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Home My WebLink AboutLetter #169 John Kirkwood Butler, Bric From:Kirkwood, John R. <john.kirkwood@faegredrinker.com> Sent:Friday, December 6, 2024 5:30 PM To:Butler, Bric Cc:wkirkwood Subject:RE: Stout Farm Development - Village of West Clay Bric-- I am following up with you on my email below of November 6, 2024. Like you, I am watching this developer use every trick in the book to avoid facing the taxpayers residing in the Village of West Clay and surrounding neighborhoods. We are now moving towards the 3rd re-scheduled mee?ng in the developer’s hope that we will not show up and he can persuade the Commission permit a non-conforming use to become a conforming use by rezone. I hope that you and the members of the Plan Commission are laser focused on what this developer is up to. This is all about money - the oh so greedy landowner of Stout Farm who refuses to sell his land for the prevailing “as zoned” price and the greedy developer who wants to use the Plan Commission as a vehicle to rezone to a high-density development, so that both the landowner and developer get rich. This would be to the detriment of hard-working taxpayers residing in the Village and surround neighborhoods who are legi?mately concerned that the Plan Commission will facilitate this get rich scheme/crime. I am imploring the Plan Commission and our elected Council members to wise up to this situa?on and do the very thing they were appointed or elected to do - enforce the current code and not permit those of us who have invested a good por?on of our life savings in our homes to be ﬂeeced by a greedy landowner and a greedy developer. Thank you for your considera?on of our concerns. John R. Kirkwood Partner john.kirkwood@faegredrinker.com Connect: vCard / LinkedIn +1 317 569 4602 direct / +1 317 625 4258 mobile Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP 600 E. 96th Street, Suite 600 Indianapolis, Indiana 46240, USA This message and any attachments are for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments. From: Kirkwood, John R. <john.kirkwood@faegredrinker.com> Sent: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 1:01 PM To: bbutler@carmel.in.gov Cc: wkirkwood <wkirkwood@indy.rr.com> Subject: Stout Farm Development - Village of West Clay Bric-- Wendy and I have lived on Stanhope Street in the Village of West Clay for over 20 years. Our property is directly north of the Stout Farm tract - in fact, the alley behind our house shares a common border with the proposed 1 development. To say we are scared to death of what this high-density, low-end development will do to our property value is an understatement. The homes that buﬀer the Stout Farm real estate are beau?ful, well maintained homes having price ranges from $650,000 to $1,500,000. From my review of the proposed site plan, the prosed development will have somewhere around 2 to 3 homes placed on a lot the size of mine, with home values 1/3 or less than most of the homes on Stanhope. From speaking with my neighbors and representa?ves of our HOA Board of Directors, as well as my own research, I advise:  The proposed project is not at all consistent with the homes in the Village of West Clay or the neighborhood west of Town Road.  The property values in the proposed project are not consistent with those in the Village of West Clay.  The proposed development has li?le green space and is not at all consistent with community ameni?es in the Village of West Clay.  The proposed density is not consistent with the density of the Village of West Clay.  The architecture of the prosed development is totally inconsistent with that of the Village of West Clay.  Given the type of development evidenced by the proposed site plan, it will most surely become a rental community over ?me which is not at all consistent with signiﬁcant investment that my neighbors and I have made in our proper?es. We are hopeful that you will recognize our hard work and investment in our proper?es and not let the greed of the current owner of Stout Farms and the proposed developer destroy that investment. I am sure you know that due to the exorbitant amount that the current owner of Stout Farms wants for his real estate, the only way he can sell it is to a high density low, end developer so as to get every possible penny out of it. This apparent greed should not be a vehicle for the City of Carmel to permit a developer to destroy adjacent property values. When the current owner of Stout Farms and the developer has made their millions and are long since gone, we will be le? to deal with the mess they made and live with signiﬁcant loss of property. Wendy and I ask that you consider the above and share our thoughts and concerns with the members of the Plan Commission and other public oﬃcials and elected representa?ves. We need these oﬃcials and representa?ves to represent and protect us. Thank you. John R. Kirkwood Partner john.kirkwood@faegredrinker.com Connect: vCard / LinkedIn +1 317 569 4602 direct / +1 317 625 4258 mobile Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP 600 E. 96th Street, Suite 600 Indianapolis, Indiana 46240, USA This message and any attachments are for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments. 2