At its regular meeting June 16, San Marcos City Council discussed issues related to the Woods apartment complex being built on River Road. Many residents in the nearby Blanco Gardens neighborhood have reported flood damage, and some are concerned the development may have exacerbated flooding in the area. Residents have also expressed concern the development, which will include 291 units, would create traffic and parking issues in the neighborhood. City staff discussed potential solutions to parking issues in the area, such as creating on-street parking along River Road, similar to what has been done on CM Allen Parkway east of Hopkins Street. Councilman John Thomaides said although figuring out parking in the area is important, the city’s first priority needs to be determining if the Woods helped contribute to flooding issues during the Memorial Day weekend floods. “These other issues are a nuisance," Thomaides said. "They’re a quality of life issue. They’re going to affect the neighborhood. We know that. But this one affects people’s quality of life, people’s net worth. So we need to know, 'Is this going to happen again because the water can’t drain past this high apartment complex?’” Laurie Moyer, director of CIP and engineering for the city, said the channel intended to convey water to the San Marcos River has not been completed because construction at the apartment is ongoing. Other drainage features, including box culverts and discharge points, were complete and in place. The city must finalize its estimation of high-water marks, which will help the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority determine what the flows on the San Marcos and Blanco rivers were during the flooding. That will help determine if the drainage features were functioning as intended. Residents and council members are also concerned that dirt piles in front of the apartment complex blocked some water from entering the drainage system. A resolution approved on first reading at the meeting will give the city the ability to regulate such dirt piles if it passes on second reading at the council's next meeting. "When I drove in on the flood I just looked at [the dirt piles] and went, 'How could that not have made it worse?'" Council Member Jane Hughson said. The city has requested the developer of the Woods remove the dirt piles, but Moyer said they have received pushback from the project's contractor, necessitating a formal ordinance. In the short term the city plans to invoke state law to force the contractor to remove the piles. The city required the apartment complex be built close to the street to create the feel of an “urban setting,” Moyer said. The building’s proximity to the street minimized the amount of space available for drainage, which may have contributed to the damage in the Blanco Gardens neighborhood. “I don’t think we would want to make the same mistake again,” Moyer said. “I would hope as a city we learn from our mistakes. I think we would think differently about [how we situate the apartment complex] the next time.”