At the June 19 Southlake City Council meeting, council members approved a zoning change and development plan for The Village at Carillon Parc on the item's second and final reading.

The development will take place on 42.51 acres and is part of the Carillon residential community that sits on 285 acres of land between North White Chapel Boulevard and Carroll Avenue on SH 114. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved its recommendations for the project unanimously in May, and the council unanimously approved the project's first reading June 5.

The concept behind the development includes chef-driven restaurants, a new city library, a grand hotel, shopping kiosks with artisan wares, all surrounding an 8-acre central park with preserved trees and a water fountain that can double as an entertainment space.

There was no presentation to start the second reading of this development. Instead, council heard from three Carillon residential community residents who spoke in favor of the project. The residents said they moved to the community with a promise of the mixed-use development. They said the project as it stands now is better than what they had anticipated.

Carillon residents filled the seats in the Southlake council chambers, and all stood during the public hearing to show their support for the project.

Closing the public hearing, Mayor Laura Hill pointed out that this was the first time she had seen so many residents come to a meeting in favor of a project.

"We've learned in Southlake that when residents are heard, then they can be your biggest allies," Hill said. "And this is absolutely proof of that, and this is a project that is great for our city."

With the unanimous approval from the council, residents in attendance at the meeting burst into applause.

"I live in the Villa District of Carillon, only one block from this proposed new retail development," MaryLee Alford, a Carillon resident and organizer of the Carillon Retail Steering Committee, said before the meeting. "It probably won’t take five minutes for me to walk to the amazing new library if approved by City Council. The only thing that could be more exciting would be to live inside the Village at Carillion Parc, which will be possible when this development is approved by City Council."

More details on the project will be discussed in the July edition of Community Impact Newspaper. Stay up to date on this project by visiting communityimpact.com.