New H-E-B sparks disagreements in San Marcos

By, Bri Watkins

The proposal of a third H-E-B has caused concerns for residents throughout San Marcos. A petition has received over one thousand signatures in opposition to this development.

Ben Scott, H-E-B director of real estate, presented information to the public Thursday on the H-E-B proposal to help alleviate some of the residents’ concerns and provide an understanding of what work has been conducted. He spoke on the environmental issues, traffic congestion and incorporated solutions to make this development a “fresh forward neighborhood store.”

“We are absolutely trying to open up and be as transparent as possible,” Scott said. “We’ve handed over all of the reports to anyone that wants them, any expertise that we can find, we are ready to listen.”

Lauren Mikiten, San Marcos resident, signed the petition to stop this project. She said one of her biggest concerns is the breaking of an agreement the city made in 2010 with the Texas Department of Transportation over the Wonder World Dr. bridge project.

“My understanding is that part of that agreement is that people in the community were apprehensive about that bridge for some of the same reasons,” Mikiten said.

In order to relieve some of the problems the citizens had, the city made an agreement with TxDot to allow no curb cuts on Wonder World Dr., between Hunter Road and Craddock Ave.

“So if H-E-B or anyone were to build something at this location that only needed access for Hunter, that would be fine,” Mikiten said. “The environmental concerns would be there, but it wouldn’t be breaking the city agreement that they made in 2010. You can argue back and forth, but ultimately there was a promise the city made that it seems like its going to break, and that concerns me.”

Although there are concerns throughout the community about this project, there are others who are in support of an H-E-B store at this site.

Katie Orr, a public administration graduate, is an advocate for the new H-E-B. She referred to herself as a liberal environmentalist. Initially, she did have a concern with this project, but after looking at the facts, she is now in support of the proposal.

“I think their development standards have gone above and beyond, and every single city should be modeling after this,” Orr said.

Orr believes people who are against this opposition are being misled by false information.

“You are entitled to have your own opinion, but you are not entitled to have your own facts, and I think that there’s a lot of misinformation floating around in the city right now,” Orr said. “I think H-E-B deserves a little bit better respect and support from us.”

With a mixture of concerns and approval from citizens, Scott affirmed that developers will aim to make this a great location for all.

“We will go above and beyond what any developer I believe would do on this site,” Scott said. “You have our name, our brand, 61 years of history that will tell you we will be here and do the right thing.”

The first reading for the H-E-B proposal was approved by City Council with a 5-2 vote on Aug. 2. The council voted again on the second reading Tuesday, Sept. 20.

This article was originally published in the University Star.