HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #05 Spring Lake Estates HOAApril 3, 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
At this point in the process, we have several concerns. We ask that you do not approve the
ADLS plan for the Tru Hotel project until these concerns are addressed in a way that reflects
the guidance below:
“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
And….
“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.”
Page 84 Critical Corridors Section of the Carmel C3 Comprehensive Plan.
Concern 1. The scale and mass of the proposed 5 story hotel may not
achieve a transition that “minimizes the impact to residential
development to the west.”
At the 2/7/2023 Commercial Committee Meeting the Plan Commissioners asked the Developer
to create a view of the proposed 5 story hotel as it would appear from our neighborhood to the
west. As of 3/31/2023, that document has not been made available. This view is needed so
that neighbors and Plan Commissioners can visualize whether or not the proposed 61’
structure achieves the guidance in the Comprehensive Plan:
“Transition the scale and mass of structures between U.S. 31 and Illinois
Street to minimize impact to residential development to the west.”
Concern 2. The “Traffic Study” that was submitted does not provide
adequate evidence of sufficient parking to support the parking demand
of a 5 story hotel.
The “Traffic Study” (Figure 2) appears to provide the slimmest possible evidence -1 weekday-
to support the developer’s claim that there is adequate parking to support the parking needs
of a 5 story hotel. The Plan Commission is only going to get evidence of parking sufficiency
from a larger data set that includes data from many more typical and atypical weekdays and
weekends.
Figure 2. Traffic Study
Even from this unconvincing demonstration of parking sufficiency there are signs of inadequate
parking between 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM on weekdays when available
parking spaces drop below 20.
20 of the 160 “Spaces Provided” by the Ritz Charles referred to at “A” above in Figure 2 may
not be available for Tru Hotel or Medical Arts Building parking. 20 parking slots are in use by
the Ritz Charles fleet of 20 catering vehicles. (Figure 3 below).
Figure 3. 20 Ritz Charles Catering Vehicles Using Available Parking
The apparent surplus of parking between the critical times of 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM and 3:00
PM – 5:00 PM may actually be times where parking demand exceeds supply.
The cost from concluding parking sufficiency from the slim set of data shown in the Figure 2
Traffic Study is that a 5 story hotel is approved based on these figures, parking proves to be
inadequate after the hotel is built, and a parking garage has to be built. If the developer is
sure that there is adequate parking to support the needs of a 5 story hotel, then the developer
should be willing to make a written commitment that they will not seek approval in the future
to build a parking garage across the street from our neighborhood.
Concern 3. The Landscape Plan is inadequate.
The proposed L andscap e P lan does not show how the plantable area “A” in Figure 4, 5 and 6
below will be used to plant large shade trees.
Figure 4. Plantable Area “A”
Figure 5. Plantable Area “A”
It is important to plant large trees in Plantable Area “A”. The parking lots east of Illinois Street
are hard, hot in the summer, and this large area of hard surfaces need to be softened with a
row of large shade trees as shown below in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Location of Row of Large Shade Trees in Plantable Area “A”
The row of large shade trees planted in Plantable Area “A” would also reduce the automobile
headlight intrusion into the neighborhood shown in Figure 7 below. The Illinois Street wall does
not hide the activity in the Medical Arts Building and Tru Hotel parking lots from the
neighborhood.
Figure 7. The Illinois Street Wall Does Not Block Headlight Intrusion Into Neighborhood
We appreciate the way the DOCS, Plan Commission and the Developer worked together and
dropped the plan for a west facing illuminated corporate sign that would have been visible
from our neighborhood. However, we remain concerned about the mass of a 61’ tall building
across the street from us, especially when this prospect is coupled to a superficial parking
study. Based on our reading of the evidence in the parking study, the Plan Commission’s
current decision on whether to approve a 5 story hotel is also a decision about building a
parking garage east of our neighborhood in the future. The inadequate parking study the Plan
Commission is relying on will legitimize approving a 5 story building height today but
additional parking demand that wasn’t anticipated by the superficial parking study will
necessitate the construction of a parking garage in the future.
We do not think approving a 5 story hotel that necessitates the addition of a parking garage in
the future and a landscape plan that shows a complete absence of large shade trees in
“Plantable Area “A” is using “exceptional means to properly transition” from the commercial
buildings in Meridian Corridor to our neighborhood of single family homes. Exceptional means
are called for in the City of Carmel UDO.
We are hopeful that the efforts of the DOCS, Plan Commission and Developer will result in a
plan for the Tru Hotel that creates the “proper transition” called for in the City of Carmel UDO
and the Comprehensive Plan, a transition that protects and respects the residential character
of our neighborhood.
Sincerely,
Erica Hendricks
President, Spring Lake Estates HOA
363 Mallard Court
Carmel, Indiana 46032
Ed Balda
Spring Lake Estates HOA Board Member
12152 Teal Lane
Carmel, Indiana 46032
Mark Dewart
Spring Lake Estates HOA Board Member
12151 Teal Lane
Carmel, Indiana 46032
Aumnia Elarabi
Spring Lake Estates HOA Board Member
348 Mallard Court
Carmel, Indiana 46032