San Marcos City Council Passes Resolution For Support Of Emerald Crown Trail

Staff Reports

The San Marcos City Council voted 7-0 to pass a resolution for support of the Emerald Crown Regional Trail Proposal on Tuesday.

The Emerald Crown Trail is a proposed regional trail system that aims to connect Hays County cities and ultimately cities to the North and South.

The project was developed through a collaborative effort between members of the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, Hays County, the City of San Marcos, the City of Kyle, the City of Buda, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Trust, the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, the Hill Country Conservancy, Take-a-hike San Marcos and the Texas State University Geography Department with the assistance of the National Parks Services.

Sherwood Bishop, Board President of the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance, provided the council with a presentation on the project.

Bishop said the goal is to connect San Marcos with other Hays County cities in the short-term and downtown Austin and down through New Braunfels in the long-term.

“It is a voluntary partnership of people from the different cities working to coordinate the development of this trail and mutually support each other,” Bishop said. “The project was initiated in July 2017 by the Greenbelt Alliance.”

According to the resolution, the Work Group, comprised of representatives from the organizations and cities involved, adopted ground rules including a commitment that any easements needed for the trail would be acquired through discussions with landowners and not through the use of eminent domain.

The resolution further states that the San Marcos City Council expresses its commitment not to use the City’s eminent domain authority to acquire any easements needed for the trail.

According to Director of Parks & Recreation, Drew Wells, the presentation on the Emerald Crown Trail was made to the San Marcos Parks board on August 15, and the board unanimously voted to support and recommend the project.

The Emerald Crown Regional Trail Proposal work group will continue to build support with county and city partners through resolutions of support and with the community.