San Marcos staff outlines 20-year downtown area plan implementation strategy

San Marcos City planning staff on March 18 presented an implementation strategy for the downtown area plan the city adopted in fall 2023, outlining projects, funding needs and next steps to carry out 75 recommendations across seven topic areas over a 20-year horizon.

Andrea Villalobos, assistant director of planning, presented the report to the City Council and said the plan "was adopted in fall of 2023 following community input and includes 75 recommendations across 7 different topics." Villalobos told council the implementation strategy groups recommendations by topic and by the departments responsible so the city can track progress and resource needs.

The presentation covered seven topic areas: housing; building form and infill development; multimodal connectivity and parking; streetscapes; public spaces and amenities; small business support; and history, art and culture. Staff described recent successes and projects in progress and flagged large capital projects that will be needed to meet the plan’s recommendations.

On housing, Villalobos noted the city has acquired land for a new downtown fire station on MLK Drive and identified transit and preservation plans and a development-code update as items that will support future housing. She said no new market-rate multifamily housing was constructed downtown in 2024, but council previously approved a purpose-built student housing project at Lindsay and North Street and additional…