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“Should state legislators pass a law that overrides local authority on some requirements for home construction in hopes of increasing housing stock to meet growing demand?”
Providing a mix of housing options to meet the varying needs of our residents and aspiring residents is a priority for the city of Carmel. One of my first actions after taking office just more than a year ago was forming the Carmel Housing Task Force, a community-wide effort to define and address the challenges toward ensuring the long-term sustainability of diverse housing options for future generations.
It’s important that any effort toward achieving that goal will preserve the unique characteristics of Indiana communities. That’s why we took an early and active position on the Indiana General Assembly’s House Bill 1001, which targets local control over zoning, architectural standards and development decisions related to housing. Our work has been ongoing as we communicate with legislators on issues important to Carmel, and we appreciate the adjustments already made to the bill in response to legitimate concerns from us and other communities.
We look forward to further collaboration with legislators to address the critical need for housing. But those needs should not be met by brushing aside the tools that preserve local character
and input.
Passed out of the House by a vote of 76-15, the bill impacts Carmel’s ability to locally control its land-use decisions, potentially allowing projects that are out of step with our community.
The bill would take certain approval decisions for homebuilding projects out of the hands of local governments, allowing single-family houses and duplexes to be approved without a hearing in areas that are zoned residential. Instead of decisions affecting your property values being made by a local Board of Zoning Appeals or Plan Commission — composed of members of your community — the Indiana General Assembly will decide what type of housing should be allowed in your neighborhood. For example, accessory dwelling units, such as guest houses or in-law cottages, would also be automatically approved if they meet certain minimal specifications.
While the current form of the legislation includes limited opt-out provisions, it emphasizes dense housing vs. single-family zoning that could directly lead to the changing character of a neighborhood. Adding more housing units to existing single-family areas without restraint will place a significant burden on the water, wastewater and other utilities that serve that area and were not designed for the density now sought.
We’re also concerned about the possibility of inviting congestion onto city streets by eliminating local parking standards from buildings. That means blocked hydrants, blocked driveways, blocked sidewalks and slower emergency response with increased efforts and costs for enforcement.
As currently written, the bill also impacts Carmel’s ability to recover the costs associated with providing building and development services by restricting how costs can be charged to those seeking the services. That would mean shifting limited capital resources away from other uses and toward planning and zoning, rather than having the development projects shoulder the costs. That is a challenging issue as growth in the number of residents means more people using our outdoor recreational amenities. Resources would be needed to support their impact on city amenities.
We need a variety of housing stock. It’s a worthy conversation, but it needs to be done in partnership with our community members, who should not be told that their voices don’t matter.•
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Finkam, a Republican, is mayor of Carmel. Send comments to [email protected].
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