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Council shuts the door on PSA change

City Council
Tuesday, October 23, 2018

The city’s current twice-a-year limitation on Preferred Scenario Amendment (PSA) requests will remain in place for now. 

The San Marcos City Council voted 4-3 against an amendment to the land development code that would allow developers to submit requests for changes to the city’s Preferred Scenario Map year-round. Currently there are two periods for submitting PSAs: one in the spring and one in the summer. 

Shannon Mattingly, director of planning and development services, said that with Code SMTX, developers can go to neighborhood districts that allow a little more density without going through the PSA process. Moreover, PSAs are not required for employment centers — only for existing neighborhoods and for medium- to high-intensity projects. Mattingly reminded the city council that when the Planning and Zoning Commission heard a presentation on the proposed amendment, the commission voted 8-0 not to approve it. 

During the public hearing on the proposed amendment, project manager and real estate agent Caren Murch spoke in favor of opening up PSA requests all year, arguing that applicants should be allowed to apply for a PSA and have it heard in a timely manner.

“Preferred scenario amendments should be allowed when an applicant needs to apply for one — not twice a year, not four times a year, not every other month, but when they need it,” she said. “In the development business, time is money.”

Murch said the need to have PSA requests heard in a timely fashion applies to projects of any size. She noted that the PSA schedule can affect land sales, which have to be timed just right to go along with the current twice-a-year schedule. 

Council member Jane Hughson read a statement explaining her motivations for proposing the removal of the twice-a-year limitation. 

When she proposed the year-round PSA applications, Hughson said, “I was concerned there was a project we would welcome but would miss out due to the deadline. That was it. No ulterior motives, certainly not trying to encourage bad development. However, the public and P&Z have spoken.”

Council member Melissa Derrick said that she had concerns about opening up PSAs to year-round, especially since the city has not completed neighborhood character studies or small area plans done yet. She proposed an amendment allowing PSAs to be accepted four times a year until the studies have been done. However, because of the way the public hearing was posted on the agenda, City Attorney Michael Cosentino said, the council would not be able to take action on that amendment.

Derrick further noted that the Preferred Scenario Map shows what the city wants to see, and when someone makes changes to that map, “We’re not planning our city; we’re letting them plan it for us.”

Council member Scott Gregson noted that with the new Land Development Code, there are plenty of protections in place that could allow a more fluid process for PSA requests.

“I think we’ve got a really great land development code,” he said. “I think we’ve got a really good balance of process. … I just think there’s an opportunity here to even the flow out for staff, to make sure that everyone’s notified, and still … to provide some logic to our development process.”

Mattingly noted that there is only one PSA request pending — the Lindsey Hill project — and that the city had only received four PSA requests in the past two years. 

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666