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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #03 Spring Lake Estates HOAJanuary 30, 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, The Spring Lakes Estates Homeowners Association has 4 questions that we think are important for you to discuss with the developer and DOCS staff at the February 7th Commercial Committee Meeting. Question 1. Has the proposed 5 story building height been approved? At the January 17th Plan Commission meeting, at 2:15:23 in the hearing video, there was an exchange that tried to clarify whether a 5 story building height had been approved in 2019 during the 19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel and Office process. Plan Commissioner: ……. was it approved for five stories back then? DOCS Staff: Yes. Plan Commissioner: So it was approved for 5. When we look at the record in 19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel and Office process, we don’t find evidence that approval for a 5 story building was either sought or given in 2019. A. In 2019 the Developer was not seeking approval for a 5 story hotel: “Lauth Group is seeking Development Plan approval for the site improvements only at this time. A separate ADLS application will be filed at later date for the building.” Executive Summary in Packet For PC 09-17-19 B. In 2019 the DOCS understood that the developer was not seeking approval for building height through the 19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel and Office process. In the Department Report for PC 09-17-19 the DOCS says: "The applicant seeks site plan approval for two building pads and associated parking on 2.96 acres." C. At the end of the 19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel and Office process a “Letter of Grant” stated what had been approved: “The Carmel Plan Commission took the following action at its meeting on October 15, 2019 regarding a site plan for two building pads and associated parking on 2.96 acres. The site is located at 12166 N. Meridian Street. The site is zoned MC/Meridian Corridor. Given A, B, and C above, where is the evidence that supports the claim that was made at the January 17th Plan Commission meeting that approval was given for a 5 story building height in 2019 in the 19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel and Office process? Question 2: Would the plan for a 4 story Tru Hotel (Figure 1) that was drawn up in 2018 in the 18050007 UV: 12166 N. Meridian Tru Hotel Development process be economically viable today at this location? Figure 1. 2018 Preliminary Site Plan - Option B To facilitate thinking about how a 4 or 5 story hotel fits in with the heights of other commercial buildings east of our neighborhood, we created a Comparison of Building Heights in Commercial Buildings Along Illinois Street Near Spring Lake Estates in the Addendum at the end of this document. At several points in the process in 2018 and 2019 the petitioner has referred to “requests to densify the site.” A. In the 2018 18050007 UV: 12166 N. Meridian Tru Hotel Development process at the end of the document in the section Petitioner's Responses 04-30-18 the petitioner says: “Our primary goal in creating a redevelopment plan for the ADT/Backer lot has been in response to deficiencies that were identified in two recent previous development plan submissions on this parcel. When a standalone hotel development with surface parking was submitted to the City of Carmel, the Hotel developer was advised that the redevelopment plan did not meet the City of Carmel's vision for providing a solution for multiple uses and densifying the site. In response to the deficiencies noted within that submission, a new redevelopment plan was submitted with an underground parking structure, multi-family housing, retail, office & hotel and was subsequently terminated when the applicant determined that the development was too expensive to construct to meet all of the desires for development diversity and density of this parcel.” B. In the 10-15-19 Department Report for 19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel & Office at “October 1 Committee meeting recap” it says: “The Petitioner reiterated that they are trying to balance UDO requirements with the request to increase density and satisfy the end user medical office tenant. C. Finally, at 29:20 into the video recording of the 9-17-19 Plan Commission Meeting on 19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel & Office, the presenter for the petitioner says: "This project has been looked at as a lot of things. It started out first as just a hotel. Then the request was made that we densify the site which has brought in an office building." Question 3: Is the City of Carmel's “vision of densifying the site” and repeated “requests to densify the site” referred to in A, B and C above preventing the developer from advancing the concept of a 4 story hotel at this location? The City of Carmel’s “vision of densifying the site” has resulted in a tremendous loss of trees as can be seen in Figure 2 and Figure 3 below. Figure 2. Tree Cover At The Site of Medical Arts Building and Tru Hotel in 2016 Figure 3. Tree Cover At The Site of Medical Arts Building and Tru Hotel in 2022 A resident from Spring Lake Estates spoke at the 9-17-19 Plan Commission hearing (start video at 31:27) about the importance of these trees to our neighborhood. We thought it would be easy to protect a strip of trees that would provide valuable screening for the neighborhood since the site plan showed a required 15’ buffer yard ideally located between the proposed new buildings and our neighborhood to the west. This required 15’ buffer yard is shown in the green rectangle “A” in Figure 4 below. Figure 4. Strip of Trees That Could Have Been Saved In West Buffer Yard (A) Area As you can see in Figure 5 and 6 below, not a single tree was preserved in the west buffer yard “A”. Claims were made in the process that these trees were ‘old and dying” implying they weren’t worth saving, but these claims were never backed up by an inspection by the Urban Forester with a report submitted into the public record. Figure 5. All Trees Removed From West Buffer Yard (A) Separating The Ritz Charles Parking Lot (B) And Medical Arts/Tru Hotel Parking Lot (C) Not only are all of the trees gone from west buffer yard “A”, the buffer yard itself has been reduced in size. In Figure 6 below, you are standing roughly at point “A” in Figure 4 and 5 above and looking north into the west buffer yard “A” and setback area. Figure 6. Looking north along the west buffer yard separating the Ritz Charles parking area on the left (west) from the Tru Hotel and Medical Arts Building Lot on the right. Based on the Site Plan that was approved in 2019 (19060018 DP: Carmel Hotel & Office), the plantable area seen in Figure 6 above should consist of a 20’ setback before the parking lot begins to the east and a 15’ plantable buffer yard. Figure 7 on the right shows the expected buffer yard and set back in the approved site plan. On the ground today, Figure 6 shows that instead of a 20’ setback and 15’ foot buffer yard called for in the approved site plan, what is actually there is a much smaller (10’ 7” wide) plantable buffer yard area. Question 4. How was the 15’ buffer yard required by the Meridian Corridor Landscaping Standards at the location shown in Figure 6 and 7 reduced to 10’ 7” without a variance? Figure 8. West Buffer Yard A Is The Opportunity To Create An Amenity If we let go of the vision of densification and consider going from a 5 story to a 4 story hotel, this would reduce the need for parking. This would allow the buffer yard and set back area shown at “A” to expand to the dimensions shown in the site plan. A 20’ wide buffer yard planted with shade trees in this location would create an attractive “mini park” amenity that would be used by visitors. This feature could be remarkable and stand out in an otherwise monotonous, forgettable sea of parking spaces. To be a world class space, this parking lot area between Illinois Street and the Tru Hotel and Medical Arts building does not need to be densified. This area needs to be softened and made interesting and inviting. We appreciate the work the Plan Commission Commercial Committee will do to bring about a plan for this site that protects the residential character of our neighborhood. Getting the answers to the questions above at the February 7th hearing will help our neighbors understand where we are and how we got to this point in the process. Sincerely, Ed Balda President Spring Lake Estates Homeowner’s Association 12152 Teal Lane CarmelIndiana 46032 Mark Dewart Board Member Spring Lake Estates Homeowner’s Association 12151 Teal Lane Carmel, Indiana 46032 Erica Hendricks Board Member Spring Lake Estates Homeowner’s Association 363 Mallard Court Carmel, Indiana 46032 Addendum: Comparison of Building Heights in Commercial Buildings Along Illinois Street Near Spring Lake Estates. For purposes of comparison, the number of levels of inhabited space is reported as “floors”. The roof is the upper surface covering the top floor. The height of the roof on top of the floors of inhabited space constitutes most of the mass of flat roofed commercial buildings. These commercial buildings may have non-inhabitable architectural accents or mechanical equipment screening features that extend higher from the roof. The “Height of Tallest Architectural Features” is the height of the tallest point of these features that extend higher than the roof. A. 12188 Meridian North Building : 3 Stories Page 38 Inhabited Space: 3 Floors Height of Roof: 46’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features: 57’ B. 12188 Meridian South Building : 3 Stories Page 38 Inhabited Space: 3 Floors Height of Roof: 46’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features: 57’ C. Medical Arts Building : 3 Stories Inhabited Space: 3 Floors Height of Roof: 42’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features: 51’ D. Proposed Tru Hotel: 5 Stories Inhabited Space: 5 Floors Height of Roof: 56’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features: 60’ D. Proposed Tru Hotel 2018 Option B: 4 Stories Inhabited Space: 4 Floors Height of Roof: 46’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features: 50’ E. Ritz Charles: 1 Story Inhabited Space: 1 Floor Height of Roof: 20’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features: 26’ F. Hyatt Place: 4 Stories Inhabited Space: 4 Floors Height of Roof: 49’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features: 59’ G. IU North Hospital: 5 Stories Inhabited Space: 5 Floors Height of Roof: 76’ Height of Tallest Architectural Features:106’