SAN MARCOS CITY COUNCIL
The San Marcos City Council received a presentation on the Historic Preservation Plan, which will be voted on at the next council meeting on Feb. 3.
Alison Brake, San Marcos Historic Preservation Officer, compared the Historic Preservation Plan to the Comprehensive Plan in that both are meant to guide future decisions for the city.
“Its role is to establish priorities, strategies and implementation tools, not to approve projects or adopt regulations,” she said. “The plan reflects extensive public engagement, including stakeholder interviews, a bilingual community survey with over 400 responses, multiple public workshops, pop-up events and a formal public review period of the plan.
“Public input was analyzed and then translated into findings, goals and implementation strategies.”
Brake said the city was awarded a $5,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help with the project, but the city must implement the plan by the end of February to receive it.
According to Brake, the executive summary in the plan has incorporated information on the Indigenous history of San Marcos, which was informed by the Indigenous Cultures Institute. In addition to the executive summary, the plan includes five chapters; an implementation matrix to help guide and monitor progress; and an appendix with explanations of abbreviations, acronyms and terms used in the document.
“Each element that is included in this plan plays a critical role in shaping the recommended goals and solutions, and the depth and detail are necessary in order for this plan to be well informed and comprehensive,” Brake said. “The structure, however, is very flexible, and people can engage with it however they see fit for themselves.”
Brake said the goals identified in the plan are organized into five different categories: administration, survey recognition, economic development, signage and wayfinding and engagement and education.
“The focus areas include… tailored solutions or recommendations that respond to the strengths and challenges of San Marcos current preservation program,” Brake said. “Some of the goals will also include snapshots that will highlight partners who could support the successful implementation of specific solutions.”
Brake said preservation efforts have yet to fully reflect the diverse history of San Marcos.
“Many properties that meet that age criteria for historic designation, which is 50 years or older, remain unsurveyed and unevaluated for cultural or historical significance, and there are opportunities for sharing a more comprehensive narrative, like designated cultural districts through the Texas Commission on the Arts,” Brake said. “Recommended solutions include things like developing thematic context statements to better document our history, as well as supporting future designations by partnering with community groups as they pursue those cultural district designations through the TCA.”
After receiving feedback from Preservation Texas and a private citizen with extensive recommendations for the plan, Council directed staff to go through each of the requested additions. This request specified that the staff note if each addition is addressed in the plan - indicating page numbers and if the city has the resources to implement it now or at a later date. Staff was instructed to have this list by the next meeting.
A public hearing and council action for the Historic Preservation Plan will occur at the Feb. 3 council meeting. Read the full plan at sanmarcostx. gov/HPP.
