Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam on Feb. 20 announced the launch of the Carmel Housing Task Force, a team of local leaders, experts and Carmel citizens established to study the state of housing in the city.
Designed to ensure the housing needs of all Carmel residents and support workforce needs of the business community, the task force’s findings will be used to inform the city’s future housing strategy. The task force will hold its official kick-off meeting at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 23 in the City Council Chambers at Carmel City Hall.
“I am incredibly excited for the official launch of the Carmel Housing Task Force,” Finkam stated. “Throughout the campaign, I heard concerns about apartments, lack of single-family homes available to buy and housing affordability. This community-wide effort will better define the challenges we face and catalyze opportunities for an action-oriented policy to ensure the long-term sustainability of diverse housing options for future generations. I am so grateful for the time and commitment of our task force members and look forward to the public’s participation and input.”
The nine-member task force will spend the next several months learning from residents about the housing needs of the community and from industry experts about best practices to support them. Their meetings will focus on several topics that include:
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Current housing inventory and market conditions
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Population, demographics and workforce trends
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Housing options and housing best practices with input from experts
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Construction and development trends
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Examination of trends and neighborhood programs of Carmel peer communities
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Image of housing
The task force will submit its report to the mayor no later than July 31, with general findings and recommendations available to the community shortly thereafter. The public will be invited to provide input throughout the process at a series of meetings at City Hall according. All task force meetings, which are set for 7:30 to 9 a.m., will be live-streamed and open to the public.
Meeting dates and topics are:
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Feb. 23 – Task force kickoff; overview of Carmel economy and regional position
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March 21 – Population, demographic and workforce trends
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April 25 – Single-family housing market review and trends
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May 23 – Multi-family housing market review and trends
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June 27 – Housing-for-all approaches; peer city review
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July 25 – Draft report
Task force members serve at the pleasure of the mayor. They are:
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Adam Aasen, Carmel City Council
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Dave Bowers, Carmel Redevelopment Commission
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Barbara Eden, Carmel resident
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Todd Fenoglio, Carmel Clay Schools
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Matt Kaercher, Merchants Capital
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Chris Pryor, MIBOR
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Jack Russell, OneZone Chamber of Commerce
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Aletta Sanders, HAND, Incorporated
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Christine Zoccola, Carmel Plan Commission
