with them during the day.
b) Traffic and safety
Most of our guests are from Indiana or nearby states coming here for events like
, Lyft rides. They are also most
out during the day and use our place simply for sleep. My parents stay at home when we have
Airbnb guests around. This allows us to monitor and report any unusual activity. We also have a
teenager boy at home, so we pay extra attention to safety. We have found our previous guests
respectful, compliant with our house rules and never caused such concern.
c) Numerous wrong doorbell rings
s check-in. We require
the guest to tell us their ETA so we can watch for cars approaching our house around the ETA
and greet them at the door. Our house number is in bold, marked clearly and faced to the street.
We keep the exterior lights on during the night. From my experience, Google maps and GPS is
came from.
d) Prohibited parking on the street
As the
matter of fact, Mr. & Mrs. Haywoodvisitors parked on the street and blocked our driveway
before. From our observations, several neighbors park on the street and this is more common
when they have visitors come over. The last neighborhood we lived in is the same and also
located in Carmel. Also, we have no intention of parking our car on the street all the time.
In our past few months hosting Airbnb, my parents worked hard to create a relaxing and
pleasant environment for our guests while making sure that they comply with our house rules.
We have not heard any complaint from our neighbors other than Mr. and Mrs. Haywood. My
parents love our neighborhood and are protective of our neighborhood no less than anyone
else. They want to do their small part to present Carmel as a welcoming and inclusive
as we maintain our home in a great condition and our guests are compliant with our house
rules. And I assure you, we purchased this residence both as our home and as our investment
and we are equally concerned, if not more about the property values. My family have used
Airbnb many many times and most of the places that we stayed are in residential areas similar
to ours. Airbnb operations often support local business which is great for the city. I regret that
our neighbor sees this differently and brought this to your attention without reaching out to us
first. We will put even more efforts to foster a harmonious relationship with our neighbors and
act on the common interest of our community through the excellent management of our Airbnb
with your support.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Wang (on behalf of the homeowner and the petitioner)
11441 Scheel Ln, Carmel, IN 46032