More changes could be coming to Beazer’s proposed The Reserve at Cool Creek

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Beazer Homes has asked the Carmel City Council to wait until after the holidays before voting on its proposed development The Reserve at Cool Creek, which is northeast of the 136th Street and Keystone Parkway roundabout.

Several changes have already been made to the development. The most recent plans show it still designed primarily for those 55 years and older, but villa-style homes that included two dwellings per unit have been eliminated.

Some neighboring residents say they’d like to see more changes, and some City Councilors agree.

Michelle Krcmery, a Smokey Ridge resident, said she’s concerned that the lot sizes are too small. Each lot would be 50 to 55 feet wide with the house taking up 65 percent of the lot. Current zoning requires lot sizes of 100 feet with the house covering 30 percent.

“This proposal from Beazer, in my opinion, is solely based on economics with little regard for development quality,” she said.

Beazer originally proposed nearly 160 homes, including 104 villas and 52 detached ranch-style homes for the 59-acre parcel. Some residents in adjacent neighborhoods complained that this would be too dense and would not fit with the feel of the area.

Beazer is now proposing to build between 142 and 144 detached single-family homes. All lots will have a minimum 50-foot width, and the homes will range from 1,500 to 2,500 square feet.

Sharon Gratigny lives next to the proposed site, and at first she was concerned about trees being cut down, added traffic and sub-par looking tract homes. She said getting rid of the villas is “definitely a step in the right direction” but that the new proposal still places homes too close to each other, some just 9 feet apart.

“That is a lot of tiny homes close together on very small lots,” she said. “Beazer tried to justify the change as market driven. The truth is they can fit more homes with this change.”

City Councilor Kevin “Woody” Rider said the villas concept would have been a dealbreaker for him. He said he’s happy to see that change was made, but there are still improvements he’d like to see.

“Carmel is getting close to being built up and so I don’t want to see us build something that isn’t up to our standards of quality,” he said. “I think more work can be done on this.”

Jon C. Dobosiewicz, a land use professional with the firm of Nelson & Frankenberger, which is representing Beazer, provided a list of additional commitments from the developer, including minimum lot widths of 55 feet, enhancements to the landscape buffer and the protection of a historic home on the property.


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