The city of San Marcos is nearing completion of its new land development code, which will guide how residential, commercial, industrial and other projects in the city are built. On Tuesday, City Council received a report indicating a final draft of the new code will come to City Council for approval in March or April. A new draft of the code, which will incorporate public input gathered throughout 2016, will be released Friday. The latest draft will be available through the project overview page on the city’s website. City staffers have been working on comparative modeling to show how different development scenarios would play out under the old code versus the new one. The modeling will help ensure the new code aligns with the city’s comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 2013. Council Member Scott Gregson said he wanted to ensure the city’s code will address the affordable housing issues created by investors and others purchasing single-family homes and renting them out to college students and other city residents. The city hosted a workshop in late summer that was focused on affordable housing. “If [builders] build a lot of those [homes], as we pointed out, we’re going to have a lot of those rented because they’re going to hit that sweet spot of available to be rented for a profit to students and others,” Gregson said. “And we’ve missed the opportunity to address what we really want to address, which is our affordable housing issues." Planning Manager Abigail Gillfillan said city staffers have given more thought to how the city can ensure housing stock is available to those looking to purchase and live in their home. Solutions will be presented at upcoming workshops Jan. 30 and Feb. 8.