The Carmel City Council says yes to street addresses in a historic 5-0 vote.

On Tuesday, Oct. 7, even Carmelites once adamantly opposed to the idea of adopting street addresses had come around. Nancy Twomey, who told the Carmel City Council that she previously was in favor of the status quo by retaining the practice of naming houses and using an antiquated identification system, said she had changed her mind.

“If you do move forward on this tonight you have my support big time,” Twomey said.

Even Councilmember Alissandra Dramov, who was opposed when the last council tried to adopt addresses, had changed her mind. So when the vote was taken at the end of Tuesday’s discussion, she voted yes on a resolution to begin the process of identifying an address system for the city. The 5-0 vote was met with a loud round of applause from residents.

Four years ago, when Council-member Jeff Baron suggested it was time for a conversation about addresses, it seemed improbable the day would come. There was strong opposition and despite the fact that Carmel’s old system was against state laws for building and fire safety, vocal residents clung to the argument of protecting village character.

The difference came with the formation of a five-member citizens’ group in April led by Councilmember Bob Delves. (Twomey was also a member.) They met once a week for six months, gathering information from the U.S. Postal Service, first responders, utility companies and others.

In August, Delves gave a detailed report to the council laying out what they learned, followed by two town halls. The evidence was overwhelming: Carmel had to comply with state laws; it had to catch up with technology that increasingly demands actual street addresses; there were health and safety reasons to adopt them; and more.

The committee also allayed some fears that the post office would go away, or that residents would be forced to have home delivery. Not true, Delves said. What they would have to do, based on USPS Address Management System requirements, was adopt AMS-compatible addresses and display 4-inch-tall numbers on buildings, fences or gates.

Next steps include city staff returning with a comprehensive plan for implementation of addresses.

Twomey ended her comments by encouraging those who had named their homes with whimsical names to keep them, “because this is a cultural tradition worthy of retaining.”