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CARMEL. L N COMMISSI N
ANDU.M-
Date: August 24,2012
To: Special Studies Committee.Members
From: Adrienne Keeling
Department of Community Services
Re: Docket No. 12070021 OA
Enclosed is additional information for the following item. If you have any questions, please give me a call at
571-2417.
Docket No. 12070021 QA: Carmel Dr— Range Line Rd Overlay Sunset Amendment
The applicant seeks to amend the Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 23F: Carmel Drive-Range Line
Road Overlay Zone in order to modify development standards and remove the sunset provision
(expiration date). Filed by the Carmel Department of Community Services.
Please refer to the ordinance amendment draft which was presented; at the August 21st Plan Commission
Hearing. As suggested by the`Plan Comm ission, this memo is meant,to provide additional background and
history of the Overlay Zone. As a preface to any conversations regarding the Overlay Zone, it is important to
recognize that Range Line Road is one of Carmel's most important corridors...past, present and future.
• Origin & Purpose:
Adopted in 2005, the purpose of the Carmel Drive — Range Line Road Overlay Zone is to protect and enhance
the health, safety and welfare of the citizens,and property owners of_Carmel by, allowing for the establishment
of an uptown business district that will ,support a range of activities; and opport unities to all segments of the
community; with mixed-uses in multi-story buildings; is pedestrian oriented and supportive of multiple modes of
transportation; with buildings and a streetscape which are attractive and safely designed in order to enhance
the livability of the city.
It is the City's intent to achieve the purpose of this zone by:.
® Providing a consistent urban design treatment for private and public properties in central Carmel;
• Providing additional opportunities for investment and reinvestment in real estate by mandating higher
intensity of development;
m Minimizing suburban sprawl, through re-use and redevelopment of the community's land resources;
® Minimize community infrastructure costs through the more efficient use of land;
• Providing controls for architecture and landscape design to establish continuity of design between
projects and to improve the physical relationship between new,buildings and overall community.
Key Concepts:
The public realm is shaped, by private buildings alongside, whose location and form contribute to its safety,
spatial.definition, functionality and visual interest. To create and enhance walkability, the following concepts
are needed:
1. Bring buildings to the streetby requiring buildings up to the sidewalk. Creating a strong street wall
is important because pedestrians prefer well-defined spaces which provide a comfortable sense of
ONE CIVIC SQUARE CARMEL,INDIANA 46032 • 317/571-2417
enclosure. Further, the wider the space, the taller the street wall needs to be to create that enclosure.
One-story structures fail to give a strong edge to the street.
2. Prohibit parking lots in front of the building. Placement of parking lots elsewhere keeps the
streetscape engaging and more walkable. On-street parking is encouraged because it provides stop-
and-go spots which are essential to retail, and a pedestrian buffer from the street traffic. Save the front
for people, not cars.
3. Make the building fronts "permeable" by providing visual connections inside the building with the
use of clear windows and doors. Blank walls, mirrored glass or blocked visibility are discouraged.
4. Flexibility & Mixing of Uses. Allowing for a balance of uses including residential (live), office (work),
retail & services (play) are essential to creating opportunities for people to get out of their autos.
Concerns & Sunset Provision:
Throughout the review and initial adoption process, several concerns were raised which were primarily related
to the potential difficulties caused by nonconformities created on existing buildings and property owners.
Many of those concerns were lessened by allowing up to 50% of a building's gross floor area to be added
without full compliance of the overlay. Additionally, extra language was added to allow for an existing building
to be rebuilt in its current form even if destroyed 100% by natural disaster.
Ultimately, there was overall hesitance to make the Overlay Zone a permanent regulation due to its vast
departure from the then-existing requirements and uncertainty of the private sector's ability or willingness to
completely transform the corridor. Therefore, a sunset date of December 31, 2006 was inserted into the
Overlay as a trial period to ensure that if major problems arose, the regulations would be subject to review or
expiration.
Examples:
The Carmel Drive — Range Line Road Overlay Zone has been a valuable tool in achieving walkability and high
quality development in the corridor. Several sites have or soon will redevelop either under the regulation or
influence of the Overlay, including:
• KFC (approved pre-Overlay with variances for narrower setbacks)
• Companion Animal Hospital (approved pre-Overlay with variances for narrower setbacks)
• Nightingale Offices
• Fineberg/ Noodles Building
• CVS/ Pharmacy
•
• Turkey Hill Market
• Fifth Third
• The Centre
Staff plans to have photographs and more detailed critiques of some of the sites at the Committee meeting.
The Ordinance:
The entirety of the Overlay Zone (Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 23F, may be viewed on the Department's
website at: www.carmeldocs.com
Finally, also attached is a map which outlines the geographic boundaries of the Carmel Drive — Range Line
Road Overlay Zone. Essentially, it includes properties along Range Line Road from 116th Street_'to one block
south of Main, then picks up again north of Old Town from Smokey Row to US 31. It also includes properties
along Carmel Drive from the Monon Greenway to Executive Drive.
ONE CIVIC SQUARE CARMEL,INDIANA 46032 317/571-2417