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Council moves group‑home licensing and review into UDO: BZA gains authority; eight‑person cap adopted
Summary
Ordinance Z‑699‑25 amends Carmel's Unified Development Ordinance to require state licensure for certain group homes, shifts special‑exception approval to the Board of Zoning Appeals, and limits unrelated residents in group homes to eight.
CARMEL, Ind. — The Carmel Common Council adopted ordinance Z‑699‑25 on July 21, changing how the city regulates group homes and special exceptions under the Unified Development Ordinance.
The ordinance requires that group homes serving certain populations obtain licensure from either the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction or the Indiana Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services (only for group homes that house those individuals, Sergei Gertrzuk said). It also moves authority to approve or deny special‑use exceptions from a hearing officer to the full Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) and sets a limit of no more than eight unrelated residents in a group home. The ordinance also revises UDO definitions to clarify that group homes are not treated as two‑family dwellings.
Gertrzuk said the text was discussed extensively in the land‑use committee, reviewed line‑by‑line at council, sent to the Plan Commission, and returned with a unanimous favorable recommendation. After a public hearing with no speakers, council suspended the rules and approved the ordinance the same evening.
Why it matters: the amendment changes the approval pathway for special exceptions and places a licensing requirement on group homes housing the specified populations. It also places an eight‑person occupancy limit for unrelated residents, which alters how some residential uses are classified and reviewed in the city.
The ordinance was approved by council without recorded dissent; Plan Commission had recommended the measure unanimously.
