HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #21 Matt & Traci SeligMay 12, 2023
RE: Plan Commission Hearing re: Schafer/Pulte Andrews PUD
Carmel Plan Commission
c/o Joe Shestak, Secretary
jshestak@carmel.in.gov
We are writing as homeowners who live in the Gray Oaks neighborhood and pay property taxes
to Hamilton County, Indiana, in order to express our concerns about the proposed Schafer/Pulte
Andrews PUD (hereafter PUD) at 146th & Gray Road.
We have numerous concerns about this proposed project and how it is a significant variance and
departure from the City of Carmel’s C3 Carmel Design Plan which says-
Objective 1.2 - “Recognize the uniqueness in each planning district and establish regulations,
subarea plans, and/or pattern books to preserve these unique features.”
The two housing additions adjacent to this proposed PUD are single family homes in the
$700,000 and up price range and generally in the 4,000 sq ft and up footprint.
The proposed PUD intends to build multi-family structures and multi-family town houses on this
piece of land that are significantly out of character with the homes in the communities that
already exist.
The developer proposes that they will be “like a 55+ community” as a marketing feature, but we
note that they are not taking the necessary steps to make this community a senior living / 55+
community in its proper legal form.
We believe the population density, design standards, size & quality of the built to be built in this
PUD will have a significant negative impact on the property values of the existing homes in the
Gray Oaks community. Which also says that the City of Carmel’s objective is to “discourage
unplanned or harsh contrasts in height, building orientation, character, land use, and density”
Additionally, Objective 1.4 says the City of Carmel’s objective is to “Be very sensitive to
connectivity and transitions between adjacent areas.”
The Developer ’s traffic study presented to us as part of their PUD does not adequately address
the large increase in traffic through the Gray Oaks neighborhood. Traffic from the proposed
PUD will have no ability to turn left (westbound) on 146th Street directly from their community
and will be forced to travel south on Gray Oaks Court to access westbound 146th Street from
Gray Road.
The Gray Oaks POA has commissioned its own study to understand how placing 60 multifamily
housing units on this small parcel will impact the traffic in our neighborhood.
Gray Oaks lies astride Wellswood Bend and is a very walkable neighborhood with pedestrians
using the sidewalk at all hours of the day.
Unfortunately, we regularly observe traffic traveling between 40 and 50 miles per hour on this
street, which has a 20 mile per hour speed limit. Greatly increasing the traffic on Wellswood
Bend by allowing vehicles from the PUD to access Wellswood Bend in order to travel to Gray
Roads and turn westbound on 146th Street will cause a not only a significant decline in the
walkability of the neighborhood, but also create a safety hazard to the pedestrians who enjoy
walking in and through the Gray Oaks neighborhood.
There are other reasons we believe the proposed PUD is a bad idea, but in this letter, we want to
focus on the PUD’s requested variances that are significantly out of line with the City of
Carmel’s stated Objectives in the C3 Design Plan.
For these reasons we urge you to consider not approving the Schafer/Pulte Andrews PUD until
these and other concerns are ameliorated.
Thank you for taking the time to hear our concerns.
Matt & Traci Selig, CPA’s
4689 Wellswood Bend