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Downtown San MarcosPosted November 29, 2007, 10 p.m.
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Hays Highway Editor
SAN MARCOS – A question that often arises in discussions about San Marcos made another appearance Wednesday night as citizens gathered to preview a master plan for downtown.
Broaddus & Associates, the firm hired to develop the plan, ran through the details before a crowd of about six dozen people at the San Marcos Activities Center. Broaddus representatives discussed ideas ranging from building standards to parking management, streetscaping, funding possibilities, pedestrian amenities and inter-connected detention ponds for handling stormwater.
At the end, though, San Marcos businessman John Hohn raised the question.
"Where's the big idea?" Hohn asked. "I see a lot of nice ideas, but I don't see a big idea."
Thus was begun a discussion about the big idea, meandering from sense of place to community cooperation, flood control, water quality and the San Marcos River. Residents and planners didn't go to war over it, but they were thematically different in their ideas about the big idea.
Said Townscape, Inc. designer Dennis Wilson, who is working on the streetscaping elements for Broaddus, "It's a natural reaction to say, 'Where's the meat?' It's an extremely complex thing to revitalize and invigorate a downtown area. What we've done is put together a lot of small ideas that will take San Marcos where it needs to go."
Said San Marcos resident Terry McCabe, pointing towards the theme voiced by residents, "The big idea is the river."
Broaddus will use the feedback as it prepares a final report on the downtown comprehensive plan to be presented in January. Planners said they will take into greater account the concerns about flooding after San Marcos residents insisted they can't possibly understand from consulting flood plain maps how quickly the city fills with flood water.
In particular, a suggestion from Broaddus for building up C.M. Allen Parkway raised citizen concern. Broaddus representatives proposed that building heights of up to 80 feet be allowed on the west side of the parkway running through downtown. Along with its suggestions for landscaping the parkway and arranging traffic lanes, planners said, the new building height would create an ideal setting for apartments overlooking the San Marcos River while beautifying the drive.
Planners said the building height would not disproportionately raise the city skyline, citing a 45-foot land drop from the courthouse to C.M. Allen. Given the planners' recommendation of a 45-foot height for buildings on the downtown square, the tops would come out about even.
Nor, said planners, would their ideas add impervious cover to downtown San Marcos, since the area already is 90-95 percent impervious cover. However, citizens remained concerned about filling in the area with construction.
"You're going to increase the flood impact in the middle of the city by building up the lower areas," San Marcos resident Diane Wassenich said.
Residents also expressed a conjoined concern about plans to route stormwater through a series of inter-connected ponds on its way to the river. Broaddus senior planner Chris Rice said the water should be clean by the time it reaches the river, but some residents suggested more filtration.
"In our river, you can go in and swim," San Marcos resident Camille Phillips said, "If you fell into the San Antonio River, you would have to get your stomach pumped."
Before the last citizens left the meeting, Rice already was roughing up ideas to further address stormwater and flood control, including ten-foot foundation walls at the bottoms of the conjectured apartment buildings along C.M. Allen.
Broaddus representatives re-iterated the importance of developing a master plan for downtown. Such a plan gives the city a basis for enforcing development standards in the middle of the city.
"As far as the big idea, we already are the big idea," said Broaddus planner Judy Blundell, speaking about the citizens. "The thing that worries me the most about San Marcos is, can we work together enough to control our future without being swallowed up? Gimmicks, they don't work and they won't work. The basics are here."
Added Wilson, "People will be attracted by Austin-like living in a much nicer setting. This is a community that is unparalleled in the state, as far as I can tell, for opportunity."
Despite concerns about possible flooding, much driven by memory of the 1998 disaster, citizens expressed no disagreement with the basics of the plan, which essentially calls for more density and pedestrian orientation in the downtown area.
"This is a good step forward," said Kelly Franks, who manages the city's Main Street program. "We've been trying to get a downtown master plan for ten years."
Among the other ideas put forth by Broaddus:
- Create gateways into the city at its interstate entrances, based on landscaping, artworks, statues and monuments. Broaddus planners, who also are working on a plan for Texas State, said they also favor a large archway where Guadalupe Street ends at the university to serve as a terminal vista along that drive.
"Cities are based on imageability," Rice said. "As you drive through the streets, what are the images that you remember?"
- Trees near the street edges of sidewalks, combined with awnings over sidewalk retail fronts, would cool down the environment and create an "outdoor room" feel that pleases visitors and encourages patronage. Two-way traffic on LBJ and Guadalupe Streets, combined with a 25 miles per hour speed limit, would create a more pedestrian friendly district.
- Meter downtown parking to give those spaces value and encourage turnover. Provide free street parking, if any, on the peripheral streets. Bear in mind that every surface parking lot is a potential future development site. Outsource parking management so the local police don't burn their time writing parking tickets.
- Fund the improvements with a combination of tax increment financing, special assessment districts and impact fees to share the burden and allow for flexible use of the money. The city could build a downtown project that would demonstrate the design principles. Incentivize business location downtown. The firm said Buda, Kyle, Seguin and New Braunfels all offer more competitive incentives than San Marcos.
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