Laserfiche WebLink
Action 1: Prioritize the continued improvement of Greater San Marcos’ <br />historic Downtowns. <br />Leverage the San Marcos Downtown Master Plan process to enhance <br />collaboration among City and County entities related to Downtown-area <br />development, parking needs, parks and green space improvements, <br />environmental resources. <br />o <br />Use the Master Plan as a basis to develop a land use plan, urban <br />design guidelines, and zoning codes. <br />Send a clear message to the private sector that the City is <br />committed to implementing the Master Plan, and that <br />developers can use the Plan to make their investment <br />decisions. <br /> <br />Encourage all area municipalities to develop Downtown master plans. <br />o <br />Think long-term and base plans on model Downtowns from across <br />the nation. <br />Preserve and enhance characteristics that will make these <br />areas special and representative of the community’s history. <br />Encourage mixed- <br />use, pedestrian <br />friendly Downtowns. <br />Encourage <br />Downtown <br />residential <br />development. <br />o <br />Identify potential funding <br />and implementation options <br />for the Downtown plans. <br /> <br />Regularly update a parcel-by-parcel inventory of Downtown and Main Street <br />neighborhoods, and assess the potential highest and best use of Downtown <br />properties. <br />o <br />Share the inventory with the public. <br />Use the inventory as basis for a campaign to area retail, <br />restaurant, office, and commercial businesses as well as <br />residential developers. <br />Market the benefits of expanding or relocating to Downtown <br />locations. <br />o <br />Recommend ways to re-use, redevelop or re-imagine Downtown <br />parcels to reflect their highest and best use. <br />Assess existing development code regulations and their <br />viability to facilitate additional Downtown rehabilitation work. <br />Identify and address any existing code regulations that make <br />rehabilitation fiscally prohibitive. <br /> <br />Package and promote Downtown-specific incentive measures such as tax <br />increment financing, business improvement districts, local optio <br />Final Strategy <br />September 2009 35 <br /> <br />