Res 2022-055R/Arts Master Plan approval

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12 City of San Marcos Arts Master Plan completed the Downtown Master Plan Survey, and more than 400 community members participated and collaborated in person with city staff and consultants. Vision Plan Benchmarking & Planning Principles: The economic model utilized for the Downtown Master Plan focuses on the factors that play important roles in stimulating economic vitality in a community. In contrast to traditional economic development models that employ mostly industrial recruitment strategies, this model acknowledges that employers are increasingly locating where talented employees are, and this “creative class” is moving to places where they want to live. In other words, today’s talented employees decide where they want to live first and then find work in those places, rather than the other way around.For this reason, employers are locating in communities that have the quality of place that will attract or have already attracted the talent that they need.As a result, quality of place and “sense of place” issues are central to a community’s success in economic development. Encourage Third Places: San Marcos should encourage the establishment of “third places” distinct from home and work, such as coffee shops, internet cafes, alfresco dining areas, pubs, bookstores, and the like, that foster a culture of informal gathering, socializing, conversing and exchanging ideas.The best third places are adjacent to sidewalks and public spaces; each benefits greatly through association with the other. Mind the Details: Great downtown environments engage both the sense and intellect with diverse and detailed architectural facades, preservation of key views, engaging signage, attractive furnishings, colorful planting, sidewalk commerce, public art,and many other points of detail.The city’s regulatory framework should be flexible enough to allow the unfolding of a diverse and stimulus-rich environment over time. Vision Plan--The Big Ideas This “visioning” element of the Downtown Master Plan presents a multiple “village” articulation of San Marcos generally running from the southern boundary of Texas State adjacent to Downtown through Downtown on a corridor to I-35. A critical design element that contributes to this modelis the development of a commuter rail between San Antonio and Austin with a Transportation Hub constructed in downtown San Marcos. The Transportation Hub is projectedto be located at the end of Edward Gary Street.(Hillman)