As it turns out, I drove by Boy Scout Hill almost every single day and I didn’t even know it. Hailed as “virgin Blackland Prairie” and as a habitat for wildlife surrounding White Rock Lake, this hill is at the southwest corner of Mockingbird and Buckner Boulevard, just before the overpass to Old Lake Highlands and Peavy Road.
But after plans came to light that nearby residents and developers Lyle Burgin and Richard Kopf wanted to build a restaurant and parking lot on Boy Scout Hill, nearby residents objected in the way they usually do — signs were printed and placed in front yards all over neighborhoods surrounding White Rock Lake, protests and pickets were organized, and a website was constructed.
While several news outlets have covered the battle between residents to want to preserve the prairie and the view and those who would like that view to come with a cabernet and surf ‘n’ turf, you can hear the arguments from the horse’s mouth tonight at a town hall meeting. The public is welcome to come on down to Lake Highlands Baptist Church’s Fellowship Hall at 642 Brookhurst (next to Hexter Elementary) tonight at 7 p.m. You can get a gander at the developers’ proposed plans for the site, and hear from Kopf and Burgin.
You might also get to hear from P. Michael Jung, who is a member of the White Rock Lake Task Force. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s also representing a group of homeowners who are against Transwestern’s proposed development at Preston and Northwest Highway.
