CITY OF SAN MARCOS
Be a part of history, or at least part of preserving it by adding your comments and suggestions to the first ever draft of the city of San Marcos Historic Preservation Plan. July 27 is the last day for public input, one can review the document and add comments online at smtx.konveio. com/historicpreservationplan.
“Our comprehensive plan has bits and pieces and recommendations that are preservationminded, but this is a standalone document that will really help to guide preservation polices over the next five to ten years,” San Marcos Historic Preservation Officer Alison Brake said. “We’ve never had anything like this specifically for preservation, which is really exciting.”
The city hosted two inperson open houses where residents could learn about the plan and give their input and suggestions. The city offered take home tool kits and a digital copy of the draft plan for citizens to review. They offered an interactive online mapping activity called Mapping the Future: Preserving Our Past, which offered participants the option to use an interactive map to mark places they love in green, mark places that feel are underappreciated or underrepresented in yellow and mark places that have been lost or are in danger of being lost in red.
The Historic Preservation Plan draft was made through a collaborative effort between city staff, consultants from Stantec, a city-wide public survey and a public open house in September of 2024.
“The plan lays out a long-term strategy to preserve and celebrate San Marcos’ unique cultural and historic resources, while also supporting sustainable growth and community resilience, affirming San Marcos’ commitment to safeguarding its rich cultural heritage,” according to the city website. A welcome message on the draft states that the ultimate goal of historic preservation is not to prevent change but to manage it thoughtfully.
San Marcos has a rich and diverse history with archeological evidence suggesting that San Marcos was one of the oldest continually inhabited sites in North America. Once adopted, the plan will serve as a roadmap, a vital tool for guiding decisions in urban design, economic development, land-use planning, heritage tourism and place-making.
The plan is 143 pages with an 87 page appendix. The plan is broken down into four sections including a chapter reviewing preservation in the U.S. and Texas. Chapter two reviews San Marcos Culture & History while chapter three lays out programs and policy analysis. Chapter four discusses the historic preservation goals.
Once final recommendations are received, city staff will sort through comments and take them to their boards and commissions for any updates.
“Starting around October is when we just start to really push the adoption process,” Brake said. “I’m hoping for a December council meeting ... will start the adoption process.”
Built into the plan is an implementation matrix that will help identify when and what in the plan will be addressed first.
“Part of what we’re really trying to understand from the public is which focus area is most important to them,” Brake said.
July 27 is the final day for public input. For access to the Historic Preservation Plan draft and the public surveys one can find them online at sanmarcostx. gov/4360/San- Marcos-Historic-Preservation-Plan.
