The San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission voted Tuesday night to recommend denial of the proposed expansion of the Lindsey-Rogers Historic District and Hopkins Historic District to City Council. The recommendation will go to council for consideration at its July 5 meeting.

The Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously in favor of the proposed expansion, which would include portions of Hutchison and Burleson streets between Moore and Scott streets near downtown.

Commissioners recommended denial Tuesday night, citing concerns that the proposed expansion was a way of controlling development at 500 W. Hutchison St., a property located within the proposed expansion. That property was the subject of a 2016 proposal that would have constructed a 120-bed hotel room, 164-unit apartment complex and retail center to be called Lindsey Hill.

In March, City Planner Alison Brake said the Historic Preservation Commission has made it a goal to close “gaps” in the existing historic districts. Any changes to the material or design of a structure located in a historic district must go before the commission, she said. The historic preservation commission does not regulate repairs or the exterior color of a structure.



“Let’s say [a resident] wants a metal roof," Brake said. "If they’ve had a shingled roof, they would have to get what’s called a certificate of appropriateness.”

The city hosted an open house on the historic district expansion proposal in March. The city received 19 comment cards from the 43 people who attended the open house. Of the 19 comment cards, 14 respondents said they supported expansion of the district. Five said they were opposed. Of the six attendees who live within the proposed expansion, only two said they supported the expansion, and four said they were opposed.

The case for expanding the historic districts hinges largely on the site of the Lindsey Hill proposal, which, before being purchased by developers, housed San Marcos CISD’s Phoenix and Rebound schools. The property was also the site of the Coronal Institute, a center of education established in San Marcos in the 1800s.

James Baker, who lives near the proposed expansion, said San Marcos High School, which was located on the Lindsey Hill property in the 1950s, was one of the first schools in the state to desegregate.

“This is a historical event with a capital 'I' for importance,” Baker said.

City staff did not provide a recommendation of whether to approve the expansion but did recommend an update to the survey of historic structures in the area. The last survey was performed in 1997.

Commissioners said they felt the proposal was aimed at limiting development of the property and prohibiting something similar to the Lindsey Hill proposal.

“I’m voting no,” Commissioner Lee Porterfield said. “I love the historical district. I just don’t see the reasoning. There [are] just not a lot of historical houses there.”

Commissioner Angie Ramirez said attempting to use the historic district designation as a way of influencing development is the “wrong tool.”

“I think we should take pause that the reason this is happening, I think, is a lack of confidence in our building codes, lack of confidence sometimes that the community has had in this commission, lack of confidence our community has had in developers that have come to town,” Commissioner Angie Ramirez said.

Commissioners also requested an update to the survey of historic structures in the proposed expansion area.