The San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission approved a warrant request Jan. 28 that will allow a San Marcos–based development company to build a nine-story, mixed-use development downtown.

The commission heard public comments and presentations from the developer and groups opposed to the proposal before making its 8-1 vote in favor of the project. Commissioner Angie Ramirez provided the lone dissenting vote.

The city’s comprehensive plan, Vision San Marcos: A River Runs Through Us, calls for increased density downtown. The development is proposed to include more than 340 bedrooms, retail space and two levels of parking.

The development is subject to the regulations of the city’s SmartCode, which guides development in and around downtown and limits the number of stories for buildings in that area to five. According to city staff, the additional height being requested meets the intent of the SmartCode because “it will help meet the housing need created by the university in a way that offers an opportunity to live a car-free lifestyle.”

John David Carson of Carson Properties is in charge of the development and said the project would house 340 people on 1 acre where it would otherwise take 15–20 acres in garden-style residences seen elsewhere in the city.

“The garden style that we’re building all over the city—that’s what’s destroying San Marcos’ culture,” Carson said.

Many commenters voiced concern about the additional cars the project could bring to downtown San Marcos. Some contested Carson's claim that the development would allow students to live a car-free lifestyle.

Carson cited a national 2011 study that showed the number of teenagers seeking driver’s licenses is dropping. The project actually has more parking than is required by code, he said. Carson cited recent residential developments such as Sanctuary Lofts as an example of projects that currently have underutilized parking spaces. His project will not include spaces for every resident.

“Parking this project one-to-one would be a mistake, just like parking downtown retail like a Target would be a mistake,” Carson said.

Jay Hiebert, a San Marcos resident and former employee at Coca-Cola Co., said the project’s deviation from established development guidelines means it should not be approved.

“The thing that we learned at Coke was, ‘Plan your work, and work your plan,’” Hiebert said. “Three years ago we didn’t have the current master plan, so projects were being approved because there wasn’t a plan. … We’ve got a plan [now]. Why don’t we work our plan? Why are we constantly faced with management by exception? Why do we get these projects that are clearly outside the framework of the plans that the citizens have worked hard to put together and you all have approved and City Council has approved?”

Pam Couch, owner of Two P’s and Calli’s Boutique in San Marcos, thanked Carson for building his project in San Marcos rather than New Braunfels.

“If this project would have been built seven years ago I would probably still have my business downtown,” Couch said. “I believe it is going to bring a lot of economics back to downtown, which we know is very important to our community. … [Shoppers] don’t want to go to New Braunfels or Kyle or Buda or Austin.”

Couch went on to say she was proud of San Marcos and the progress the city was making.

Commissioner Carter Morris echoed Couch’s sentiment while explaining why he seconded Commissioner Chris Wood’s initial motion to approve the development.

“Growing up here, I never thought we’d be seeing high-rises in San Marcos, Texas,” Morris said. “I never thought my kids wouldn’t get a chance to see Ralph the Swimming Pig. … The list goes down, and it’s long. The point I’m trying to make is: change. Someone said [the building] will stick out like a sore thumb. Based on pictures, it won’t, but even if it did, it wouldn’t be long until it wasn’t sticking out.”

Carson said he hopes to begin construction on the project in late spring with a target opening of late summer 2015.