Council hopes parklets will revive downtown

The San Marcos City Council approved an emergency ordinance to issue permits for parklets as a means to reactivate downtown following the COVID-19 shutdowns during Tuesday's meeting.

The licenses would allow businesses to temporarily convert on-street parking spaces adjacent to their shop into outdoor seating. The temporary licenses will have no application fee and will follow an expedited approval process.

Businesses may use the parklets to serve food and alcohol or function as a retail space as long as the operators have read and comply with Gov. Greg Abbott’s COVID-19 requirements for restaurants and retail spaces. 

Spaces will be removed by Aug. 15 to allow for normal parking once Texas State University students return to campus. There can be no more than two parklets per block face and a parklet cannot be larger than two parking spaces. 

After months of consideration, city council unanimously supported an ordinance to prohibit commercial scooter companies from placing motor-assisted scooters on public property, streets and sidewalks. Should the ordinance pass on its final reading, residents would also be prohibited from using them.

As amended, commercial scooter companies would face fines up to $2,000 for violating the ordinance and places fines up to $50 for residents using them. There is also a $50 per day fee for each scooter impounded. 

City Manager Bert Lumbreras assured the council that individuals would not be fined for using a commercial scooter after an illegal commercial scooter drop. 

The ordinance allows for personal ownership and use of motor-assisted scooters. It leaves room for current and future city-approved pilot programs as well. 

The final reading and vote of the ordinance will take place May 19.

Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp updated the council on the city’s COVID-19 response effort saying the city issued 462 warnings to residents who illegally gathered in parks over the weekend. “The weather is much nicer. Activity in parks continues to increase dramatically and puts our staff in the difficult position of having to enforce that and we will do that as long as the parks stay closed. Case counts are what drive the park closures and right now they (case counts)are on the way up,” he said. The city issued 39 citations for gathering in closed parks, according to Stapp. 

In other business, the council passed the ordinance that will allow for payment plans for food establishment permit fees and waive the first quarter’s payment. Payment plans are only available upon request for food establishments that have been impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns.

Council also amended the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Consolidated Plan to include $425,261 new CDBG Coronavirus Funds and added economic development as a funding priority. 

The application period is now open until May 20 for projects and organizations that satisfy the CDBG criteria; the projects and programs must benefit low and moderate income individuals and must address public services, economic development, affordable housing, public facilities/infrastructure/transportation or clearance activities. 

The funds must be used to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus, which can include responding to the economic effects, as well as the health impacts, of the ongoing pandemic.

Examples of acceptable programs may be food assistance programs, emergency rental or mortgage assistance programs, homelessness prevention, loans or grants to support small business efforts, small business retention, job retention efforts or projects funding or constructing facilities for COVID-19 testing or treatment. 

There will be a public comment period from June 7-13 before the June 16 city council meeting that will discuss funding allocations.