The Carmel City Council on May 20 unanimously approved changes to an ordinance that gives the council more oversight over how park impact fees are used.

A park impact fee of $4,882 is generated for each new dwelling unit constructed in the city to be used by Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation to expand the park system for a growing population. But in recent years, the appointed Board of Public Works had increasingly waived the fees with an equivalent amount instead going to the Carmel Redevelopment Commission for the addition of urban park amenities. The council had no oversight of the waivers, also called credit agreements, under the previous ordinance.

With the ordinance amendments approved, the CRC must now receive council approval for the amount of park impact fee credits associated with a redevelopment project it intends to use.

All park impact fees will go into a newly created fund, and council approval will be required for certain expenditures.

“This new process will ensure that the parks and recreation impact fees are used to develop new park assets and new park infrastructure within the community, and it creates a transparent process with proper oversight,” stated City Councilor Rich Taylor, who served as president of the parks board before joining the council in January, in a press release. “Our parks department relies on these park Impact fees to make our many beautiful parks even better for all our residents and this will ensure that future use of fees is in line with the Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan.”

The parks board sued the City of Carmel in late 2023 over its handling of park impact fees but dropped the lawsuit in March after the new mayoral administration and city council began working on ordinance amendments to address the issue.