Parks plan moves closer to approval

The city’s new parks master plan moved a step closer to approval Tuesday night when the Planning and Zoning Commission gave it a green light — with some modifications.

P&Z approved a measure sending the plan and a summary of commissioners’ concerns and suggestions to the city council for consideration. 

Among the concerns were the status of Cape’s Dam, the need for swimming pools and shade structures, and making sure that residents on the east side of town get access to quality parks and recreational facilities.

The new master plan has been years in the making, said Drew Wells of the city’s community services department.

“We initiated this process in the summer of 2017,” he said. “We went through a considerable amount of community engagement to get feedback concerning the plan.”

Wells said the city held a series of meetings, neighborhood town halls and surveys to gather input on the parks plan, which the city put together with assistance from Halff Associates.

Matt Bucchin from Halff gave a presentation on the parks plan to the commission. He praised the city’s greenspace and riverfront parks, but noted that the plan is “not just about spending money and getting facilities on the ground. It’s about the programming and activation and getting people to those grounds.”

Among the goals laid out in the parks plan are additional parkland acquisition, further development of existing parkland, improvements to athletic facilities, expansion and improvement of the trail system, and diversification of the types of amenities with arts and culture.

Commission chair Jim Garber asked for clarification on several points, including whether the stated poverty rate in San Marcos includes college students or not, and whether Cape’s Dam should be mentioned as an historical landmark. 

Bucchin said the poverty rate included whoever filled out a census form in San Marcos and that the language about Cape’s Dam is meant to suggest neutrality.

“It’s an ongoing issue in the city,” Bucchin said.

Commissioner Maxfield Baker expressed a desire to see better accessibility and better connections to the park system on the east side of town. Commissioner Betseygail Rand had similar concerns about accessibility — particularly to swimming pools.

Pools are needed to teach children to swim, she said, which is especially important when the river is “calm and then deceptively not calm.”

Rand pointed out, “Every upscale neighborhood has its own community pool. It’s a very stratified system as to who has access to learn how to swim and who doesn’t.”

She also noted that on the east side of the city, it appears that many schools are disconnected from the city’s trail system, but that is not the case on the west side.

“The west side looks great and the east side is appalling,” she said.

Rand also suggested sunscreen dispensers at the public parks, noting that in her home town in Florida a nonprofit organization that fights melanoma provides such dispensers in the parks.

Despite her concerns, Rand said, she is “very enthusiastic” about the parks plan. 

San Marcos resident Lisa Marie Coppoletta spoke during the public hearing on the plan and urged the city to be careful about providing access in different parts of town and not surprising property owners with new projects, such as the greenbelt in Victory Gardens. She also said the city’s park in Victory Gardens was done away with.

P&Z moved to approve the parks plan and a summary of all comments from the P&Z meeting. The plan will next move to city council.