HBay residents agree on new retail space

News on the development was announced at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, where leaders also considered a zoning change at the Horseshoe Bay Air Park.

Architect Marley Porter appeared before the council to announce that planners are ready to move forward on The Shoppes at Hi Circle, nearly a year after property owner Barry Wisnevitz announced his intention to built a much larger facility on the site.

Porter, owner of Living Architecture along with the CastleRock development in Cottonwood Shores, said he’s been working with residents near the site on Hi Circle South to reach an agreement.

“We appreciate very much the fun we’ve had working with the neighbors, and I mean that sincerely,” Porter said. “This has been a long process.”

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 called led to the re-zoning of three residential lots adjacent to the site of the future development, which is already zoned commercial.

Porter said the months since Wisnevitz put his plans on hold have been put to good use.

Under the new plan, the size has been trimmed to 7,250 square feet.

“When this project started off, the developer was aggressively looking to re-zone things that shouldn’t be re-zoned,” Porter said. “Fortunately, the neighborhood and his architect prevailed. We’re excited to get started.”

Jerry Grey, who spoke on behalf of several Hi Circle South residents, said his group wholeheartedly supports the new plan for a smaller development.

“This development is probably the best that we can hope for in this particular location,”  he said.

The council could vote to form a public improvement district to help fund the project next month.

In other action, the council held a public hearing on proposed zoning changes that would allow additions to the air park, which is owned by the Horseshoe Bay Resort.

“The main reason for the changes is that we realized after we first zoned the airport, that we inadvertently didn’t allow hangars to be built there,” Lambert said. “That started the process on some of the other things that needed to be corrected as well.”

The zoning change would allow for some commercial structures at the airport, along with new hangars.

The next council meeting is set for 3 p.m. Nov. 18 in council chambers, 800 Third St.

chris@thepicayune.com