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Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals
Hearing Officer Minutes
Thursday, June 27, 2019 Special Meeting
Location: Cannel City Hall Caucus Rooms,2nd Floor, 1 Civic Square,Carmel,IN 46032
Hearing Officer: Mr.Alan Potasnik
Staff Present: Angie Conn,Planning Administrator
Joe Shestak,Administrative Assistant
Legal Counsel: John Molitor
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Alan Potasnik: Explained the Rules of Procedure for a BZA public hearing. Then asked the room how many people wish to
speak tonight? 4 people raised their hands. I will allow 3.5 minutes per speaker.
Public Hearing:
(SE) Oliger Short Term Residential Rental.
The applicant seeks the following special exception approval for a short term residential rental unit:
1. Docket No. 19050032 SE UDO Section 2.09 - Permitted Uses,Special Exceptions.
The site is located at 622 Alwyne Rd. It is zoned R2/Residence and is Lot 76 in Harrowgate Subdivision. Filed by
Thomas Oliger,owner.
Petitioner: Thomas Oliger:
• I lived in this house for 25 years. I have a daughter that will be a junior at Cannel High School. All I'm asking is
two more years at my house to give her the opportunity to graduate from high school. During that time,I would
like to operate an Airbnb out of my house to help me pay the bills.
• My other options would be to either sell my house,rent my house to strangers,or have roommates
• Airbnb allows me the flexibility to do what I need to do
• People who use Airbnb are seasoned travelers and I will use a screening process for them
• My remonstrators have violated a Federal Law by circulating mail(a flyer that states opposition to this SE)without
using the US Postal Service,presents the flyer to Hearing Officer and Planning Staff
• In my opinion,this Airbnb will not create any issues,traffic,or concerns for the neighborhood
• If my Airbnb does not get approved,I will place an ad in the Current in Cannel that advertises for roommates
needed at my property
Public Comments:
Margaret Durrer, lives in Harrowgate and is the Precinct Committeeperson: My home borders Mr. Oliger's property.
I'm not in favor or against,but I'm here to represent the neighborhood. I've been getting numerous calls about this after
Ihis public notices were sent out. Our neighborhood is about 75%against,and 25% in favor. The major concern is that
this will set a major precedent. There's already a house on Beechmont Drive that operates as an illegal Airbnb by
exceeding the number of days allowed.
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BZA Special Hearing Officer Minutes 6-27-19
Carol Finn,lives in Harrowgate: I oppose this request. I appreciate the position and situation you are in with your
daughter. We all have situations as well. There is an ordinance in place. I have safety concerns for the children in the
neighborhood. You don't know who the renters will be.
Tom Foley,lives in Harrowgate: I oppose this request. I live down the road from Mr. Oliger. I submitted a letter to the
Planning&Zoning Department about my concerns. Reads letter-see letter from the Docket file-
Todd Cannon, lives in Harrowgate: I oppose this request.The transient of individuals we don't know from day in and
day,you will have people you don't know at all hours of the night. There may be bylaws of Harrowgate out there that
might reference this issue. I have a great concern of the direction of our neighborhood. I'm concern of the upkeep of the
neighborhood properties.
Cindy Black, lives in Harrowgate: I oppose. I submitted a letter to Staff. We live immediately east of the high school.
We have a lot of children that walk to and from the high school, so I have concerns for their safety. Parents of students use
our neighborhood to park at. We already have issues with traffic. It is stated in the info packet Mr. Oliger can
accommodate 10-13 guests and can book 137 days till the end of the year.
Mark Cenova, lives in Harrowgate: I'm in favor. I live right across the street from Tom. This is Tom's house and he
can do whatever he wants to do. I believe all of you would prefer an Airbnb house verses a rental home. They are not
transient people. They are travelers that are coming here for a reason. Tom can provide them a service. In my opinion,
any other solution is a bad solution for the neighborhood. We don't want him to rent it out or have roommates. I don't
know why this ordinance exists.
Rebuttal to Public Comments: Thomas Oliger
• This won't be contagious in the neighborhood because running an Airbnb is hard to do. You also have to
encounter the public humiliation that goes with the public meeting aspect of it
• I will do a good job managing it and this SE is good for 1 year. After the 1 year, it is up for review again.
Department Report: Angie Conn
• STRR Ordinance was adopted in January 2018, and the Council adopted a resolution that allows for 30 specific
dates throughout the year that could be used for Airbnb by anyone
• Mr. Oliger wants to exceed the 30 days,and he stated his home would be available for two weekends a month and
a few days during the week
• Staff recommends negative consideration of this SE application
• If approved, it's only valid for 1 year
• We have sent out a violation letter to the illegally operated Airbnb on Beechmont Drive
Committee Comments: Alan Potasnik
• If the house is too large and expensive for a single person,the current Ordinance as it stands,wouldn't ameliorate
any of your issues? Thomas Oliger: I'm simply trying to mitigate my expenses so I can continue to live here
without going broke. The Ordinance does not work for me because of my custody arrangements.
• Does your ex-wife live in the area? Thomas Oliger: Yes.
• Can arrangements be made to change the times you have custody? Thomas Oliger: 30 days is not enough days,
and the ordinance is very specific to the 30 days you can use. It only covers eight periods of time you can rent
your home out.
Denied 1-0
Meeting, jo ed at 5:50 p.m.
an Po sn —Hearing Officer Joe hestak—Recording Secretary
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BZA Special Hearing Officer Minutes 6-27-19