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Lindsey Hill developers lay out plans, once again

Sunday, September 16, 2018

The developers behind the proposed Lindsey Hill project presented their plans to a joint meeting of the San Marcos City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission last week, with dozens of local residents in the audience.

David Lerman and Mark Berins from Guadalupe RE spoke to council and P&Z about their plans for the property at the corner of Hutchison Street and Ranch Road 12, where the old Lamar campus currently stands. Lerman spoke about the many anticipated uses of the property, which will include condos for purchase, apartments for rent, retail and restaurant space, parking, a public space called Poet’s Corner and a park area. Lerman called Lindsey Hill a project “that will add to your community, that will help people understand why the community is so special”

Lerman addressed the opposition to the project, which he said has amounted to 15-20 people that he and Berins have tried reaching out to.

“We’ve tried to earn your trust,” he said, noting that the debates over the project have shown that “everyone involved in this conversation cares very deeply.”

Members of the city council and P&Z asked questions about the project, addressing concerns about issues like appearance, cost, stormwater drainage, and age and credit restrictions.

Mayor John Thomaides said that he had received an email from a former mayor of San Marcos with questions and suggestions about what he called “architectural integrity.”

“It’s important to this community for us to understand that what you show us is what you build,” he explained to Lerman and Berins.

Lerman assured the audience that he and Berins are “traditionalists open to a modern expression” and that the final product will look if not exactly like the renderings presented so far, very close to them. He noted that their Planned Development District (PDD) book, which essentially serves as a contract with the city, includes standards for materials and design.

“This is not a flim-flam thing,” Lerman said.

Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Prewitt asked Lerman about one group of San Marcos residents that he listed as a group of interest to Lindsey Hill: seniors who want to age in place. She asked if Lerman and Berins would be willing to consider putting a 55-and-over age restriction on a percentage of residences. Lerman said they had not considered it and have understood that there is already plenty of demand among older locals already. Prewitt then asked if they would consider renting or selling a percentage of the residences at a price point that would fall within the “workforce housing” range of about $80,000 to about $140,000. Berins said that currently that would not be economically feasible, but if they were able to increase residential density, lower prices could be an option.

P&Z Commissioner Mike Dillon asked how much the condos are expected to sell for and what rent will be on the apartments; the developers said the condos would be $300,000, and rent on the apartments would range from about $1,300 to $1,400 per month.

Thomaides also asked about stormwater management, a concern that members of the community have brought up several times during public discussions of the development.

“This is going to be a substantial improvement in conditions,” Berins said. “When the school was built in 1951, I don’t know what standards there were but I’d venture to say there were none.”

Berins said that although there will be a little more impervious cover with Lindsey Hill than is on the site now, the development will include rainwater collection systems, rain gardens and bioretention measures to slow the flow of water that now just dumps into the street. Now, Berins said, there is no filtration or ways of slowing down the water.

“There’s some real opportunities to deal with rainwater in a thoughtful, modern way,” he said.

The Lindsey Hill preferred scenario amendment request is scheduled to go before P&Z this fall and then to city council after that.

The developers are requesting a zoning change from Area of Stability-Existing Neighborhood to Growth Area-High Intensity. The applicant also is requesting a zoning change from Public and Institutional to Planned Development District (PDD) with Mixed Use base zoning. The issue is slated to go before P&Z this fall and then to city council.

San Marcos Record

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