The San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission will consider on Tuesday a request from ETR Development Consulting for approval of a plan to construct a five-story student housing complex at 228 S. Guadalupe St., San Marcos, the former site of the Tuttle Lumber Co.

The property is not located within the effective 100-year flood plain map from the Federal Emergency Management Administration, but is within the draft of FEMA’s updated 100-year flood plain map. FEMA’s flood plain maps show areas expected to be under water during a storm that has a 1 percent likelihood of occurring or being exceeded each year.

Before the developer’s site plan proposal can be approved, it must receive approval of a qualified watershed protection plan, or QWPP, which according to city documents “must show that there is no adverse impact on flows discharging from the site” into Purgatory Creek.

A 1-dimensional analysis of the proposal actually shows a benefit to the property at 228 S. Guadalupe St. and farther upstream of the property should the complex be built.

As part of the proposal, the applicant would widen a portion of Purgatory Creek by 7.5 feet to convey more water through the area and keep the property out of the flood plain.

According to the analysis, there is “an approximate average reduction of 0.4 inches [in the level of floodwaters during a 100-year flood] adjacent to the site and for a distance of approximately 1,000 feet upstream.”

The finished floor elevations of the proposed development will be 2 feet above the 100-year flood plain described in FEMA’s updated flood plain maps.

If P&Z approves the QWPP and final plat for the property, the applicant will not have to submit a separate application for a permit allowing student housing because the property is located within the city's T-5 SmartCode area, which automatically allows a variety of uses, including student housing. Assuming approval of the plat and WQPP is granted, the applicant could then begin requesting site and building permits for the project.

According to city documents, the applicant for the QWPP is Jacobs, an Austin-based engineering firm.

The San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 630 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos.