The Carmel City Council met Oct. 19 to discuss transferring funds for police training, rezoning the former Walgreen’s site on Range Line Road and plans for The Courtyards of Carmel.
What happened: The council approved transferring $40,000 from the 2020 Common Council budget to the 2020 Carmel Police Dept. budget.
- What it means: The transferred funds will pay for police officers to participate in a training program called “Enterrupting Racism Now.” The workshop presented by Soul Focused Group explores racism’s roots, taking responsibility for racialized outcomes and building human solidarity. The transferred funds were left over in the common council budget.
- What’s next: The training is expected to take place in early 2021.
What happened: The council sent to the Land Use and Special Studies committee an ordinance creating a planned unit development for The Courtyards of Carmel.
- What it means: The Courtyards of Carmel is proposed to include 149 homes for residents 55 and older on 59 acres at Smoky Row Road and Keystone Parkway. An attorney representing developer Epcon Communities reviewed changes to the proposal that occurred at the plan commission level, such as decreasing the number of dwellings, creating a plan for the historic home on the site and adding traffic control measures. Several nearby residents remonstrated against the proposal.
- What’s next: The committee will review and vote on the neighborhood plan before sending it back to the full council for a final vote.
What happened: The council approved rezoning a parcel of land on the northeast corner of Range Line Road and Executive Drive from B-8 Business District to mixed-use.
- What it means: The parcel is the site of a building that previously housed a Walgreen’s and is currently the showroom for the Proscenium, which is under construction across Range Line Road. A specific development plan for the site has not been proposed, but the rezoning allows a mixed-use building to be a permitted use there.
- What’s next: The committee is set to meet at 5 p.m. Oct. 26.
