Council moves along with zoning process

During Tuesday's San Marcos City Council meeting, the council passed the motion to approve the annexation and zoning of a development for a new apartment complex. 

The council also passed an amendment to postpone the second reading until a development agreement can be proposed that will address council concerns.

The city council received presentations that were led by San Marcos Director of Planning and Development Services, Shannon Mattingly regarding the development located at W. Centerpoint and Academy Oaks. 

After the public hearing, staff voted to pass the annexation of the project 7-0.  

Eric Willis, project manager with La Cima, spoke during the public hearing about the approval he has received with residents living in close proximity to where the project would take place. 

“These are some of the residents that had opposed what was being presented before until I told them about the variances and I’ve met with those people in person, supplied them with a hard copy of the site plan that I’ve provided to [Councilmember Mark] Gleason, that's been submitted to city,” Willis said. “Those residents with a few of their neighbors co-signed a letter in support that came into the city for this multi-family site.” 

Staff further discussed the zoning request and concerns regarding the project. 

“I certainly am not going to vote on something that y'all have not reviewed yet,” said Mayor Jane Hughson. “This is zoning and the site plan takes, can take quite some time because that’s a pretty, you know, extensive and I am not in any way wanting to rush staff on this either.” 

Taylor Fields, a project partner with Willis, also spoke about the site plan. 

“This is a renter by choice community, not a renter by need. This is going to be a higher-end place where it would be a compliment  to La Cima and help with the quality of the development,” Fields said. “There aren’t going to be any changes to the site plan, I will tell you that, except whatever we have to tweak with engineering.”

The council also went on to pass the motion regarding a request for a certificate of appropriateness to eliminate the limitation of allowing only one demolition by neglect case to be considered per quarter. 

The item also requires notice by certified mail to the owner of a property being cited for demolition by neglect. This includes procedural provisions and providing for the repeal of any conflicting provisions. 

In regards to the San Marcos Legacy Business Program, the council provided feedback and asked questions they had concerning the program. 

Councilmember Maxfield Baker suggested that the years required for a business to qualify for the program be lowered from 20 to 15 and create goals for the program. 

“Instead of just creating a program and crossing our fingers that people apply and see our outreach, I think we need to set a target,” Baker said. 

To watch the meeting or view the full agenda, visit san-marcos-tx.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=9