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not purchase their homesl8 yrs ago and pay taxes all this time knowing it was going to be <br />changed. He asked the Council to build the loop far out where it does not affect homes. <br />Jeffrey Jewett, 2709 Oak Haven, stated that the amendment to remove Loop 110 has taken what <br />he prepared off the table. It is a bad idea to proceed until we have a viable plan to replace it. <br />Moving forward without a plan is a bad idea. The adoption of the Engineers Context Sensitive <br />Solutions Manual is designed for highly developed urban areas. We have no business <br />implementing this in the Leah or 110 Loop area. He noted the tax reinvestment zone allows <br />Carma to receive money for the infrastructure and should be the developer's responsibility. Why <br />would we do something counterproductive to sensible development? <br />James Baker, 727 Belvin, urged the Council to change the wording of the resolution to remove <br />from Part 2 "... except as expressly authorized by the City Council." He and his neighbors are <br />opposed to the inappropriate application of form -based coding in the neighborhood, whether this <br />is proposed by planning staff or the Council. He directed Council to review section 1.4, the <br />process of the code, specifically the function of the DRC and Warrants. He noted there is no <br />government body currently existing with the dangerously broad powers of the DRC proposed in <br />the Code draft. The DRC will override and render powerless current groups such as the Historic <br />Preservation Commission. The device of Warrants is an attempt to side step the process of <br />variance, which is governed by state law. Instead the warrants are governed only by the DRC <br />and allows the DRC to bypass the rules of this code in closed meetings without public notice or <br />public scrutiny. The device of Warrants by Intent is an open invitation to favoritism and <br />corruption. He urged the Council to eliminate warrants from the code and to slow the process <br />down. <br />Polly Wright, 1134 W. Hopkins, spoke on the SmartCode, stating she has seen no evidence and <br />does not trust that changes have been made. She noted it is not fair to Planning and Zoning to <br />vote on an incomplete document. This should be postponed until next January and let the new <br />Council get the thing straight. She asked the Council not to rush it through. <br />Ron Jager, 626 W. San Antonio, stated that despite assurance the SmartCode will not have <br />negative impact on downtown historic district, he remains unconvinced. We are considering an <br />overlay of an established town square and the contiguous areas with an as yet to be determined <br />yuppie -cool and faux antiquity that will obliterate what remains of San Marcos' historic <br />antiquity. He sees little value and nothing of virtue about the SmartCode. He asked Council to <br />not do this to our historic town. Let the historic districts be historic. <br />Wayne Kraemer, 733 Belvin, stated his opposition to the SmartCode because there are no <br />architectural standards or vision. Staff says this is customized to fit San Marcos, but the <br />downtown character was established long ago through the natural evolution of the needs of the <br />city. This should be the purview of the historical commission. A planning code is a living <br />document, but if we lock in the mind set of a SmartCode, we will strangle life out of that. <br />Currently, the Historic Preservation Commission evaluates each project. The SmartCode <br />evaluates by a checklist. Cities that use a SmartCode had nothing to begin with. He <br />RM080310 Minutes Page 3 <br />