San Marcos community members put City Council in the hot seat over Texas Aviations and placement of warehouse at Victory Gardens

Amira Van Leeuwen | Staff Reporter

The San Marcos City Council sat in the hot seat during its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 19, at 6 p.m. Concerned citizens spoke out about the placement of a warehouse at Victory Gardens and violations from Texas Aviation Partners, along with a traffic safety concern at West Hutchinson and Fredericksburg Road. City council did approve agenda items 3-16 in a 7-0 vote, with the exception of Councilmember Maxfield Baker, who voted against passing Agenda Items 4 and 11.

One of the first to speak was Penny Slavic. She provided a list of 343 names of people supporting a four-way stop sign at the intersection of W. Hutchinson and Fredericksburg Road, next door to the First United Methodist Church and Daycare.

Slavic said she has voluntarily assisted parents, children, senior citizens and college students in crossing W. Hutchinson. Slavic said she used a clicker to prove how unsafe it was to cross the intersection by clicking it. During a period of 45-minutes, Slavic said she counted 70-100 pedestrians trying to avoid a collision with an average of about 250-400 drivers as they crossed the road.

“It’s a very dangerous road to cross due to non-effective safety measures, motorist’s speeds and the ever-growing number of motorists and pedestrians,” Slavic said.

Former wife of Shaune Maycock and former CEO of Compliance Aviation, Christie Maycock, spoke about Executive Item 23 regarding legal advice from the city attorney concerning enforcement of provisions in ground leases and facility leases at the San Marcos Regional Airport. 

Maycock said that the list of violations against Texas Aviation Partners included multiple violations of AA policy, federal and state laws regarding governmental fairness.

“One commissioner, former Peace Officer, said Shaune Maycock is a problem that I would handle with a two by four. And I sat in the audience, seven months pregnant, wondering if I should renew my CHL (Concealed Handgun License),” Maycock said. Her voice shook slightly.

“This is not going to go away,” Maycock emphasized. “Please fix the airport commission, the ‘good boys club,’ please.”

“Ms. Maycock, your time is up,” Mayor Jane Hughson said for a second time.

“I just want to say. You guys can do better. You’ve been told. You know they’re [Texas Aviations] a problem. You know they’re making trouble. Please fix it,” Maycock said.

Another San Marcos resident, Lisa Marie Coppoletta, was the last to speak and said that the Maycocks were getting harassed. She said city council needs to step in. 

She also addressed Agenda Item 1 regarding the American Rescue Plan Survey.

“The fact that you guys are taking votes in a work session when you should only be getting a presentation and not doing a tick marker system of what your preferences are,” Coppoletta said.

“Congratulations, you’re not a transparent city council,” Coppoletta ended.

City Council also received a presentation on the community survey to provide direction to the City Manager. The National Community Survey (NCS) report is about the “livability” of San Marcos and what is needed to make it a “desirable place for all.” The benchmark looks at 10 facets of the community, including economy, community design, utilities, safety, education, natural environment, etc.

“This survey will allow us to see how our residents rank the importance of each of these community facets. And with those answers, the goal is that these survey results will provide some insight for you as city council and for us as city staff to make some community decisions,” Director of Communications and Intergovernmental Relations Lauren Surley said.

Councilmember Alyssa Garza said she would like to get more information about the outreach plan for the survey.

“My concern over the summer is the kiddos aren’t in school, and that’s one method that we, I feel like, as a community, rely on a lot, on getting info to parents is putting them in their little folders,” Garza said.

Baker agreed with Garza.

“Having the kids, not just college students but K-12, would be really helpful for outreach. It’d be a great way for us to kind of work with the school district to get more eyes on this,” Baker said.

“I implore the applicants to do some digging regarding the cultural context and the history so they can better understand why our neighbors feel the sense of disillusionment and distrust,” Garza said.

Councilmember Mark Gleason motioned to postpone, which was seconded by Councilmember Shane Scott. Baker also supported the postponement because he thought it would allow the council to negotiate more.

The motion to postpone the NCS passed with a 6-0 vote.

City council also received a staff presentation to consider an appeal by Troy Turner on the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission from March 8, 2022. The appeal was to deny a request for Alternative Compliance to the protective installation requirements of the Development Code for a proposed warehouse development located on 312 Camacho St. for storage or movement of goods for themselves or other firms.

The Planning and Zoning Commission was concerned about the drainage impacts on surrounding single-family homes and increased vehicular activity. City council recommended voting against the Alternative Compliance with a 9-0 vote. The applicant had requested an appeal to postpone the item.

According to the presentation, city staff recommended approval of the request as long as all other minimum installation requirements were specific to the ‘Type C’ Protective yard. The minimum installation requirements included a wall, shade trees, understory trees and shrubs. The presentation also said no access to the site should be provided along Patton Street, and the Alternative Compliance would not expire.

San Marcos resident Leonard Rodriguez Jr. spoke during the Public Hearing and said he and several other Victory Garden residents felt frustration and distrust toward property ownership. Rodriguez Jr. also voiced concerns about the possible increase in traffic.

David Sergi also took to the podium on behalf of the applicant.

“We’re respectfully asking that we have a public hearing and then delay the vote so that we can engage the community positively and constructively. Because at the end of the day, these people want to be part of this community,” Sergi said.

City council unanimously voted to postpone the appeal to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The full video of the San Marcos City Council meeting can be found here. A copy of the April 19 regular meeting agenda can be found here.