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The Carmel Plan Commission heard from people Tuesday night about a proposal for a rezoning in a long-standing neighborhood along Main Street near North Guilford Road.
A private developer has proposed to tear down a house in the first block of Sherman Drive to build four multifamily townhomes and a parking lot. It sits on a half-acre of land. Many concerned neighbors told News 8 that they oppose the proposal.
A residential committee of the Plan Commission will meet 6 p.m. on Sept. 3 at City Hall to consider the comments from Tuesday night’s meeting.
Jacki Johnston, a neighbor from across the street from the proposed site, said, “We just feel that this is a residential area and we want to keep it that way and the plans that they have just seems too big for the lot that they want to put it there. Just down the street you’ve got apartment after apartment, condominium after condominium, building up. Why do we feel a need to put another one right smack in the middle of a neighborhood?”
Pam Avenies said, “That housing hasn’t even been sold or filled up yet and so the density of housing and the amount of increased traffic it’s going to cause is a concern.”
Neighbors are afraid more new developments will be added on Sherman Drive in the future if the Plan Commission approves the proposal.
“It seems like Carmel has this idea that they just want to tear everything down and make things new, and I think people are starting to resent that they want their homes to stay homes,” Johnston said.
People in the community hope the Plan Commission decision goes in their favor.
“I really hope that the zoning commission listens with a good ear toward what the neighbors’ concerns are and not just be driven by the idea of development and money,” Avenies said.