San Marcos City Council To Hold Discussion, Consider Approval Of My Historic SMTX

By, Terra Rivers, Managing Editor

The San Marcos City Council will receive a presentation, hold a discussion and consider approval of My Historic SMTX, the City’s Historic Resources Survey during their Work Session Tuesday.

On August 7, 2018, the City of San Marcos approved a contract with Hicks & Company, Inc, to complete a historic resources survey for an estimated amount of $39,500.00.

The survey was officially kicked off in November, according to the agenda, and based upon the size of the survey area and the number of historic-age resources present, was divided into two phases.

The survey included a review of 2,080 properties in the field and included all seven of the existing historic districts.

According to the agenda, The historic resources survey does not provide historic designations for any property, it does not require access to the interior of any property, nor does it impose any restrictions or obligations on property owners; the survey will serve as a guiding document to help facilitate planning efforts and initiatives to protect the historic, cultural, and architectural legacy of the City for generations.

The following recommendations are contained within the survey:

• 208 properties identified with a High preservation priority (they can be individually designated as a landmark and are considered contributing to a district)
• 473 properties identified with a Medium preservation priority (they cannot be individually designated as a landmark but are considered contributing to a district)
• Potential expansion of existing districts
• Potential new districts
• Landmarking Initiatives
• Alternative Designation Options
• Policy Recommendation

While there is no requirement in the San Marcos Development Code or San Marcos City Code for the City Council to formally adopt the recent historic resources survey, this project is important enough to warrant a formal resolution adopting the survey; the last historic resources survey was conducted over 20 years ago in 1997.

In their July 11 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission unanimously approved and adopted My Historic SMTX. The survey was presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 23.

The San Marcos City Council holds their Work Session at 3:00 PM at City Hall.