05182010 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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commissions to lobby. What has been done is not prohibited by the ethics ordinance, but it is • needed. Ryan Perkins, 727 W. Hopkins, stated his opposition to the 705 Hopkins change and thanked the Council for their vote against this request. He presented the Council with a couple of petitions. He said he is pro- business, but the neighborhood will be impacted by traffic and any new fagade changes. The area is already a live, work, play environment. If the Council changes the zoning, it will put neighbors in a bind. They have invested money and time on their properties. This is a nice quality place to live, work, and play. Jessica Henry, 2014 Nevada, said she is a single parent and did a lot of research before buying her home. She sunk all her money into this. She read the Horizon plan which protects a sense of identity and culture. Adding another apartment complex does not make sense to her. She has also heard about the Aqualand development, Purgatory, and the Sanctuary Lofts. Rental property is currently at 80% for residential and zero for commercial. If a development does not work near the university, how can we expect it to be successful near neighborhoods. Matt Akins, 923 Sycamore, said he is excited to see bike improvements. We want to avoid mistakes to mobility other cities have to now fix. San Marcos has thousands of young, healthy college students who do not need to drive, and thousands who cannot afford to. Kelly Jones, 1303 Columbia, said she wants smart growth in San Marcos. She is in favor of is planned growth, and we tried to do that in the Horizon Master Plan. The sector plan says the Buie tract should remain very low density. We may need to revise the master plan, and we need to do that before we approve any zoning changes. We also need to know if we need more apartment complexes before we re -zone for those. We don't need to rush this through while these questions are outstanding. Dianne Wassenich, 11 Tanglewood, reported that she walked the neighborhood because she heard people had not received notices, and there were people she talked to who did not receive a notice. The press release said it was a computer error, but she believes it was human error. She urged homeowners to contact the city if they have not received notice. We do have an excess of apartments in town. When Dan O'Leary was City Manager, we had a surfeit of information in those days. Back then, two- thirds were apartments. She believes it is 80% now. Why do we need more apartments? Myra Westover, 735 W. Hopkins, said it is her job to protect historic districts. 705 Hopkins sits in the middle of an historic district, and it is important to use caution. She doesn't understand how this change will benefit anyone in the neighborhood but one. She spoke with realtors and learned that property value will increase, all others will fall. Amy Kirwin, 1131 MLK, spoke regarding the neighborhood commission. She noted that CONA has been around the last 30 years. They have worked with Texas State, ACT, and city staff to sponsor neighborhood cleanups, neighborhood national nights out, and an annual debate. CONA • members attend city meetings. She stated that the Sunset Commission dissolved several boards and commissions last year, and CONA can work with beautification issues. When the Council RM051810 Minutes Page 5