OneZone Statement on the City of Carmel’s Actions Pertaining to the Lucas Estate

American business thrives on competition.  Being named the best restaurant in town is meaningless if there’s only one restaurant in town.  All businesses ask for is a level playing field, and a chance to compete fairly.  When that happens, all businesses’ opportunities can rise.  

That’s why we believe the City of Carmel is doing the right thing by demanding that the Lucas Oil estate either obtain the proper zoning to operate an event facility or stop doing so.  The banquet/event space business is big, but it’s also tough, and our members who provide such services continually invest in their businesses to remain competitive.  They get permits when they add to their facilities, and they make certain they are zoned properly for their business activities.   

​If the Lucas Oil property wants to join the competition – great.  They’ll be welcome. But they need to abide by the same rules everybody else has to follow to do so, and zoning is one of them.  It’s simply bad for business to allow an unlevel playing field to continue.