The Pinehurst Village Council approved small changes to its planned improvements to the downtown center but will not decrease the project’s size.

Council members Tuesday unanimously agreed to adjust the plantings on the proposed project to better represent the original work of Warren Manning when he designed Pinehurst.

Those adjustments were suggested in a report to the council by consultants with John Milner Associates, a firm hired by the village to review the projects.

The recommendations call for removing maple and dogwood trees, hydrangea and liriope from the plans. Consultants also recommend taking out annuals, since they would be “contrary to his (Manning’s) original intent for the village.”

The consultants recommended that designers of future projects “select plants from the plants lists that Manning developed for Pinehurst, and for this project, preferably those he developed for the village Green,” according to a report submitted to the council.

While there was consensus on the plantings, it was much different regarding the overall size of the project. The council voted 3-2 against a proposal that would have made the park project smaller.

Council member John Strickland suggested a park improvement that would keep the scope of the work within the park’s current footprint. That, Strickland said, would limit unintended consequences that could occur.

Fellow council member Doug Lapins agreed, but the remaining council members, Mayor Nancy Fiorillo, Mark Parson and John Cashion, voted against it.

Other consultants have worried the village could risk losing an important federal historic designation for downtown, but Fiorillo, Parson and Cashion said they preferred to move forward.

“Why do the project if you are going to reduce the green and the parking?” Fiorillo said.

Contact Tom Embrey at (910) 693-2484 or tembrey@thepilot.com.