Public voices opposition to zoning, annexation for SMART Terminal
Ready to argue their case, numerous opponents of the proposed changes to the SMART development spoke before the San Marcos City Council at its most recent meeting making for standing room only and comments stretching over hours.
The regular Tuesday meeting started with the public comment portion of the agenda, offering time for those expressing concerns about the proposed additional land for annexation and possible zoning change from future development to heavy industrial for the project commonly known as the San Marcos, Air, Rail and Transportation or SMART Terminal but now is the SMART Development Project, under development by Scarborough Lane.
Although the first reading for the annexation was approved by the council by a vote of four to three, following the public comment portion of the meeting, the council agreed to postpone the first reading of suggested zoning changes until July 3. On this date, the council will also take up consideration of agreement terms that will specifically define expectations for the property under discussion.
Some of those speaking Tuesday pointed out that there are environmental issues related to the size of the project and its proximity to the river.
“Now if this development gets approved, if something happens, which it will, that land floods. We all know that,” Lee Prewitt said. “There will be an accident and it will get into the river one day. Those of us that live in San Marcos, we frequent the river [in the area] before I-35. When those spills happen and the toxic waste gets released into the river, we’re not going to really get affected by that. We can still go to the river and swim. We can take our children down there because we’re right in the springs, but all of those toxins are going to go down to Martindale and Victoria and they’re going to end up in the Gulf of Mexico. And that is where the contamination begins.”
Following the public comment, council members had thoughts that in some ways mirrored the public's environmental concerns.
“San Marcos is a very special community. Everybody appreciates the nature that we’ve been blessed with, and I want you to install that as part of your corporate culture,” Council Member Jude Prather said.
Prather said he is interested in continued dialogue with river and environmental groups.
“I really want to see partnerships with those organizations. If you are going to become a member of our community, we want you to become a corporate citizen that contributes to that community,” he said.
Scarborough Lane Development Vice President, Clayton Kendall was at the meeting as well, and he took the opportunity to clarify what changes are anticipated “so everyone has a clear understanding of what stage of development we are in right now and what we are trying to accomplish.”
According to Kendall, the original development plan reflects some changes that address areas of public controversy. Those changes include a 100-foot wide residential buffer for Reedville on the north side of the property stretching for nearly two miles, a 90-percent reduction in the acreage of storage allowance, a 100-percent required increase in a floodplain buffer for anticipated floodplain limits, removal of suspended solids from stormwater will increase from 70 to 75 percent, with outfall slide gates for detention ponds or other proven methods of discharge control for the purpose of protecting the river, Kendall said.
Much of the unease expressed by so many attending the meeting was related to possible future tax increases that will accompany the use of additional city resources that may be needed to sustain the development over time, including the need perhaps for a new fire station.
Assistant City Manager Chase Stapp said that a station here would cost between $7.3 million and $12.3 million for the construction alone, and would incur approximately $2.5 million annually for maintenance and staff, and approximately $1.1 million for vehicles. Council member Shane Scott said his recommendation would be to get the property developer to pay for a fire station “versus putting the burden on us and other taxpayers.'' The city of San Marcos’ planning and development staff had previously recommended approval of annexation and zoning changes.
City Manager Stephanie Reyes said the city does not yet know what businesses would be involved. “There is still room to negotiate with those businesses in the future, so that it is not all on the city’s dime,” Reyes said. Director of Finance Jon Locke said that the value of the property is going to increase year after year, and in turn the amount of taxes that the terminal would have to pay to the city.
“The current property tax that the city generates is about $42 million,” Locke said. “So in year 10 you could have roughly a third of what the city currently generates,” being produced by the SMART development. Many at the meeting said they felt there was a lack of clarity related to this newest proposed SMART development. “It has been very difficult to get information related to this massive project for all of our community because of misinformation,” Noah Brock said.
