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Carmel Plan Commission
RESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE
Tuesday, August 6, 2019 Meeting Minutes
LOCATION: CAUCUS ROOMS
CARMEL CITY HALL,2ND FLOOR
ONE CIVIC SQUARE
CARMEL,IN 46032
Members Present: Susan Westermeier,Chair
Nick Kestner
Tom Kegley
Carrie Holle
Staff Present: Alexia Lopez-Planning Administrator,Joe Shestak-Administrative Assistant
Legal Counsel: John Molitor
Meeting Time: 6:00 p.m.
I-; TABLED TO SEPT.3— .
with ISBG Capital, LLC.
2. Docket No. 19050020 Z: Rezone S-1/Residential to S-2/Residential
Docket No. 19050021 PP: Troy Estates Subdivision
Docket No. 19050022 V: UDO Section 2.06 Min.35 ft. front yard setback,25 ft. requested.
The applicant seeks rezone,primary plat, and a variance for a new subdivision consisting of 39 lots on 23.3 acres.
The site is located at 4100 141st St. The site is currently zoned S-1/Residential with a proposed change to S-
2/Residential. Filed by Nelson& Frankenberger, LLC on behalf of Lennar Homes of Indiana.
Petitioner: Jon Dobosiewicz,Nelson&Frankenberger:
• Recap from our last meeting at the full PC -Passed out a handout of talking points
• Presented an updated Concept Site Plan
• Staff asked us to add a playground and a path around the detention pond. We have added these to our plans.
• We now are asking for three variances. The two additional variance requests will be presented at the next PC.
The variances are for reductions of lot width from 100' to 90' and side yard setbacks from 10' to 5'.
• With the side-load garages,there will still be 30' +/-between the homes
• ROSO—Residential Open Space Ordinance in Carmel existed from the early 1990's to the early 2000's. You
could plat a subdivision with smaller lots and you establish your own setbacks between homes. The surrounding
subdivisions were developed this way.
• There are no S-2 in the area, but we are not asking for anything drastically different from what exists in the
adjacent neighborhoods
• Per Staffs request,the detention pond will be developed as a wildlife habitat and will have a path added. Nick:
The path is not shown going around the pond, but just next to the pond. Jon Dobosiewicz: Correct,the path is
just on the west side of the pond.
• Additional architecture standards were requested by Staff such as additional masonry. Homes will require 50%
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Residential Committee Minutes 8-6-19
masonry on the first floor of the front façade with other homes having masonry to window sill of lowest front
window. Homes will require masonry base wainscot on the side and rear of all homes.
• Staff requested 2 windows per floor per façade. We agree to 2 windows per façade for ranch homes,and 3 per
elevation on each façade for 2-story homes based on the plans on file
• Passed out elevation exhibit. There are a total of 16 home plans proposed with 5 different exterior façade options
• Of the 59 unique elevations,only 13 have a front porch with less than 6' of depth. 15 of the 16 home plans
provide options for the buyer who desire at least a 6' or greater front porch
• Staff requested to require a sidewalk from front porch to the sidewalk along the street. We do not want to
promote on-street parking. We ask the Plan Commission and City Council to not propose this sidewalk as a
condition of approval.
• A maximum of 5 houses will have a front-loading garage.At least 34 would have side-loading garages.
• We have agreed to staffs request to have full masonry exterior chimneys
• Passed out an exhibit of the proposed playground equipment
• Passed out an exhibit of the subdivision entrance sign
• We will provided Staff with a list of sustainable site and building practices
• We will provide Staff a draft copy of the Covenants
• Passed out exhibits/renderings of all elevations that will be available in this subdivision
• We do not want to commit to 2 windows per floor,4 total per elevation,because it would be difficult to place
these windows with the existing floor plans
Department Report: Alexia Lopez
• The petitioner has addressed a lot of our outstanding concerns
• We are comfortable with their revised architecture changes and commitments: 3 windows per elevation,required
percentage of exterior masonry,adding wainscot to the side and rear elevations,the amount of 6' deep porches,
all masonry chimney,and limited number of front-load garages.
• We would still like to see a sidewalk from the front porch to the street since they are requesting a variance from
35' to 25' front yard setback.Presented images of other examples of other homes with a sidewalk from the porch
to the street. This will add character to the streetscape,promotes a pedestrian friendly neighborhood,and it's in
line with what the Mayor's goals are for all new subdivisions to make them more walkable.
• They added a playground to their site plans
• We still need to review the landscape plan
• The walking path along the pond is a good feature
• There are a couple of items listed in the Covenants that Staff will ask you to change
• Staff is requesting a list of green practices and sustainable uses that will be implemented during the construction
of this development
• Can we require trim around the windows on all four sides? Nick: You need to stipulate how much trim will be
required. Keith Lash,Lennar Homes: Our typical trim is 1x4. Trim would be on the front side. Most of our
plans do not include trim on the sides or rear. It's a maintenance issue. Our window placement is very critical.
• The rezone is very similar to adjacent neighborhoods in regards with lot size and setbacks
• The perimeter landscape along 141'Street will provide a great buffer and transition into the neighborhood
• There's good pedestrian connectivity and street layout throughout the subdivision
• Staff recommends favorable recommendation back to the full Plan Commission condition upon completing the
outstanding items and revising their plans
Committee Comments:
Carrie: My concern is this development being nestled amongst expensive neighborhoods. The surrounding homeowners
are trying to protect their home values.
Nick: Can you explain what will be provided in the street lighting? Keith Lash: There will be street lights at each
intersection within the neighborhood,by the playground and common area by the pond. Jon Dobosiewicz: The
Ordinance states the amount of spacing needed between each light fixture. We will have the minimum distance between
each street light. Alexia: If they don't meet the minimum distance between,they can place lighting on the front of the
homes. Nick: I noticed a lot of the elevations did not show lighting on the homes.
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Nick: With 5' side yard setbacks,how does the layout look with a side-loading garage? Keith Lash: The garage would
be on the side of home that is a non-garage side. The other side would be 30' from the lot line. Presented a site plan,to
show the location of a side loading garage. Jon Dobosiewicz: The Ordinance requires a minimum 25' side yard
Iaggregate.If there's 5' on one side, it would be 20' on the other.
Carrie: Are these floor plans similar to the product that's being built in Westfield and Noblesville? Keith Lash: We
are building these floor plans in the Ridge at Legacy at 146th and River Road,and at Springmill Park in Westfield.Also in
Noblesville,Fishers,and Zionsville. Carrie: What's the difference in lot sizes in Legacy? Keith Lash: It will be
comparable. Sue: Are any of these homes completed in the areas you mentioned? Keith Lash: 2/3 is completed in the
Ridge at Legacy. They are named the Cornerstone and Estate collection. Carrie: What are the architecture requirements
for the sides and rear of the homes? Keith Lash: It was not a zoning requirement but we added a brick wainscot.The
side and rear windows are not wood wrapped.
Nick: If you have a porch,will it be at least 6' deep? So when you walk out the door,you don't have to step off the
stoop. Ty Reinhart,Lennar Homes: Some of the cover entries are a minimum of 4.5',but the majority of them are in
excess of 6'.Nick: All of them should be at least 6'. It's a safety thing.
Carrie: What type of landscaping package will be provided with each home? Keith Lash: Is there a requirement per
the UDO?Alexia: I don't think there's a requirement but I'll check. Nick: In lots 1, 8, 9, 13,23,28,33,34,and 39 you
will see the side elevation from the street. Will it have the same architecture and landscaping as the front? I don't want to
see the likes of the Hollywood set with the front elevation looking gorgeous,and the side elevations looking like a
warehouse. Jon Dobosiewicz: We are trying to address this by requiring masonry and additional windows on all four
sides. Keith Lash: You can look at the side elevation renderings we provided.There's a lot of articulation. Nick: I
would like to see the side yards landscaped. Carrie: The rear sides are flat and have a brick skirt. It looks like a product
from the mid 1990's. Ty Reinhart: You will have other options for the backs. They will not be all flat. They can
include screened-in,covered,and sunroom porches. The majority of our customers do request these. Carrie: I would
Isuggest an upgraded landscaping package added to these lots. So when people are driving from neighborhood to
neighborhood, it will help with the flow. Sue: What do we require for landscape on the individual lots? Alexia: We
don't require anything specific for the individual lots. If it's a corner lot or it's adjacent to a common area,we would ask
for landscape enhancements.Their landscape plan shows street trees,trees in the common area,and a perimeter
landscaping buffer. Nick: Foundation plantings will be needed on the side yard. Keith Lash: We provide a standard
landscape package of 2 trees and 15 shrubs. We would normally list this in a PUD. Sue: I would want you to list this in
your site plans. Jon Dobosiewicz: We didn't have to list it since there's no landscaping standard listed in the UDO.
Keith Lash: There will be street trees and we can add some trees to the corner lots. Carrie: The side elevation on
corner lots should have the same landscape as the front elevation.
Sue: How many windows are you committing to homes on corner lots? Keith Lash: 3 windows on two floor homes.2
windows on ranches. Alexia: On corner lots,we should do 4 windows. Carrie: Maybe include more masonry brick on
the sides for corner lots. Sue: What's the percentage of masonry required on all four sides? Ty Reinhart: It's brick
wainscot,which is required on the bottom up to the first window. Keith Lash: On half the homes,there will be brick on
the first floor.Ty Reinhart: In tab 5,the Rockwell elevation demonstrates the minimum of the first floor brick façade.
Sue: At the next meeting,I need pictures,not renderings,of all four sides of the actual built homes. Ty Reinhart: We
can provide you pictures. Carrie: If we have economical buyers,then this will skew to the less expensive plans that
have less of brick,windows,and no screen-in porches. We are leaving this to chance. Ty Reinhart: If you look through
the floor plans,the homes will be diverse. Adding more masonry is not the answer. Carrie: I'm concern the buyer might
just have the budget for the basic,minimum requirements. Keith Lash: There's not a huge difference in purchase price
between different homes. Ty Reinhart: We are constantly tweaking the elevations and make sure there is diversity.
IKeith Lash: Carmel's anti-monotony provision is the tightest in this market. Nick: I hope the anti-monotony clause
includes exterior colors. Pulte has homes of the same color paint,but different designs. Alexia: What about the anti-
monotony in the architecture commitments? Jon Dobosiewicz: We will default to the requirements of the UDO. This
will require changes in the front elevations and brick color. If the City doesn't have one in considering the siding and
masonry color,we will add one. Our commitments are listed in tab 7 of our info packet.
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Carrie: What are the requirements for fencing? Keith Lash: Wrought iron type fence. Chain-link fencing is not
allowed.
Sue: Where are the mailboxes located? Keith Lash: On the front of the street. The post office dictates which side of
the street. Sue: This could decide if the sidewalk from the porch goes out to the mailbox. Nick: Some of these areas
now require one central mailbox location. Keith Lash: That is decided by the post master.
Sue: Are storage barns allowed? Keith Lash: No
Tom Kegley: Are we asking for commitments? It's not clear to me with the front sidewalks, landscaping, lighting,and
trim on the rear of the homes. We don't have a closure on these items. Are we ready to go back to full PC or do we
come back to this Committee? Sue: I agree,we still don't have answers. Jon Dobosiewicz: We prefer not to include
the front yard sidewalk from the porch to the street. The Committee has the choice to make the recommendation to
include them. There's no requirement in the Ordinance. Alexia: Staff is asking for it because of their variance request
for the reduced front yard setback. It enhances the streetscape and pedestrian walkability. It goes back to the traditional
neighborhood design. Carrie: I don't feel strongly about the sidewalks.It looks busier. Nick: I'm for walkability,but
you would eliminate a lot green space. It looks crammed. Alexia: They do have the sidewalk that goes from the
driveway to the front porch. We would not require both. Sue: With the size of the lots,I don't know if we would need
to make this a requirement.
Sue: We need the following for next meeting: A list of best practices for green and sustainable uses.Is the Petitioner
committing to trim around all the windows? We know the minimum landscape requirement of 15 shrubs and 2 trees,but
we need a commitment for additional landscape on the corner lots. Keith Lash: Our commitment was for a non-garage
side of a corner lot would have 15 shrubs and 3 trees. The side of the home would have 15 additional shrubs. Sue:
What's the commitment of the number of windows on corner lots? Ty Reinhart: Sometimes it's challenging to put a
window in depending on the floor plan. Sue: We want the corner lots to look the best. Ty Reinhart: The additional
landscaping will help with that. We don't know what the floor plans will be for that home on the corner lot. Carrie:
What about the 50%masonry on all front elevations? Alexia: This isn't a PUD so they don't have to have architecture
standards. But if the elevations are showing masonry,we are asking for something. They came up with 50%of homes
will have masonry on the front elevation of the 1 t floor. Sue: I'm ok with that. We don't want all of them looking the
same. John Molitor: The Council gets to decide on the rezone. There can be commitments with respect to the rezone
and the Council will decide on those. The Committee's decision will be based on the three variances, so you can impose
the commitments that are related to the variances. Jon Dobosiewicz: Staff had asked us to request the rezone and the
variances instead of a PUD. Nick: We need to decide on what commitments and have them in writing.
Sue: We need to look at the already built homes,to see examples of this product.
Jon Dobosiewicz: The Committee should vote on the following outstanding issues: Should trim be installed around the
windows on all four sides? The Committee voted 2-2. Should sidewalks be built from the front porch to the street? The
Committee voted 0-4. Keith Lash: I would offer to wrap the windows with trim on all four sides, if we could eliminate
the request for additional windows on corner lots and the sidewalk to front door. This will help break up the 2-2 vote.
A Motion made by Tom and seconded by Carrie to forward with a favorable recommendation,Docket Nos.
19050020 Z, 19050021 PP,& 19050022 V to the full Plan Commission on August 20 with the following
commitments: Trim around the windows on all four sides of the home; Additional landscaping requirement for
each lot; and Additional landscaping requirement on non-garage side of a corner lot. Motion passes 4-0.
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
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CILAIA....V_A—,. .
e Shestak—Recording Secretary Susan Westermeier—Chair
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Residential Committee Minutes 8-6-19