HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #089 Brian Gratigny - second submission
Shestak, Joe
From:Brian Gratigny <bgratigny@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, August 4, 2020 11:27 AM
To:Shestak, Joe
Subject:Opposed to Epcon's Courtyards of Carmel Project
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Completed
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Dear Planning Commission Members,
Epcon was given very specific feedback during the last meeting. I feel like they are either not listening or they just don’t
care and believe that this project will still be able to go through. I encourage the Planning Commission to not allow this
to happen. While they did reduce the number of lots, everything else remains unchanged. The mature woods in our
backyard are going to be torn down and replaced with vinyl fencing all along the property line, hiding cookie cutter
condos with tiny lots, large air conditioning units, and no buffer between neighbors. The plan is to conserve 20 feet of
the tree line behind our lots, then 40 feet for drainage, utilities, and buffer yard, then a vinyl fence. Add those together
and we only have 60 feet between a custom home and high density condo.
If the rezoning does move forward several things must be considered. These bullets have not changed because Epcon’s
proposal has not changed:
If there are going to be this many differences between our neighborhoods, then there needs to be an additional
buffer between the condos and the surrounding neighborhoods or build a 6-ft brick fence around the Epcon
condos.
The overall quality of the boxes need vast improvement. It's a bunch of little boxes surrounded by a plastic
privacy fence.
Are they going to be able to sell this product to empty nesters and move down buyers? In a past life I did
market research for a national builder that focused on this demographic. We did research around what they
were looking for in a home and community and what they were willing to pay for it. This product, amenities,
and price point is not what an active adult is looking for. Who wants to pay $400K or more to look at Keystone
and hear the traffic? I understand that there is significant demand for an active adult community, however this
buyer is very picky and is not going to downsize from their current home in Carmel for this product.
It all comes down to Epcon trying to maximize their profits and keep their investors happy at the expense of the
surrounding neighborhoods and our community. This land is in a prime location in Carmel, we don't need a sub-par
product, that will only benefit Epcon in the long run. We all know that this land has its challenges, however I encourage
the committee to continue to push for a more creative solution that will benefit the developer, Carmel, and the
surrounding neighbors and not just benefit an outside company looking to increase their profits.
Thank you for your time,
Brian Gratigny
2833 Maralice Drive
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