HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter #47 Jackie Phillips
Butler, Bric
From:Jackie Phillips <jackiephillips16@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, August 5, 2024 2:38 PM
To:Butler, Bric
Cc:Keeling, Adrienne M
Subject:Carmel Housing Task Force
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Flagged
Dear Members of the Housing Task Force,
I have been a Carmel resident for the last 8+ years. I live in the Village of West Clay, and what I love
about my community and Carmel is the mixed-use development. I love that I can walk to my dentist,
chiropractor, and restaurants and pick up my dry cleaning.
I’ll admit that until we had the potential for new development in the VOWC a few years ago, I didn’t
pay much attention to development within Carmel, other than I loved when new restaurants or retail
were coming in. However, after being impacted by unfavorable rezoning and irresponsible
development that was proposed for my community, it really made me aware of a development’s
potential impact.
I’d like to address a couple of thoughts and questions that came up through the meetings.
1. Community Preference
Chris with Mibor shared that a Central Indiana Preference study was conducted among 1,500 people,
and it showed that most people want walkability to restaurants and retail and live in the communities
where they work. However, I think Chris may be over-extrapolating data. When you look at the
number of residents polled, those 1,500 were polled from MIBOR’s 11 counties, constituting over 2.1
million people.
Where did the majority of those people live—urban, suburban, rural? What county were they in? What
was their age or demographic? These small surveys are not a comprehensive representation of the
majority, and we should not base development or housing needs on such an ambiguous result. It is
safe to say that what someone in downtown Indy wants for their lifestyle would vary greatly from
someone living in Johnson County.
It was also noted that many people want to be able to live in their community of choice, particularly
where they work. In most major metropolitans, people commute anywhere from 30 - 60 minutes. The
average commute for Carmel is 22 minutes.
As I shared, I love being able to walk and live near many conveniences. However, I recognize that not
everyone feels the same way. The' 15-minute' city isn’t for everyone.
2. The Missing Middle
It was shared that if we don’t have affordable housing, it could affect the availability of quality services
and goods. An example given was that a local restaurant would struggle to keep properly staffed
because of wages not keeping up with the pace of rising housing costs, and therefore they cannot
attract and retain workers. This is an erroneous thought process. If you look at other sought-after
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communities around the US. There is not often affordable housing adjacent to successful restaurants
or retail. It’s often that those in the service industry, particularly in high-end areas, commute from
neighboring, adjacent communities. We cannot negate that Carmel is a sought-after locale with
minimal opportunity for further affordable development. Stating that if we don’t provide more
affordable housing, we will not be able to retain talent or workers is not factual. Less than 15 minutes
from Carmel’s central business district, you can reach numerous communities with affordable places
to live.
Lastly, a few guest panel homebuilders/developers shared that they cannot build homes for less than
$750k. While that may be true for them, it's not true for ALL builders. There is currently a proposed
community build called Towne 146, with various home types ranging from $375-$500k. This is filling
the 'missing middle,' and I think what Carmel is lacking is the protection of existing affordable homes.
3. Suggestions for Setbacks
Andrea from MPO suggested that we lower our design standards and remove or reduce our setbacks
to allow for higher density. However, one of the things that we loved about Mayor Finkham’s recent
campaign was her championing of the character of each neighborhood. Each of the neighborhoods in
Carmel was designed in a unique way that attracted its current owners. Creating a blanket policy
eliminating much of what makes those communities unique removes what draws so many people to
this area.
The Comprehensive Plan was completed at the end of 2022. I would like to see Carmel adhere to the
suggested setbacks and standards for development that we just agreed to.
4. A small, vocal minority remonstrate against development.
It was shared from several of the guest speakers that if a project doesn’t go through, it’s because of
the small, vocal minority that remonstrate against certain developments. I want to call BS. 96% of
unhappy customers won’t complain. And that statistic refers to everyday transactions, where the
complain process is simple and often offers an immediate fix. How many fewer residents do you think
will complain when you add in the complicated layers of understanding governmental proceedings,
navigating Laserfiche, or the public nature of speaking at a city meeting?
Additionally, some may feel that only a small, vocal minority remonstrate because the current Carmel
Ordinance only requires notification (in the event of rezoning or variances) to adjacent residents that
abut the property, despite that a development's impact will far exceed those properties. Most
residents are unaware of potential development until it’s too late because of this practice.
One member of the Taskforce stated, ‘We need to listen to what the public wants.’ I think it’s
important that the city remembers that, at the end of the day, it’s the residents who have to live with
the development.
Final Thoughts:
I think what makes Carmel so desirable is that it has great schools, safe, well-maintained
neighborhoods, and a thriving downtown. Carmel can’t simply be everything to everyone. If we keep
rezoning and redeveloping all areas of Carmel to have mixed-use development, it will no longer have
community character. I ask that as you make your recommendations, you keep in mind the residents
who currently live here. I understand the importance of attracting businesses and residents, but there
needs to be higher consideration for those who already live here.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
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Jackie Phillips
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