Ord 2019-012/adopting the 2019 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan

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Action PF-1.3. Evaluate the opportunity to acquire Five Mile Dam Soccer Complex from Hays County. Currently, Hays County owns the Five Mile Dam Soccer Complex, which is largely used by leagues located within the City of San Marcos. Acquiring this property from the county would provide the City with the flexibility to increase its parks and recreational facilities and programing through new community-scale facilities and amenities, a park classification of the city that is not currently offered. In the interim,the City could pursue an agreement where Hays County would provide funds to cover security and maintenance costs while the City would cover all other costs. Action PF-1.4. PF-1.4 Evaluate the opportunity to acquire Randy Vetter and Dudley Johnson Park from Hays County. Hays County also manages Randay Vetter Park, located along Yarrington Road.This park was named in November 2003 for the Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who lost his life in the line of duty on Aug.7,2000. In addition to BBQ grills and picnic facilities,the park also includes almost a quarter mile of Blanco River access.The acquisition of this property would be beneficial to the City as it furthers its progress in developing a community-wide trail system. Action PF-1.5. Evaluate opportunities to create new parks on properties that may be bought out due to past flood events. As part of previous flood events,the City has undertaken buyout assessments for properties subject to repetitive flood damage claims. Some of these are areas adjacent to the Blanco River and existing park land. In these cases, HUD funds and hazard mitigation resources can be utilized to assist in acquisition. Since these areas are also located along the City's water courses,they make smart choices for creating a connected system of trails. Action PF-1.6. Evaluate the effectiveness of the City's new park land dedication provisions of the Land Development Code. The City's park land dedication provisions were recently updated as part of the SMTX code re-write process.As these new regulations begin implementation,the City should evaluate its effectiveness in acquiring and developing appropriate park land in terms of both quantity and location. In addition, it would be prudent to periodically evaluate existing metrics included in the regulations,such as existing level of service(i.e.,33 acres of park land/open space per every 1,000 people); calculation of population; calculation of acreage; exemptions for downtown and the midtown intensity zones; and the park development cost factor. Further,while the current park land dedication regulations detail park types,they do not provide guidance as to which park types may be appropriate in each area, nor do they mention a service area for community park land. D 68 City of San Marcos, Texas I San Marcos Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan