Citing inconsistencies with the comprehensive plan and concerns regarding the property's location in the Sessom Creek watershed and traffic, San Marcos Planning and Zoning commissioners on Tuesday unanimously recommended denial of a zoning change that would allow a 500-bed, five-story private student housing complex on Peques Street.

Surrounded by multifamily apartment complexes, Texas State University-owned property, four single-family homes and an area zoned for heavy commercial use, the Peques Street property is currently owned by longtime San Martian John Meeks and is zoned for single-family homes.

It is also "topographically challenged", making it hard for single-family homes to be built on the rectangular piece of land that abuts the Timbers student housing complex, according to Meeks, whose family has owned the land for decades.



Several planning and zoning commissioners said they were concerned about the property's steep topography, location and proposed size of the development, as well as the traffic the development would add to Sessom Drive.

San Marcos city planner Andrea Villalobos said she received three letters of support and eight letters of opposition for the project. Several residents also spoke for and against the project during the public hearing Tuesday.

"It just seems so obvious that this is no place for a high-rise development," said San Marcos resident Sharon O'Neil, adding she was concerned about water runoff from the development as well as the added traffic a 500-bed apartment complex will bring.

Meeks has argued the development's proximity to the university will reduce the need for students to drive, but those opposing the project—including O'Neil and Texas State University professor Jim Kimmel—said students would still need cars to drive elsewhere besides campus.

"The idea that [the student housing complex is] going to reduce traffic, I think at one level is correct, but students are going to have cars even if they aren’t driving to school," Kimmel said, adding the project would put the city's water features and open spaces "at risk".

Planning commissioners also said the proposed development was not consistent with what the city's comprehensive plan recommended for that area. The comprehensive plan aims to put student housing in areas of intensity, and the Peques Street property is not currently in an area of intensity.

Commissioner Angie Ramirez said placing 500 students close to the university was "not a good enough reason for me to so flatly vote for something that skews away from what that plan was," referring to the comprehensive plan.

"I cannot be convinced that anything is a good idea with the argument of what the university is going to build because unfortunately, the university hasn’t always been the most responsible developer when it comes to the environmental needs of this city. There’s nothing, unfortunately, that anybody on this commission can do about that, but I’m not going to add to it," she said.

Through an intensive vetting process, Meeks selected developer Core Spaces out of Chicago for the project. The Core Spaces signature brand is The Hub, which can be found in cities like Gainesville, Florida; Madison, Wisconsin; Tucson, Arizona; and Eugene, Oregon.

Described as “vibrant, inviting and ultramodern” by the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, in a letter of recommendation Meeks submitted in the application, The Hub complexes are typically located between a university campus and a downtown area and offer amenities, such as private study rooms, a gaming area, an indoor golf simulator, a swimming pool, cabanas, lounge seating and a fitness center.

“These folks are the Ritz Carlton of the student housing industry,” Meeks said during a neighborhood meeting last week, when he presented his plans to the public.

The zoning request goes to the council for public hearings and discussion April 17 and May 1, and the council will ultimately approve or deny the zoning change May 15.

If the zoning change is approved, Core Spaces can move forward with platting the land, creating a watershed protection plan, creating a site development plan and applying for a conditional use permit to give the development a student housing designation.

If the request is denied, Meeks said at a neighborhood meeting prior to the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting that he would "hold the property."