Submitted
The City of Carmel is filing requests for a preliminary and a permanent injunction against the Lucas Estate to prohibit them from conducting a business at their private residential property.
For the past two years, the city has tried to work with the Lucases to come to an equitable solution to the issue created by their repeated violations of the residential zoning ordinances that occur when they make a profit from hosting large scale events at the property at 116th Street and Ditch Road. At this point, the City of Carmel believes that the Lucases have not shown a good faith effort to comply and therefore, the city is taking this action.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, we owe it to the residential neighbors in the community to require compliance from the Lucases,” said Mayor Jim Brainard. “The neighbors rely on the city to enforce the zoning ordinances in place, which helps protect their property values.”
The events at the Lucas Estate have repeatedly created a large volume of traffic, generated noise complaints and violated the zoning ordinance. While the Lucases claim that they are only making this venue available to close friends and business clients, it does not appear that this is the truth as advertisements for the space have appeared in wedding guides. It is also listed on Facebook and a website as the location for a concert series.
The fact that the Lucases claim they are donating the event space for non-profit events does not hide the fact that the Lucases are making a profit from the catering for these events. Other for-profit event venues often donate or reduce room charges when the cost of the food and beverage service reaches a certain level.
The fact that the venue is not required to install the same safety features as other event venues also puts event attendees at greater risk and poses an unfair advantage in the marketplace when charities are looking for venues in which to hold their fundraising events.