City council approves HPC revisions

The San Marcos City Council approved changes to the Historical Preservation Commission during Tuesday’s meeting. 

The council voted in favor of Ordinance 2020-07, on first reading, which amends the city code to address the composition of the Historic Preservation Commission, including procedural provisions and providing for the repeal of any conflicting provisions during Tuesday’s regular meeting. 

The city code changes now state “members shall be residents of the city, or shall be employed in the city, and shall demonstrate an interest in the history of the City of San Marcos; Three members shall be property owners or residents from one of the Historic Districts designated in the Development Code; The city council shall endeavor to maintain a downtown representative and rotate appointments evenly among the districts; and the city council shall endeavor to maintain a downtown representative and rotate appointments evenly among the districts.”

Previously, the code only required that two HPC members be residents or employed in the city. Only two members were required to be citizens of the city with a demonstrated interest in the history of the City of San Marcos. 

The revisions eliminated the provisions stating: “One member shall be a property owner, business owner, or resident of the downtown Historic District. If possible, at least two members shall be from the disciplines of architecture, history, archaeology, or other disciplines related to historic preservation.”

A second reading of the ordinance will return to council during March 3’s meeting.