The Carmel Plan Commission committee as a whole met with Conner Prairie officials and consultants June 29 to continue discussing plans to expand development of the living history museum into Carmel.
Conner Prairie owns more than 1,000 acres that straddle the White River south of 146th Street but has only developed land in Fishers. It is proposing a rezone of its property west of the river, which is in Carmel, for an expansion that would include a White River Education Center, eco-lodge and cabins, office building, agricultural exhibits and a modern farm.
Project planners have been working with city officials for months to create a planned unit development ordinance, which would set development guidelines specific to the site. At the June 29 meeting, the Conner Prairie planning team explained several proposed changes to the PUD ordinance. They include:
- Relocating the eco-lodge further north to be further from a nearby school, setting the maximum number of guest rooms to 70 and limiting the potential number of cabins to 25
- Limiting primary access to the property to a roundabout at River Road and Cherry Creek Boulevard
- Reducing the general commercial area to a maximum of 20,000 square feet with an additional maximum of 5,000 square feet for a single use
- Reducing the size of the Land, Water and Energy Innovation Center building and moving it northeast to minimize removal of existing trees
- Creating a special events plan for review by Carmel planners and police for special event on-site overflow parking
The plan commission committee of the whole is set to continue reviewing the project at a meeting set for 6 p.m. July 25 at Carmel City Hall.
