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City presents draft North Of Campus neighborhood area plan; adoption timeline set
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Summary
Planner Craig Garrison presented the draft North Of Campus neighborhood area plan, summarizing extensive community outreach, proposed recommendations on streetscapes, safety and infill, and a timeline that moves the plan from Planning & Zoning (Apr.14) to council public hearing (Apr.21) and adoption (May 5).
San Marcos staff presented the draft North Of Campus neighborhood area plan on March 31, highlighting a multi-year community-engagement process and a set of recommendations intended to guide development and preserve neighborhood character.
Craig Garrison, planner with Planning & Development Services, said the plan launched in September 2023 and summarized outreach metrics: five steering-committee meetings, a walking tour, three community workshops with more than 98 attendees and "200 plus comments" that shaped the draft. "We started development of the plan and officially kicked off the plan in September 2023 and have steadily worked towards to where we are today, the adoption process," Garrison said.
The plan addresses seven topic areas—getting around, history/art/culture, public spaces and amenities, streetscapes, business community, existing housing stock, and building form and development—and includes community-suggested actions such as incremental traffic calming, pedestrian-crossing evaluations (notably at North LBJ Drive and Chestnut Street), and case studies (including Dubuque, Iowa's green-alley program) to inform alley retrofits that also manage stormwater.
Garrison said implementation will rely on cross-department coordination (public works, parks, engineering), potential code updates, and identification of funding tools. Staff emphasized that adoption of the area plan does not immediately change zoning; development changes occur through subsequent code amendments and project-specific reviews. The planning and zoning commission will review the draft on April 14, and staff anticipates a city-council public hearing on April 21 with adoption targeted for May 5.
Council members thanked staff for community engagement and asked for direct links to the online project story map; staff agreed to provide accessible links and to distribute plan documents to council.
