HomeMy WebLinkAboutCombined Committee Mintues 07-02-24City of Carmel
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Combined Residential & Commercial Committee 7-2-24
Carmel Plan Commission
COMBINED RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL COMMITTEE
Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024 Meeting Minutes
LOCATION: Council Chambers, City Hall
Members Present: Joshua Kirsh (Co-Chair), Sue Westermeier (Co-Chair), Dubbie Buckler, Adam Campagna, Shannon
Minnaar, Christine Zoccola, Jeff Hill
Members Absent: Chaka Coleman
Staff Present: Mike Hollibaugh (Director), Rachel Keesling (Planning Administrator), Christina Jesse (Planning
Administrator), Alexia Lopez (Planning Administrator), Bric Butler (Recording Secretary), Alli Lynch-
Mcgrath, (Legal Counsel)
Meeting Time: 6:00 p.m.
1. Docket No. PZ-2024-00044 DP/ADLS: Courtyard by Marriott Hotel.
The applicant seeks Development Plan and ADLS approval for a new full-service hotel with 102 rooms. The site
is located at 13285 Illinois St. and is zoned MC/Meridian Corridor. Filed by Jim Jacob, owner.
Petitioner: Sam Patel:
• Elevations of the proposed hotel were provided.
Department Report: Rachel Keesling:
• Keesling noted there was a small list of items they still needed to address after the last full Plan
Commission meeting which included:
o Addition of long-term bicycle parking within the building (addressed)
o Lot width variance with staff support (filed and to be heard by BZA July 22nd)
o Updated renderings to match latest design (provided)
o Compliant exterior lighting plan (provided)
• Concerns about the height of the ramp and elevated roadway adjacent to the building and the height of the
building were raised at previous meetings. The highest point of the ramp is 25 feet while the height of the
building will be 56 feet. There should be no issue of being able to see mechanical equipment on the roof
top from the roadway.
• The cantilevered dark color behind the sign has been removed and a dark background on the entire wall
section has been added to create more continuity of the design around the entirety of the building.
• Staff provided a positive recommendation on condition of finalized elevations being provided and
variance approvals being obtained.
Committee Comments:
Westermeier: Just to confirm so at night that sign is lit, that “Courtyard”? Keesling: Yes, it is a lit sign.
Westermeier: Ok, because we had talked about a sign out on Illinois [Street]. Did you ever talk anymore about
that? Patel: Nothing so far yet. I talked to my architect, and he said once a building is boxed up you will be able
to decide whether you want a sign over there, and if so we will come in front of here and ask for signage. The
other thing that was suggested to us was highway signs where you have the logo on the signs at the ramp that will
say go right two miles and where the entrance is put a small sign. So that is another thing that we are considering.
We are going to wait till the box is up and see how visible it is or not because we will have signs on three sides.
Keesling: This is something we often wish other petitioners would do, is just wait and see if they really need it
before going to ask for the variance. So, in a way we are very appreciative they want to see how it looks and feels
before they dive into yes we absolutely need a variance.
Motion by Minnaar and seconded by Buckler to approve on condition of providing staff with updated
elevation renderings and variance approval for building massing.
APPROVED 7-0
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Combined Residential & Commercial Committee 7-2-24
2. Docket No. PZ-2024-00064 PP: Andrews Subdivision Primary Plat.
The applicant seeks primary plat approval for a 30-lot subdivision with open space/common areas. The
site is located at 4411 E 146th Street and is zoned Andrews PUD (Z-687-24). Filed by Mike Timko with
Kimley Horn on behalf of the owner, MPC Andrews LLC.
Petitioner: Mike Timko:
• Timko provided updates to questions initially fielded by the Commission at the prior meeting:
o Drainage from the dog park and community gardens is directed down to the retention pond at the
northeast corner of the site. The release point of the storm pipe has been moved further to the east
to stay away from the community gardens.
o Improvements were made to the crosswalk design on 146th Street.
o Pulte agreed to work with staff to provide repairs to the existing path along 146th Street where
needed.
o Updated street tree plan provided to Urban Foresty division. They are working with staff
regarding the specifics of the tree preservation area signage.
o Pulte intends to erect a neighborhood identification sign that will be compliant with current code
and not require a variance.
o Current name proposal “Meadowstone”
o A construction signage plan for the southern entrance was provided.
Department Report: Alexia Lopez:
• Lopez noted that most questions and concerns had been addressed by the petitioner save the following:
o Construction signage plan provided for the southern entrance but a plan for along 146th and Gray
Road still needed.
o Staff would like to see the drainage outlet moved slightly further east than already adjusted to be
sure any storm water is kept away from the community gardens.
o The city engineering staff were not satisfied with the current drainage plans for the site. Revisions
that may cause layout changes to the project are still required.
• Staff suggested tabling approval of the primary plat until drainage design issues were resolved. The issues
included proper outlet from the pond and potential wetland issues from IDEM
Committee Comments:
Kirsh: I want to talk briefly about the construction signage because I am a big fan of signs. I agree with staff
there needs to be something out on Gray Road. My opinion is that the Gray Road stuff should say not just no
construction traffic, but something to the effect of “access to Meadowstone via 146th Street” and it shouldn’t be
one of these small signs it should be one of those giant yard signs put in with metal stakes not H frames that blow
over and go missing. The reason I say this is because the residents in that neighborhood want to see big obnoxious
signs that say, “no construction traffic”. Likewise on the barriers when you are in the neighborhood and you are
trying to go back through Gray Oaks, those could just be standard signs that say, “no exit for construction traffic
to Gray Road, must exit through 146th Street” what I am trying to say is please just don’t make it say, “no
construction traffic”. I am not a trained expert put that outlet pipe Lex [Lopez] is asking about near the gardens I
would be curious to see what engineering staff thought about a pseudo-bioswell like deep penetrating grasses that
catch particulate. I am not making that request I would just like to see what John Thomas has to say about that.
Commissioner Buckler suggested, if possible, to not table the approval till the next committee but instead to the
next full Plan Commission meeting to speed up the process by two weeks. Lopez understood her desire to keep
the process as efficient as possible for the petitioner but stated she was not sure if that would be enough time for
all issues to be addressed, especially with the July 4th holiday being in the two-week window.
Hill: I don’t know that I have a ton of drainage comments in mind if there is going to be additional coordination
with John and others related to overall scheme that others were worried about, but I do agree with Commissioner
Kirsh’s thought that if we do approve this it would be hard to undo. So, I would be supportive of either tabling to
the full Plan Commission or till the next committee meeting in a full month. I am appreciative of the changes you
made to the trail entrance proximity to driveway so thanks for that. I appreciate the ongoing consideration for any
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Combined Residential & Commercial Committee 7-2-24
trail fixes that need to be made. I will say it out loud but then I will back off. Just food for thought, the
configuration of the crossing is a little skewed, I would just say make sure that it is ADA compliant.
Commission Minnaar thanked the petitioner for taking into consideration so many of the concerns of the Gray
Oaks residents.
Rex Ramage – Pulte Homes: There has been some discussion in the last two meetings about the construction
traffic signage. I 1000% agree with Jeff [Commissioner Hill] that this is not an item that should really be
discussed here but it is so since there are so many questions about it I will do a quick highlight.
Ramage reviewed the construction signage portion of the PUD to showcase the measures that would be taken
regarding signage as requested by Commissioner Kirsh.
Following the discussion on signage Ramage politely requested of the committee, if possible, to get the approval
for the plat at the current meeting. He reiterated his continued commitment to working with staff to make all
necessary revisions to the plans.
Ultimately after further discussion amongst staff and Commissioners it was determined that they could provide
approval of the request on condition of engineering staff final approval regarding drainage design changes.
Motion by Zoccola, seconded by Hill to approve pending final drainage plan approval from engineering
staff if no major changes are made to the plat.
APPROVED 7-0
_______________________________ _____________________________________
Bric Butler – Recording Secretary Sue Westermeier - Committee Co-Chair