Res 2024-045 approving the 2024 City of San Marcos Hazards Mitigation Action Plan (“HMAP”)

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SECTION 3: CITY PROFILE Overview.................................................................................................................................... 1 Population and Demographics................................................................................................... 3 PopulationGrowth..................................................................................................................... 4 Natural, Cultural, and Historic Resources................................................................................... 4 EconomicImpact....................................................................................................................... 7 Existing Land Use and Development Trends............................................................................. 9 Future Growth and Development..............................................................................................11 OVERVIEW The banks of the San Marcos River are among the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the Americas, originally populated by ancient Native Americans — the Clovis people — more than 10,000 years ago. Multiple Spanish attempts at colonization were made in the area, beginning with the establishment of the San Xavier missions in 1755. However, these were short-lived, as it wasn't until the area became the center of Anglo-American settlement in the 1840s that the City of San Marcos we know today began to take shape. On March 1, 1848, the Texas Legislature organized Hays County and designated the City of San Marcos as the county seat. Over the latter half of the 19th century, cattle and cotton production in the area sustained the growth of San Marcos. The city slowly grew as it became linked to stagecoach routes between Austin and San Antonio, becoming a commercial center for trade between local farmers and coastal commission merchants. The Civil War stunted the growth of San Marcos; by 1870, it only held a population of 742. However, after the arrival of the International Great Northern Railroad in 1880, the City of San Marcos population grew past 2,300 before the end of the century. The Southwest Texas State Normal School (now known as Texas State University) was founded in 1899, establishing education as a prominent local industry that continues to this day. The wartime demand of World War II initiated development of industrial and manufacturing sectors in San Marcos, greatly increasing the city's financial resources post-war. In the 1960s, Aquarena Springs and Wonder World emerged as important attractions, bolstering the tourism industry to be a reliable and growing source of income. This proliferation of industries in the 20th century, San Marcos' accessibility thanks to Interstate 35, and Austin's growth explosion fueled the exponential growth that built San Marcos to where it is today. The City of San Marcos has a total area of 35.71 square miles, of which 35.59 square miles is land and 0.12 square miles is covered by water. San Marcos sits on the Balcones Fault, the boundary separating the area into two distinct regions. The eastern part is Blackland Prairie, while the western region consists of forested or grassy rolling hills. Many springs emerge along the Balcones fault, including San Marcos Springs, which forms Spring Lake and is the source of the San Marcos River. The San Marcos River and Blanco River, part of the Guadalupe watershed, flow through the City of San Marcos, as well as the following: Cottonwood Creek, Purgatory Creek, Sink Creek, and Willow Springs Creek. Figure 3-1 shows the general location of the City of San Marcos relative to other area communities within and adjacent to Hays County. City of San Marcos I Hazard Mitigation Action Plan Update 2024 1 Page 1