Residents give feedback on development
Officials get input for rewrite of land development code.
Members of the San Marcos City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission encouraged residents and organizations to present ideas, comments and concerns about the future of the city’s development at a joint meeting last week.
Jason King, project director of Code SMTX, a rewrite of the city’s land development code, said the purpose is to establish a framework that pinpoints locations where residents do or don’t want development as well as the regions in need of environmental preservation.
King said San Marcos is putting itself ahead of competing municipalities by updating the land development code now.
He said Code SMTX was better able to determine what citizens would like to see in the city’s development code after conducting think tank meetings comprised of environmentalists, developers, neighborhood advocates and San Marcos residents.
“We’ve talked to over 2,000 individual people and that input has affected the plan,” King said. “The more hands on the plan the better.”
Abigail Gillfillan, manager of Code SMTX, said conversations with think tank contributors will continue throughout the drafting process.
“In order to make a vision a reality in a community, it takes investment in those places,” Gillfillan said. “It takes the whole community understanding that vision.”
She said there is currently a “onesize-fits-all” approach under the current development code, which has led to growth in some areas citizens would prefer not to be altered.
“We want our code to be what we want to see in the community,” Gillfillan said.
According to Code SMTX documents, areas marked as existing neighborhoods will not undergo rezoning. Existing neighborhoods are defined as areas that maintain original characteristics and follow development patterns desired by residents, according to the documents.
Betsy Robertson, an at-large think tank participant, said the meeting provided a “great overview” to a complex issue.
Frank Arredondo, a Place 5 City Council candidate, said he is unsure of how the city will be able to balance the values of local neighborhoods while implementing a new city code.
“What I see are lofty aspirations and an interest in uniformity,” Arredondo said.
Dianne Wassenich, program director of the San Marcos River Foundation, said she attends all of Code SMTX’s informational meetings.
Wassenich said she recognizes the importance of the new code because she feels San Marcos currently has “major problems” due to using land “inappropriately.”