Horseshoe Bay council gives the nod to tighter control on development
Council members Tuesday approved an airport zoning change at their regular monthly meeting, where officials also set up a planned development district for the new Shoppes at Hi Circle.
City Manager Stan Farmer said the change at the airport will allow lot owners to build both homes and hangars for their aircraft, provided both are located on the same lot.
“There’s already an area like that on a street running parallel to the runway; this just allows the same thing closer to the runway,” Farmer said.
The change also paves the way for a small area of commercial hangers, Farmer said.
“The commercial zoning is a very small part of it,” he said. “That area will just have hangars.”
In other action, the council approved a planned development district for the Shoppes at Hi Circle, a new commercial center taking shape at Hi Circle South and FM 2147.
The project includes a 7,250-square-foot retail center spanning two commercial lots. The development was put on hold earlier this year after residents nearby objected to a much larger proposal by developer Barry Wisnevitz.
Residents near the site earlier decried Wisnevitz’s initial plan to build a 13,800 square-foot commercial building on the site, saying additional customer and delivery traffic would bring unwanted overcrowding to the neighborhood.
The earlier plan would have also led to the re-zoning of three residential lots adjacent to the site of the future development.
Following several months of negotiations, neighbors last month gave their blessing to the scaled-down project.
Farmer said the PDD allows the city greater control on the development through the design and building process.
“It puts some controls in place and helps protect the city,” Farmer said. “It puts requirements on the things that are done, so the developers have to go through the city and a review process before we sign off on it.”
The council also voted to keep Councilman Jim Babcock as mayor pro-tem, with Jeff Robinson maintaining his role as public information officer.
The next council meeting is set for 3 p.m Dec. 16 in council chambers, 1 Community Drive.
chris@thepicayune.com