Sinai Pentecostal Church in San Marcos requested a zoning change for property to allow the development of a new facility for Pennington Funeral Home.
The San Marcos City Council postponed the vote on Oct. 20, risking the partnership between the church and business.
The overview
Sinai Pentecostal Church submitted a request to rezone approximately 14.72 acres of land located on Hunter Road between W. San Antonio St. and Wonder World Drive from Future Development to Commercial.
Future Development zoning allows the church to use the land and develop a new church facility. Commercial zoning would allow the church and Pennington Funeral Home to develop a funeral home on the property, according to agenda documents.
The property is located in an area designated as Conservation/Cluster in the city’s Preferred Scenario Map, or PSM. A Commercial zoning distinction is not preferred in the PSM designation.
Diving deeper
Council members voiced concerns regarding the property’s location in an environmentally sensitive area. The property is located in a floodplain and floodway, a water quality zone and buffer zone and the Edwards Aquifer transition zone, according to agenda documents.
The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denying the zoning change due to environmental concerns.
To address these concerns, Pennington Funeral Home suggested a Development Overlay Regulating Plan, or DORP, that would limit the development’s impervious cover to 30%. Impervious cover is a surface that prevents water from soaking into the ground, such as concrete or asphalt.
Had the zoning change been accepted without the DORP, the permitted amount of impervious cover would be 80% of the property, according to city of San Marcos staff.
The discussion
Council members voiced concerns about the property’s location in a floodway but expressed confidence that Sinai Pentecostal Church would follow all regulations.
P&Z voted on the zoning change without the proposed DORP. Council member Lorenzo Gonzalez moved to postpone the vote, giving P&Z a chance to re-evaluate the request with the DORP information.
Pennington Funeral Home would not be able to participate in the financial partnership with Sinai Pentecostal Church if the development process faced any more delays, said Representative Jessica Glosson Davis.
The business moved from its previous location into a temporary office space and must move forward with developing a permanent space, Davis said.
“Unfortunately, Pennington Funeral Home has to move on,” said Shane Glosson, Pennington Funeral Home’s previous owner and licensed funeral director. “We’ve put ourselves on a timeline by going into a temporary building. We have to purchase property and build, and as you know, it takes time to pull permits and go through this process.”
The council voted to postpone the decision.
Another thing
Pennington Funeral Home was established in 1897 and relocated from the location where it had stood since 1956, at 323 N. Comanche St.—near the small H-E-B in San Marcos. A seven-story student housing project is now planned for the property, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Owner Terry Woodall said the move was motivated by the growing presence of Texas State University and a need for additional space.
“Downtown San Marcos is kind of where the university is now, and all the businesses have moved out to Hunter Road,” Woodall said.
