Likely you’ve heard that neighbors in the vicinity of Highland Park Presbyterian Church are upset — an understatement, perhaps — about HPPC’s motion to rezone and build a surface parking lot. Yesterday evening, the plan finally went before University Park’s* planning and zoning commission, in a public hearing wherein supporters and opponents had 45 minutes, per group, to make their case (HPPC’s side took less time, though six members spoke on its behalf).
The outcome: Proposed bluprints are shelved at least until P and Z’s next meeting on Sept. 14, pending more research and consideration. In the meantime, said Bob West, Planning and Zoning Commission chair, he’d like to see the church crunch numbers for an underground parking garage — one of several options broached Tuesday night by those opposed to the surface lot.
The rendering above, from Lambert Garden Design, illustrates a wall that will screen the lot from view, designers say, and lend itself to a “park-like setting” in the neighborhood.
Want more details? We’ll have them in Friday’s issue of Park Cities People.
*For anyone jumping into this story midway through or living more than a stone’s throw from HPPC: The church is actually inside the City of University Park, confusing-name geography be darned.
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