On May 27 the nearly 1,400-acre Lazy Oaks development in San Marcos moved one step closer to growing by nearly 635 acres and 650 living units.

The San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission recommended City Council reopen the existing Lazy Oaks development agreement to consider amendments expanding the project. The original deal was approved in 2013 and consisted of a 1,396.9-acre master-planned community, with up to 1,750 living units, and commercial and retail space. The agreement included lot sizes ranging in size from a half-acre to 10 acres. Home prices would have started near $250,000.

The new proposal, rechristened La Cima, would encompass 2,031.49 acres, including more than 700 acres of parkland, 2,400 living units as well as commercial and retail space. It would be located near the intersection of Craddock Lane and Old RR 12 on the outskirts of San Marcos' city limits. Home prices are also expected to begin around $250,000.

Hays County Commissioner Will Conley and Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, a regional economic development corporation, have touted the economic opportunities a high-end development such as La Cima could bring to the city of San Marcos.

"Our goal is to make La Cima best in class, best in region, best in state," said Chuck Perry, the developer managing the project. "It is a true 'live in nature, work in nature, play in nature' community."

Perry said he expects the total value of the development will be between $850 million and $1 billion when it is fully built. That would effectively add 30 percent to the city's property valuation, officials have said. But concerns linger about financing the project and when exactly it would be annexed into San Marcos.

Under terms of the new proposal, most of the property will not be annexed into San Marcos any time soon. If the deal is approved, the city will be able to immediately annex 200 acres of the development intended for use as a corporate campus at the intersection of Wonder World Drive and Old RR 12.

The way the proposal is currently written, annexation of the residential portion of the development could be deferred for 30 to 45 years.

The developer is proposing creating a public improvement district, or PID, which would require the county to issue bonds, which would be repaid by residents moving to La Cima. According to the proposal submitted to the county, the public improvements proposed within the district include trails, open space, community facilities such as swimming pools and pavilions, signage, landscaping, streets, and water and wastewater utilities. The developer's initial estimate for the cost of the improvements is $98 million. Residents would pay an annual assessment fee on top of taxes to the county, school district and other entities in order to repay the bonds.

At the May 27 P&Z meeting, San Marcos resident Jim Garber said homeowners within the development would enjoy the benefits of being San Marcos residents without the obligation to pay city taxes.

"A minute ago we heard the gentleman say this would be the best in class for Texas, best in class for Central Texas and best in class for the region, but what he did not say was 'best in class for San Marcos,'" Garber said. "Because as proposed, this would not be part of San Marcos, and annexation could be deferred for perhaps 45 years or perhaps forever."

Some city residents voiced concern that the development, which would be built over part of the environmentally sensitive Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, could damage the aquifer.

Dianne Wassenich, director of programs for the San Marcos River Foundation, said the city has many home lots that are not located over the recharge zone and are ready to be built upon.

"There is no reason to make developers wealthy creating even more subdivisions on the recharge zone, which will damage our very precious aquifer water resources at a time when we should be valuing our resources like water even more highly," Wassenich said.

Wassenich also cited a recent city-hosted event in which noted urban planner and engineer Chuck Marohn spoke at the LBJ Museum. Marohn said when developments such as municipal utility districts and public improvement districts are built out and annexed into the city they are often accompanied by large amounts of overdue maintenance work on things like streets and utilities.

If City Council chooses to move forward in negotiating amendments to the existing Lazy Oaks document, it could appoint a subcommittee of council members to handle the negotiations.

The development proposal assumes Centerpoint Road, which currently dead-ends at Hunter Road west of I-35, will be built through the neighborhood, providing a connection from Hunter Road to Old RR 12. The road extension is included in the Hays County and San Marcos transportation master plans. Conley said the county is performing "due diligence" to determine how the road will be built.