In Our Opinion: How Can We See The Forest, Through The Trees?

By Melissa Jewett

Over the past several years we have seen our City bombarded with new multifamily developments proposed by large nationally recognized firms seeking approval for the development of 1000’s of new units of housing, presumably for students.

The Buie Tract, The Vistas, The Retreat, Hillside Ranch, Aspen Heights, Sessom Drive, Capes Camp…just to name a few. In the midst of all this, our City Council has sought to “bolster the middle class” of San Marcos. 

But with very few single family developments proposed, it is difficult to bolster a class of citizens that aren’t looking for large scale multifamily developments to raise their children in. Then along comes an opportunity…

La Cima is a 1,400 acre development located on the west side of the City adjacent to the San Marcos Academy.

The developers recently presented their proposed project to the City Council for approval of a Development Agreement that would provide for, in summary, the following:

• Construction of a maximum of 2,400 units
• Connection to City water and wastewater utilities
• Annexation of the property as it is developed
• Preservation of 460 acres of open space
• A variety of lot sizes allows for a variety of housing types
• Water quality standards that exceed TCEQ requirements

There seems to be a lot of information out there about this project and it seems difficult at times to weed through what the issues are and whether this is a development that will be good for the City. 

Let’s begin with location

It’s one of the oldest sayings in real estate…location, location, location.

This project is located entirely over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone and contains habitat that is known to be potential habitat for golden-cheek warblers and the black-cap vireo. After all, this property was a finalist as a mitigation property in the Hays County Regional Habitat Conservation Plan. 

However, the County didn’t select this property and therefore, did not purchase it.  So that means the owner has all the rights of any other property owner over the recharge zone. Nevertheless, the owner is still establishing an area for conservation /open space preservation that will set aside and preserve some of the most prime habitat on the property.

The TCEQ, EPA, and other State and Federal regulatory agencies have established the minimum standards required to develop on property with habitat, sensitive features, or over the recharge zone. These standards have been developed by professional engineers, environmentalists, and other professionals who have years of experience in their field and are respected by their colleagues and peers. 

The La Cima project proposes to exceed the TCEQ standards for water quality and will abide by all other required development standards.

Density also appears to be a concern that comes up.

The idea that this property will be developed as one big multifamily student housing project or another Sagewood or Retreat has been presented. Density is a function of the number of dwelling units per acre. Acreage can be established as gross (total) acreage or net (less open space/preserved areas). 

So, basic mathematics will tell us that 1,750/1,400 is 1.25 units per gross acre and 1,750/940 is 1.86 units per net acre. These numbers in no way reach densities close to multifamily densities. Furthermore, these densities are well below the maximum 3.0 units per gross acre permitted by the Very Low Density Residential land use category in the Comprehensive Master Plan.

But the development agreement for La Cima allows for clustering of units, or conservation development, some might argue. The idea behind this type of development is to provide clusters of smaller lot sizes in less desirable areas to preserve more sensitive or desirable areas. 

Think of it in terms of 100 units on 100 acres.

Is it better to distribute 100 units evenly across 100 acres, allowing all areas of all lots to be under private ownership by separate individual property owners or is it better to cluster the 100 homes on 20 acres at a density of 5 units per acre and preserve the remaining portion of the property as public or private undevelopable open space? 

This is a very subjective question that does not have any correct answer. However, studies have shown that cluster or conservation development can increase water quality and have positive effects against the development on a property.

Developments of this kind offer a variety of lot sizes and housing products in a desirable area. Multifamily is not permitted under the development agreement and all dwellings will have to abide by the single-family occupancy restrictions of the Land Development Code (LDC). 

If a true goal of our Council is to bolster the middle class, then we should provide a variety of single-family housing options as proposed by this development. San Marcos has an abundance of housing products that are affordable for first time home buyers or as investment properties.

There are also numerous subdivisions in and around San Marcos that can provide executive level housing for upper management and high-income jobs. However, where do we have move-up, second home-buyer housing for the middle class?

These types of individuals expect certain levels of amenities, views, lot sizes, and housing types that can only be provided in a location like La Cima.

There also seems to be some confusion about where this project is located and the impact it will have on other single-family neighborhoods. 

This property is located behind the San Marcos Academy and will be sharing an entrance with the Academy. The closest single-family subdivision is the Settlement and Fox Ridge neighborhoods to the west that are directly adjacent to approximately 1/3 of the property. 

This neighborhood is a large, multiple acreage lot neighborhood that sits at a higher elevation than the La Cima property and is heavily vegetated with extensive tree cover. The next closest single-family neighborhoods would be the houses that are on Summit Ridge Drive in Willow Creek and those along with Arroyo Doble off of McCarty Lane which are over a mile away. 

Arroyo Doble is between La Cima and Summit Ridge Drive. The houses at the end of Summit Ridge Drive back up to the City-owned Purgatory Creek green space and lie at an elevation that is significantly lower than the La Cima property. 

The highest points on La Cima sit at an elevation that is up to 200 feet higher than the intersection of Summit Ridge Drive and Willow Arbor. Visibility between Summit Ridge Drive and La Cima will be significantly impeded by the topography as well as the existing tree cover between Summit Ridge Drive and La Cima. 

Consider this: is the San Marcos Academy visible from the houses in Willow Creek, specifically along Summit Ridge Drive? If the Academy is not visible or is minimally visible, the houses that will be constructed will not be as large as the Academy’s buildings and will be less visible or not visible at all.

Deciphering fact from fiction or truth from misinformation can often be a difficult and vexing task.  It is much easier to accept information provided by a friend or read in an online blog. 

However, doing so does a great injustice to a freedom and right that we are all blessed to have:  freedom of individual thought. 

We are blessed to live in a country where we have unlimited access to resources that allow us to research and investigate the issues that affect us and formulate our own individual opinions. 

I encourage everyone to take advantage of every opportunity available to learn about this great project, see the forest through the trees and develop your own opinion about this development.