On Tuesday, the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of three zoning changes on three separate tracts of land comprising about 92 acres in south San Marcos near Posey Road and I-35. The properties are part of a development called Las Colinas that is planned to include office, commercial and residential uses.

About 30 acres of the Las Colinas property was changed from future development district use, a zoning designation indicating a property will develop in the future but has not been zoned for a particular use, to MF-18, a zoning designation allowing up to 18 living units per acre.

Thomas Rhodes, a representative of ETR Development Consulting, the firm proposing the project, said the developer has had discussions with a senior housing community regarding the 30-acre residential portion of the property.

“Many of you know I have represented a lot of student housing, and Lord knows I understand y’all’s concerns about student housing,” Rhodes said. “This is not a market for student housing—proximity to the university, all the factors that play into that.”

In response to Commissioner Kate McCarty’s question about the potential for the development to provide housing options that are more affordable than what is currently available throughout much of the city, Rhodes said ETR could choose to build townhomes on the property.

“The options are there, and they’re available under the MF-18 zoning,” he said. “We just don’t have any solid plans right now. It’s kind of preliminary.”

The commission also recommended approval of ETR's rezoning request to change about 17.5 acres from future development district use to community commercial use, which allows for a variety of retail uses but does not allow drive-thrus or retail developments larger than 10,000 square feet.

The commission's final rezoning change was about 44.5 acres from future development district use to general commercial use, which can accommodate larger commercial developments than the community commercial designation as well as light industrial and office uses.