San Marcos Planning & Zoning Denies Zoning Change For West Hopkins Properties, CUP For Bank

Staff Reports

The zoning for two properties located on West Hopkins Street will remain the same after the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission voted to deny the rezoning requests.

During the public comments and public hearing, several neighbors spoke against the rezoning request for 510 and 524 West Hopkins Street.

Former City of San Marcos Planner, Matt Lewis, filed the request on behalf of property owner, Virgilio Altamirano, owner of Austin-based Apante Investments, to have the zoning of two single-family lots changed from Single-Family 6 to Neighborhood Density 3.5.

The zoning change would have allowed Altamirano to remodel the two existing single-family homes to create separate units for rent.

Altamirano proposed remodeling 510 West Hopkins Street to create three units and remodeling the duplex at 524 West Hopkins Street to create three units in the existing main structure and maintain the existing accessory dwelling unit at the rear of the building.

Staff stated they had received seven letters of support and four letters of opposition as well as one verbal statement of opposition regarding the zoning request.  

“I’m just asking for zoning that is more compatible with the usage of the whole block,” Altamirano said, “Which is the most reasonable use and provides affordable housing to the community. Even the opposing side agreed that SF Zoning is not the right zoning for this type of facility.”

Neighbors expressed concerns about the rezoning creating a domino effect throughout the rest of the neighborhood and about a few properties located within 200 feet of the property representing the entire neighborhood.

Commissioner Gabrielle Moore said she didn’t feel the zoning request was inappropriate for the area; she noted that there was a shortage of rental properties and affordable housing in San Marcos.

According to Altamirano, both properties are currently being rented by the bedroom and have been since before he purchased the property in 2010; the property at 510 West Hopkins has four tenants.

Staff said there was a violation at the end of 2017 regarding code compliance with occupancy restrictions, which continued into 2018 but was ultimately resolved.

Commissioners voted 5-1 to deny both the requests with Commissioner Jim Garber absent and Moore voting against denial.

“A zoning change is the most serious thing we do,” Commissioner Travis Kelsey said. “There’s not a year limit like a CUP. This is how it’s going to be, and that’s why I take it very seriously when it comes to single family to any of the Neighborhood districts.”

In other news, Commissioners approved the CUPs for Olive Garden, 54^th Street, Blaze Pizza and Toro Ramen & Poke Barn.

However, Commissioner voted 6-0 with Gaber absent to deny the CUP request for Greater Texas Federal Credit Union.

The Credit Union was proposing a branch location at the corner of Guadalupe and Hutchinson Street with a drive-thru to provide banking services to the community.

The proposed project would have included architectural upgrades to the current building and the removal of the onsite parking.

According to staff, the property has been vacant for some time, and thus, they did not have any data on how dangerous the parking situation was. However, staff noted the parking required vehicles to back out onto the street to leave the property.

However, commissioners expressed concerns about safety with the proposed bicycle lanes the city intends to install on Guadalupe St.

The City of San Marcos’s intends to create a two-way “bicycle facility”; to access the bank’s drive-thru, drivers would have had to potentially cross through the bicycle lanes, which could pose a safety threat to pedestrians and cyclists.

With the denial, representatives of the bank said they would have to step away from the property and look at other options.

Greater Texas Federal Credit Union currently has one branch in San Marcos.