City shares update on new neighborhood GIS tool

San Marcos residents will soon have detailed information about their neighborhood at their fingertips.

Tiffany Harris, Community Vitality Coordinator with the city’s Department of Neighborhood Enhancement, conducted a demonstration of the San Marcos Neighborhood Application as part of her Vitality Coordinator Report at Wednesday’s Neighborhood Commission meeting.

The San Marcos Neighborhood Application is a digital GIS tool that allows residents to see the locations of all their neighborhood services.

The application was the result of a collaborative effort between Neighborhood Enhancement and GIS manager Jessica Neuner, and the Environmental Systems Research Institute.

Through the application’s digital interface, residents can type in their address and see information such as who their sewer, water, and electric utility providers are, when their trash pickup date is, and where the nearest bus stops, grocery stores, and schools are located.

In other words, the app provides residents with “everything you need to know about who you need to contact to get yourself set up as a proper resident of the City of San Marcos,” Harris said.

The Neighborhood Commission will provide feedback on the application at its next meeting in January.

Along with the GIS tool update, Harris also briefed the Neighborhood Commission on two upcoming events.

On Saturday, Dec. 3, the City of San Marcos and the San Marcos Public Library are hosting the 6th Annual Resource Fair.

The fair is an opportunity for San Marcos residents to learn about the city resources, such as education services, employment, food, healthcare, housing, the environment, and animal services.

Also, on Nov. 29, the Department of Engineering and Capital Improvements will hold a public meeting to discuss the traffic study done on Craddock Ave Buffered Bike Lane.

Commissioners also discussed reinstating and scheduling neighborhood conversations for 2023.

Each year, the commission holds four meetings in different neighborhood locations across San Marcos to discuss neighborhood issues and introduce residents to city staff and services.

The Neighborhood Commission has tentatively scheduled a neighborhood meeting for Sector 5 in the first quarter of 2023. Sector 5 includes Cottonwood Creek, El Camino Real, Hills of Hays, Mockingbird Hills, Sunset Acres, Trace, and Wallace Addition neighborhoods.

Commissioners listed several reasons for making Sector 5 a top priority, including Cottonwood Creek residents’ concerns over the creation of a Second City Center, traffic issues caused by the Trace development, and drainage and sewer issues in the Sunset Acres neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Commission also proposed holding a meeting in Sector 2 for Q2 2023.

Sector 2 encompasses Castle Forest, La Cima, Oak Heights, Southwest hills, Vista De Los Santos, Westover, and Willow Creek and was primarily selected because of  new, multi-family housing going up in the La Cima development.

Other sectors the commission selected for conversations include Sector 1 (Dunbar, Heritage, Southwest Hills, Westover) for Q3 and Sector 7 (Blanco Vista, Fairlawn, Millview East, Millview West) for Q4.

In other business, the Neighborhood Commission received an update from Commissioner Bobbie Garza Hernandez on the Mexican American and Indigenous Cultural Heritage District meetings and results and a Director Report from  Neighborhood Enhancement Director Greg Carr.

For the full Neighborhood Commission meeting agenda and minutes, visit http://sanmarcostx.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11162022-3225.