Two candidates are running for Place 3 on the Highland Village City Council in the upcoming May 6 election: Cindy Richter and Kevin Cox. Below are their answers to Community Impact'scandidate Q&A.

Early voting is from April 24-May 2. Voters in Denton County may cast a ballot at any polling location during early voting and on election day.

Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 75 words, answer the question provided and avoid attacking their opponent. Answers may have been edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.

Visit www.votedenton.gov to see a full list of where to vote during early voting and on election day.

Kevin Cox

Experience: Lived in Highland Village for five years

Occupation: Project manager

Contact Information: kcox8651@yahoo.com

Why did you decide to run for a council spot?

I want to invest in our city. I want my 2 and 4 year old to grow up in a safe and inviting city that they are happy to call home. I would like the opportunity to serve all families by listening and engaging in order to preserve the history, principles, and values embraced over the years.

What are some of the biggest issues facing the city?

Our budget and revenue is our biggest opportunity area. Our Highland Village Business Association is a group of local business owners who do a great job at supporting our local business and encouraging new businesses to come in. We can always give them more support to encourage business investment in to HV. That can help our sales tax and revenue increase in an attempt to take away the burden of property tax

What do you hope to accomplish on the council if elected, and is there anything specific you’d like to see the council/city accomplish?

I hope to add another young family view to current issues such as speed limits in the city. Our sales taxes increased 11% from 2021-2022. Over 22% of our revenues come from sales taxes. We need to continue to encourage our local business while giving face lifts to areas that need it.

How do you think the city is doing in regards to its growth? As the city grows, is the council doing enough to meet its demands?

The city is about 96% built out. Roughly 210 homesites remain in platted and unplatted parcels. We’ve averaged 45 homes a year for the last five years. We have roughly 5,500 homes. Bottom line is our businesses are doing well. Sales tax revenue is up every year including pandemic years. I believe making the city business friendly like previous councils have in the past is the best economic development policy we can have.

Cindy Richter

Experience: 20-year Highland Village resident

Occupation: Owner, Interior Motiv

Contact Information: clrichter23@gmail.com

Why did you decide to run for a council spot?

I am concerned about the economic future of our city. With only 3% of undeveloped land, we need to be purposeful with new development. It needs to be consistent with our values and what the residents have asked for. We also need to preserve our current retail, add more retail/restaurants and entertainment venues in order to raise our sales tax revenue. We don't want to raise property taxes or cut city services to sustain our way of life here.

What are some of the biggest issues facing the city?

I feel it’s our economic future and the possibility of a change in zoning to add apartments. I am strictly opposed to apartments and many residents have voiced that opinion as well. I want their voices heard. As for our financial future, we need to raise our sales tax revenue to assist in offsetting our heavy reliance on property taxes due to the rising costs of living.

What do you hope to accomplish on the council if elected, and is there anything specific you'd like to see the council and city accomplish?

If elected, I’d like to create an Economic Development Board made up of local business owners and residents to help raise our sales tax revenue. With an EDB, we can seek out exciting ideas for retail, restaurants and experience-oriented venues so we don’t feel like we have to settle for what’s coming to us. I want our city to be a destination spot and have surrounding communities come to us to spend money!

How do you think the city is doing in regards to its growth? As the city grows, is the council doing enough to meet its demands?

Considering we have only 3% of open land left to develop, I feel our city has grown leaps and bounds. I believe we need to be very conscious of how we develop those spaces and utilize them to our advantage as well as what the citizens have asked for. There is a lot that goes into maintaining a city and keeping a high-level quality of life and Highland Village is ranked No. 3 (Safewise.com) for the safest city in Texas for 2023. So, I believe our council and city services have done a fantastic job of meeting demands.

Editor

Tim joined Community Impact in 2023 as an editor for the Flower Mound/Highland Village/Argyle and Lewisville/Coppell editions. He graduated from the University of North Texas in 2009. Tim has been a local news journalist for more than 10 years in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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Highland Village residents will begin the summer months with fireworks, running events, music and other activities with "Celebrate Highland Village" on June 10.

Where is the celebration: Events will be held at two venues: Doubletree Ranch Park and Copperas Branch Park.

What’s happening: Events begin with a fishing derby and open 5K, student 5K and fun run 1K at Doubletree Ranch Park in the first part of the day and end in the evening with a fireworks show over Lewisville Lake. Attendees can attend an evening concert from Bayou County, a Creedence Clearwater Revival/John Fogerty tribute band, at Copperas Branch Park. "Celebrate Highland Village" also includes food vendors, Kid Zone and other attractions, a city news release stated.

What about parking: At Copperas Branch, parking on-site is limited and requires a parking pass, per officials. Shuttle service is available from remote parking locations. The concert and fireworks show are free, and food and drink vendors will be at Copperas Branch Park for the evening activities.

Parking passes for spaces under the I-35 bridge are available for Highland Village residents only, with proof of residency required. Those passes can be picked up at The Robert & Lee DuVall Center at 948 Highland Village Road, Ste. B, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office closed from noon to 1 p.m., the release stated.

Event schedule: Gates open at Copperas Branch Park at 5:30 p.m. The concert begins at 6 p.m. Fireworks begin at dark. Limited parking is available at Copperas Branch Park for Highland Village residents only, with a parking pass required. Passes may be picked up at The Robert & Lee DuVall Center at the hours and days listed above, and passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis. One pass per resident is available.

City officials said the best places to view fireworks are Copperas Branch Park, on a boat on Lake Lewisville in close proximity to Copperas Branch Park, on the Hickory Creek side of Lake Lewisville and Pilot Knoll Park. A limited viewing location is at Doubletree Ranch Park. City officials also said people may bring chairs and blankets to the fireworks display, but pets, glass containers, tents, canopies, drones, noisemakers, golf carts and RVs are not permitted.

Additional details: Attendees who park at Doubletree Ranch Park will walk the city's trail/sidewalk to Copperas Branch Park. Remote parking will be available at the Highland Village Municipal Complex, the adjacent Brazos Park parking lot and The Village Church location at 1700 Highland Village Road, the release stated. Attendees parking at these locations will take a shuttle to and from Copperas Branch Park.

In addition, remote parking will be available at Highland Village Elementary, 301 Brazos Blvd., and attendees parking here will walk to the Highland Village Municipal Complex on the city's sidewalk/trail system to take the shuttle to and from Copperas Branch Park, the release stated. People may also park at the DCTA A-train Station at Garden Ridge and walk the trail/sidewalk to Copperas Branch Park, or walk or ride their bike to Copperas Branch Park.

Government Reporter

Don joined Community Impact in February 2023 and covers city governments in Denton and Tarrant counties. He holds a journalism degree from Northwest Missouri State University, and has worked for newspapers all over Texas and one in Oklahoma. During his time as a reporter, he has covered all aspects of news and sports.

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Looking for a new restaurant to try? Here are three eateries coming to Flower Mound and Highland Village.

1. Cheesecake Factory to open later this year in Highland Village

The Cheesecake Factory should open in the next few months at The Shops at Highland Village, according to a release July 24 from The Shops at Highland Village.

The restaurant is expected to celebrate its opening in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“The Shops at Highland Village is thrilled to welcome The Cheesecake Factory as the newest addition to our center,” said Ravi Wadhwa, senior general manager at The Shops at Highland Village, in the release. “Having this national powerhouse brand join our portfolio is a significant win that will purposefully complement our unique tenant mix. Like many of our guests, we are counting down the days until this fan favorite opens its doors to our community.”

The Cheesecake Factory will be located in an approximately 9,700-square-foot space at 4100 Deer Creek, Ste. 110, near Francesca’s and White House Black Market, with plans to renovate the Southern courtyard near the new location into a drive-thru parking lot to facilitate an enhanced customer experience, the release stated. The addition of the new restaurant is expected to create more than 200 new jobs for the local community, officials said. Construction began a few weeks ago.

The Cheesecake Factory, which offers American cuisine in addition to its famous cheesecake, began operations in 1978 in California.

2. New Salad and Go location coming to Flower Mound

A new Salad and Go location is set to operate in Flower Mound, but no exact opening date has been announced.

The Flower Mound location, located close to Fiori Italian Restaurant and Bar in the 1200 block of Flower Mound Road, is set to open in the mid-fourth quarter of this year, said Crystal Cloyd, senior field marketing manager for Salad and Go.

Salad and Go serves wraps and soups in addition to salads, according to its website.

3. New burrito restaurant to open in Flower Mound

A new Pretty Burrito restaurant will open soon in Flower Mound.

The restaurant will be at 500 Flower Mound Road, Ste. 100, and signage has been applied on the building. On their website, the restaurant’s owners said Pretty Burrito is a “family restaurant where you will find absolutely fresh ingredients in every dish. It's our tradition to bring the best Mexican flavors to the table and spread happiness and satisfaction to every single customer. This is the best option for the best burrito in town.”

An opening date and other information on the restaurant was not available at press time. On the town’s website, officials said there is no information yet on an opening date for the restaurant.

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The number of extremely hot days has motivated Highland Village officials to implement water restrictions that will continue until Sept. 13 in order to assure a viable level of water for domestic and firefighting purposes, the city said in a news release.

Restrictions began Aug. 9.

The details

The water management plan restricts commercial and residential landscape watering to five days a week, with no outside water allowed on Fridays or Mondays to allow the water system to recover, the release states. Hand watering of landscapes is permitted only from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m., and no outside water use is permitted between the hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Zooming in

City officials said water resources normally have been sufficiently able to allow adequate domestic water availability and to continue to allow outdoor watering. This year, however, the near-record string of 100-plus degree days stressed the Phase 1 plan to the point the city was compelled to implement a Phase 2 water use conservation plan, the release states.

“The long-range weather forecast shows no abatement of 100-plus degree days and no rain forecasted in the near future,” the release states. “City management will evaluate the conditions and make a decision whether or not to recommend an extension of [the] Phase 2 water management implementation for an additional two weeks at the Sept. 12 City Council meeting.”

Residents are encouraged to water judiciously, officials said, on the days allowing outside water use and to follow good landscape maintenance practices.

Government Reporter

Don joined Community Impact in February 2023 and covers city governments in Denton and Tarrant counties. He holds a journalism degree from Northwest Missouri State University, and has worked for newspapers all over Texas and one in Oklahoma. During his time as a reporter, he has covered all aspects of news and sports.

Thank you for reading Community Impact

Want more from CI? Becoming a CI Patron grants you access to an exclusive weekend newsletter and CI Swag. Your one-time or monthly donation catapults our mission to hire high-quality journalists and provide trusted news in Texas communities.

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Barnes & Noble has revealed its new location will be a stone’s throw away from its longtime home in Highland Village.

The bookseller is closing its store next month in The Shops at Highland Village and planning to reopen in November in the space formerly occupied by Pier 1 in Flower Mound near Target, which is about a half mile south of its current spot.

“Though it’s bittersweet to leave after 16 years of bookselling, we are excited for the opportunity to bring our booksellers and customers to an entirely remodeled space featuring our updated store design, including both new furnishings and layouts. You will be especially happy to note the superior parking situation at our future location,” read a flyer at the store.

Cheesecake Factory restaurant will occupy a portion of the bookstore’s former space at The Shops at Highland Village.

“While we are sad to leave the current location, we are excited to bring a new store in our new design to the community,” said Janine Flanigan, Barnes & Noble director of store planning and design.

The store is currently offering 50 percent off most items.

By Taylor Millard, Contributing Writer

The Highland Village Planning & Zoning Commission Tuesday night recommended to deny plans for apartments at The Shops at Highland Village.

Poag Development Group desired 280 apartment units on the northeastern part of the property. The 302,000-square-foot structure would have taken over the current location of the movie theater parking lot and forced Snuffer’s to move.

Supporters argued that the project would have resulted in higher property tax revenue for the city. They also vowed that the apartments would support the financial viability and sustainability of the city and The Shops. “What we know from a technical standpoint is having multifamily or residential units within close proximity to restaurants and retail helps them thrive,” said Abra Nusser of Peloton Land Solutions. “That’s just a technical basic of planning and designing.”

Developers portrayed the apartments as part of the future for The Shops due to the rise of online shopping. “We have sales at the shopping center of over $100 million,” commented Poag President and CEO Josh Poag to commissioners last night. “[But] you need to keep evolving and improving in order to stay relevant in these times.”

Residents weren’t convinced. They cited a variety of concerns including fire protection and infrastructure.

“The fire department is the same size that it was [17 years ago],” said resident Robert Sanderson to the commission. He noted that Highland Village has one fire truck and crews have to wait for support from either Lewisville or Flower Mound. “Insurance companies rate the communities based on their ability to protect the people and the homes. And Highland Village has recently been downgraded by the insurance companies. So, all of our insurance rates have gone up because of our lack of fire protection. That will put a bigger burden on our fire department.”

Planning & Zoning commissioners appeared swayed by the fire infrastructure argument.

“My biggest issue is that I wholeheartedly agree that Highland Village needs a new fire station,” opined Place 2 member Brent Myers. “I think that’s a major topic that we’ll have to deal with at City Council. The question becomes “How do we pay for that?” This is a step in the right direction, in my opinion. However, to be clear, I can’t go for this, guys… I love the product, I just don’t know that this is the right place for it.”

Residents broke out in applause after commissioners rejected the proposal.

The developer has the option to put the proposal before the City Council, who can override the denial recommendation with a supermajority vote. The next City Council meeting is May 23.