Plan commission committee approves Vance Minor Subdivision; owner opts to pay into Smoky Road path fund

Carmel Plan Commission Committee members voted 7–0 on Aug. 5, 2025, to give a positive recommendation for PZ202500102, the Vance Minor Subdivision, which would divide a roughly 12.5‑acre parcel at 2911 East Smoky Road into two residential lots and a common area for a detention pond. The project is in the R‑2 residential zoning district within the Keystone overlay.

Why it matters: The subdivision will create two new single‑family building lots in a part of the city where right‑of‑way dedications and floodplain protections were outstanding issues. The committee’s approval moves the plat toward final recording and obligates the owner to meet the conditions the commission relied on in its recommendation.

City staff and the petitioner described the outstanding technical items that the applicant addressed ahead of the meeting. Charlie Maddox of Crossroads Engineers spoke for the applicant and said the team had resubmitted plans and addressed three staff concerns: dedication of right of way in the southeast corner of the site, a water‑quality preservation easement along the stream and floodway, and the 10‑foot multi‑use path required along Smoky Road. Maddox said the owner intends to either build the path or “pay into the fund for that” and added, “he intends to comply with the ordinance.” A city staff member said staff still preferred the petitioner build the path now because delayed construction would likely be more costly and would continue to limit safe walking and bicycling along Smoky Road.

The plan commission committee moved and seconded a positive recommendation for the plat and voted in favor. The motion passed by voice vote, recorded as 7 in favor, 0 opposed. Committee members noted the project had been discussed at a previous meeting and that the commission had delegated final voting authority to the committee after addressing the path issue. No formal amendments were made to the plat during the meeting.

What the approval includes and next steps: Staff reported the revised submittal included the right‑of‑way dedication and the water‑quality easement; the owner chose to provide a monetary commitment for the Smoky Road path rather than build it as part of this project. The committee’s action was a recommendation to approve the primary plat; the owner will be required to complete the remaining technical steps and to comply with applicable city ordinances before recording. The transcript did not specify a timetable for path construction or for when the city would expend the path funds.

Key details: the site address given in the discussion was 2911 East Smoky Road; acreage stated around 12.5 acres; zoning R‑2 with Keystone overlay; three staff concerns listed and noted as addressed in the revised submittal were (1) right‑of‑way dedication, (2) water‑quality preservation easement along the stream/floodway, and (3) the 10‑foot multi‑use path along Smoky Road (petitioner elected to pay into the path fund).

A committee member made the motion to approve; the transcript records the motion and a second, followed by a 7–0 voice vote to pass the recommendation. The transcript contains no full roll‑call listing of member names for the vote.

The committee closed the item and moved on to the next agenda items.