Neighbor-submitted landscaping suggestions for the Hillside Village Shopping Center.
To reduce polluted storm runoff from flooding streets and flowing into White Rock Lake, neighbors want two rainwater gardens installed at the Hillside Village Shopping Center.
The group submitted landscaping ideas to the zoning consulting company, Baldwin Associates, at a community meeting earlier this month. The meeting provided neighbors with a chance to offer input on a zoning change application that aims to update parking and replace landscaping at the shopping center.
“This is our chance to correct some longstanding problems and make this area better for all of us,” neighbors said in a statement.
Neighbors would like to see the first rainwater garden in the parking lot next to the screening wall, just east of ASI Gymnastics. The area is not heavily used for parking, and it may prevent 18-wheelers from parking in the area overnight. The second garden is recommended for an unpaved area behind the Goodwill trailer.
The goal is to slow storm water that drains into the creek behind the Clements Building and then continues to the Blue Fair Lakes neighborhood and, ultimately, White Rock Lake.
Neighbors also suggested planting large clusters of trees, plus smaller shrubs and plants for seasonal color, along Hillside Drive and the space between the sidewalk and the screening wall. Live oaks are recommended for additional tree islands in the parking lot to match existing species.
“The buildings are looking better than they have in a long time, and we would like to see the same by enhancing landscaping,” neighbors said.
