Council approves Blanco Shoals infrastructure extension request
The San Marcos City Council recently approved a developer's request for the installation of wastewater infrastructure across the Blanco Shoals Natural Area, a dedicated parkland.
City officials said the extension is necessary in order to connect to existing wastewater infrastructure that serves the Whisper South Development, in the vicinity of 1201 East River Ridge Parkway.
During the regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, following a public hearing and discussion, the extension was approved by a vote of five to one, with Council Member Alyssa Garza casting a dissenting vote. Council Member Jude Prather was not in attendance at the meeting.
San Marcos Engineering Assistant Director Richard Reynosa presented the council with details regarding the extension. Reynosa said the park is served by an existing wastewater main and proposed changes would be extend that line.
Reynosa said the Whisper South Development is next to the parkland area and north of the Blanco River between I-35 and Harris Hill Road. He said the development will consist of both industrial and multi-family uses.
According to city documents, this installation is in accordance with the approved Development Agreement and Public Improvement District creation for providing wastewater service to the Whisper South Development.
“The construction of this extension has been environmentally cleared,” Reynosa said. “They will bore a portion of this area to avoid any other impacts.”
According to the National Trench Safety website, with every construction project involving soil, a geotechnical investigation is required. This most often consists of borehole drilling to obtain information on soil properties which are used to determine the projected longevity of the project.
Reynosa said the improvements will be buried and there will be no development on the land, but the construction will require the removal of some trees. He said the development agreement did not require any remediation due to the tree removal.
Council Member and Mayor Pro-Tem Mark Gleason said he wanted to see if there were any avenues in the development agreement that could have the developer pay for new trees to replace the ones being removed.
“I do not believe the development agreement spoke on that specifically,” Reynosa said. “There are regulations that they have to provide for but not specific to any of these trees.”
Council Member Shane Scott said he wanted clarification of whether or not the line would run under the rock beneath the river. Reynosa said that it would.
The Whisper South concept plan includes industrial and multi-family areas between I-35 and Harris Hill Road and residential and multi-family areas east of Harris Hill Road.
City documents state that the Blanco Shoals Natural Area 'consists of 89 acres west of the Blanco River and east of I-35.'
The property was land that was donated in 2002 by the Holt family in exchange for changes in the zoning of the remaining portion of the land to permit multi-family and commercial use.
City documents further state that Blanco Shoals is 'completely undeveloped riparian with no defined trails. It contains high bluffs and shoals along the river,' and is considered to be an outstanding example of the flood mitigation benefits of local natural areas.
The area is significant in that pecan, cottonwood, sycamores and anancuas trees form a large part of the natural habitat.
According to city information, during the summer, two species, ragweed and Johnson grass can overtake the property.
The flat land here is advantageous for seeing large numbers of local animals and birds, including hawks, woodpeckers and bluebirds.
