'Burb Bites: Carmel Japanese Garden set for expansion
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The area south of Carmel's recently reopened Japanese Garden is getting a makeover. Photo: Courtesy of Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation
This week's news from around the region includes a park expansion near Carmel City Hall, an e-bike ban in Zionsville and another step toward the future of Westfield's Grand Park.
🌳 Carmel's Kawachinagano Japanese Garden will soon undergo another transformation.
- A $750,000 project to expand the garden's footprint to the south will begin in October and should wrap by next spring.
- The work is being led by award-winning Japanese landscape designer Hoichi Kurisu, who also handled the renovation of the northern part of the garden. The new project will add a waterfall and stretch the amenity to the area's southern stormwater detention pond.
- A second construction phase set to break ground in spring 2027 will include a loop trail around the pond, benches, prairie and additional trees. The goal is to make the southern pond complement the existing garden as additional funding becomes available.
🚫 The Zionsville Lions Club has banned the use of motorized vehicles at Lions Park in response to growing concerns over e-bike usage.
- Citing an uptick in children operating them in busy areas, the club has prohibited any motorized vehicles that aren't ADA-compliant mobility devices.
- That means e-bike usage in Lions Park is more restricted than the rest of the city, which allows the use of e-bikes up to 20 mph.
- Those who violate the policy will be asked to leave the privately owned park. Repeat offenders may face a ban.
🏗️ A proposal that aims to set standards for development within Grand Park is heading to the Westfield City Council for a final vote.
- The Grand Park Zoning District would set guidelines for things like building placement, permitted use and design standards for the popular sports campus.
- City leaders say with that framework in place, projects should move through the approval process more quickly while maintaining the city's vision for Grand Park's future.
- The Westfield City Council meets at 7pm Monday.
⚖️ Former Johnson County Coroner Mike Pruitt will spend the next year on probation after pleading guilty to seven misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in April.
- After stepping down from his position Wednesday, Pruitt was sentenced Thursday to a year of active probation.
- Pruitt had been Johnson County coroner since 2021. A date for a caucus to select a new coroner is pending, and whoever is chosen would take over the current term ending in 2029.
🏨 Franklin is the latest Central Indiana community to land a downtown boutique hotel.
- The Franklin Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday approved plans that will allow engineering and science firm Process Alliance to build a corporate headquarters and hotel at 151 S. Main St.
- Process Alliance HQ would take the first floor and some of the second floor, and the rest of the development would be reserved for a boutique hotel with 20–22 rooms. The top floor will house a rooftop penthouse and outdoor space.