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City Council Meeting Minutes June 25, 2020 <br />Council Member Derrick inquired about recent legislative action regarding <br />regulation of building materials outside of the Downtown Historic District and <br />that we still need design standards for anything that touches or abuts the <br />historic district. Regardless of the type of material used, she would like to keep <br />the decorative features included in the design standards as a preference. <br />Mr. Winter said he was glad this topic was raised as everyone is still looking at <br />what the limits will be. What is shown as suggestions that address how <br />materials are used for a final effect, not which materials will be used. <br />Consensus of the Council and Commission is to ensure the historic look <br />continues throughout downtown with use of articulation. <br />Building Materials <br />Mr. Winter said building materials are not currently addressed in the design <br />guidelines. Design standards provide some information but focus on the <br />"durable building material area," not materials applied to the full building. <br />Potential updates were mentioned and examples of what the community would <br />like to see were shown and could be included in the final report, even if it is in <br />an advisory section; if they can be regulated is still a question. <br />Mayor Hughson asked Mr. Aguirre, Assistant City Attorney, to review the <br />recent legislation. He noted that in a Historic District, the city can still regulate <br />the building materials by a Certificate of Appropriateness, however elsewhere <br />in the City you cannot regulate them other than through building codes. Some <br />municipalities incentivize builders to use certain materials. <br />Council MemberDerrick noted that since still we have the ability to dictate <br />what is used in our downtown area, she would like us to focus on what has <br />been used downtown and have that codified rather than have then as design <br />standards. We will need to have separate codes for historic downtown and <br />another for sections that out as we move away from the historic square. <br />Commissioner Moore asked if are there any materials that we are trying <br />de -incentivize? Mayor Hughson noted that there are some materials in use in <br />our city that are not durable over time. <br />Commissioner Gleason said he is want to ensure out design standards are met, <br />but any material used must be durable.It was noted that some materials that <br />aren't as durable as others can be crafted to look like historic scoring and/or <br />fine detail and therefore could be used in certain areas where durability is less <br />City of San Marcos Page 7 <br />