HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #02 Ed BaldaJanuary 13, 2023
City of Carmel Plan Commission
C/O Joe Shestak Plan Commission Administrator
Carmel City Hall
One Civic Square
Carmel, IN 46032
jshestak@carmel.in.gov
317-571-2419
Re: PZ-2022-00238 ADLS: Tru Hotel Carmel
Members of the Plan Commission,
Spring Lake Estates is a neighborhood of 44 single family homes located west of the proposed
Tru Hotel. The parking lot and the west and south sides of the Tru Hotel will be visible to many
of the homes in our neighborhood.
Figure 1. Location Of Residential Area West Of Proposed Tru Hotel
Current residents who purchased their homes in the 1990’s felt that the single family character
of the neighborhood was well protected from present and future commercial development to
the east. When Spring Lake Estates was established, the development included a 15’ mound
on our eastern boundary (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Looking East. Mound That Protected Spring Lake Estates From Commercial Areas to the East.
Conifers were planted on the crest of this 15’ mound and extended the screening even higher.
This was our neighborhood’s way of protecting the residential character of the neighborhood.
In the 1990’s our neighbors knew that Illinois Street would eventually be built east of the
neighborhood. What we couldn’t foresee was a specific routing decision for the Illinois Street
extension that left more parking for the commercial areas to the east but required the removal
of our mound and 1 home. After the mound was removed and Illinois Street was built, a wall
was added by the City that currently runs north-south along the west side of Illinois Street.
This wall offers the neighborhood far less protection that the 15’ mound and conifers did.
Even without the mound, tools exist to protect the residential character of our neighborhood.
The proposed Tru Hotel is located in the Meridian Corridor Zoning District. In describing the
intent of the Meridian Corridor, the Carmel Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) says:
“The Meridian Corridor District is not intended to be used where it would
conflict with suburban residential areas. However, it may be used adjacent to
such residential areas when exceptional means to properly transition from
such uses is fully utilized. Additionally, lighting, noise, traffic, odors, and
height transitions should be strictly regulated to protect low density
neighborhoods.”
Carmel UDO Page 2-40 MC District Intent, Permitted Uses and Special Uses
Additionally, there is guidance in the Comprehensive Plan for the Tru Hotel location in the
Critical Corridors Section of the Carmel C3 Comprehensive Plan. This part of the C3 Plan is still
in effect since it was not revised during the recent Comprehensive Plan Update process. On
page 84 the C3 Comprehensive Plan, the guidance for the US-31 Corridor shows that Spring
Lake Estates is designated a “Sensitive” Residential Area because of its proximity to
commercial areas to the east. The guidance says:
“Transition the scale and mass of structures between U.S. 31 and Illinois
Street to minimize impact to residential development to the west.”
“Respect transitions to adjacent neighborhoods and require appropriate
buffering.”
There is a diagram on the bottom of page 84 that shows what this transition, in terms of
building height, would look like in the case of our neighborhood and the Tru Hotel. Moving east
from Illinois Street, within one-quarter of the distance between Illinois Street and the U.S. 31
R.O.W., new buildings should be 3 stories to protect residential areas west of Illinois. The
guidance then shows building height increasing as you move further east from Illinois towards
Meridian. The west edge of the Tru Hotel is located more than ¼ of the distance going from
Illinois towards Meridian but less than ½ the distance. The guidance in the Comprehensive
Plan suggests that building heights of 4 or 5 stories in the proposed location of the Tru Hotel
would provide a reasonable transition.
Figure 3. Comprehensive Plan Guidance on Building Heights In the Meridian Corridor To Protect Nearby
“Sensitive” Neighborhoods.
Even though 3, 4, or 5 story building heights at the location of the proposed Tru Hotel fit the
guidance in the Comprehensive Plan, the number of stories should be reduced from the
proposed 5 stories to address the concern in the DOCS Department Report that the site plan
does not provide enough parking for the needs of a 5 story hotel. If we put in a 5 Story hotel
and there is not enough parking in the future, won’t our neighborhood be looking at a 5 story
hotel and a parking garage at some point in the future? The Hyatt Place Hotel, south of the
Ritz Charles is in a similar location relative to the homes in our neighborhood. The Hyatt Place
Hotel is 4 stories.
We are asking the Plan Commission to:
1. Reduce the number of stories below 5 stories.
2. Plant more large trees on the west and south side of the building to provide screening.
Planting opportunities are limited on the south side of the building yet the south side of the
Tru Hotel will be highly visible to homes in the neighborhood.
A. We wonder if the agreement the developer has worked out with the Ritz
Charles over parking could be expanded? Could the developer work with the
Ritz Charles to see if any of the planting beds on the Ritz Charles side of the
parking lot were opportunities to provide screening for the neighbors viewing
the south side of the Tru Hotel from their decks?
B. Would the developer, after consultation with the City Forester and
Engineering Department, pay for planting additional “Green Giant” Arborvitae
in the city owned planting beds along the east side of the Illinois Street wall?
(Figure 4)
Figure 4. Planting Beds Possibly Available For Additional Screening On the West Side of Illinois Street
3. Take a close look at the number, size and intensity of the illuminated wall signs that will
face our neighborhood. There are gaps in the Carmel sign ordinances. We have had Carmel
Code enforcement check the sign at “C” and have been told that those are allowable levels of
light. We do not want more glaring commercial signs like the one shown at “C”. The proposed
signs on the Tru Hotel are illuminated, larger and much closer to our neighborhood than the
sign shown at “C”
Figure 5. Looking East From Spring Lake Estates At A Commercial Sign With Allowable Glare
Thank you for the work you are doing. We are hopeful your efforts will create a plan for a
reasonable transition between Spring Lake Estates and the Tru Hotel east of us that will
protect the residential character of our neighborhood.
Sincerely,
Ed Balda
President Spring Lake Estates Homeowner’s Association
12152 Teal Lane Carmel, Indiana 46032
Mark Dewart
Board Member
Spring Lake Estates Homeowner’s Association
12151 Teal Lane
Carmel, Indiana 46032
Erica Hendricks
Spring Lake Estates Board Member
363 Mallard Court
Carmel, Indiana 46032