Residents and council press Lennar on drainage and density for 146th & Towne PUD

Lennar Homes of Indiana representatives presented revisions to a proposed planned unit development (PUD) for roughly 16 acres at 146th Street and Towne Road during the Carmel Land Use and Special Studies Committee meeting on Jan. 8, 2025, drawing questions from residents and councilors about stormwater staging, tree preservation and housing type.

The committee heard that Lennar reduced the project’s unit count and removed a commercial neighborhood node from an earlier submission, and that Lennar committed to preserving wetlands and adding tree plantings. John Dobosiewicz, with Nelson & Frankenberger, who represented Lennar during the meeting, said the petition originally proposed 92 units and that the current filing reduces that number to 87 and converts the previously proposed commercial acreage to residential and open space.

Why it matters: the 16‑acre parcel sits between Ambleside and Saddle Creek neighborhoods. Neighbors said existing interlinked ponds and undersized drainage pipes have caused erosion and repeated, costly repairs downstream; they pressed the developer and city staff for a design that would avoid increasing flows into Saddle Creek.

Dobosiewicz outlined the substantive changes Lennar made after five hearings before the Planning Commission: the…