About the Adopted Downtown Area Plan

As part of the Vision SMTX Comprehensive Plan, the City adopted the San Marcos Downtown Area Plan in November, 2023. As the heart of the City, Downtown serves many different users including residents, employees, business owners, students, and visitors. Based on a year of analysis and engagement, the Downtown Area Plan seeks to strengthen Downtown for decades to come by identifying improvements, investments, and opportunities that can be pursued through public and private investment. The update was a collaborative effort between City Staff, the Downtown Stakeholder Committee and residents of the community to shape the continued growth of our vibrant downtown.

The following topics are addressed in the plan and include key concepts and recommendations:

• Historic and Cultural Character
• Multimodal Connectivity and Parking
• Public Spaces and Amenities
• Priority Streetscape Enhancements
• Downtown Housing Options
• Fostering Small Businesses
• Building Form and Infill Development

Downtown Area Plan Vision Statement:
San Marcos’ vibrant Downtown is the heart of the city where all community members are welcomed to gather, have fun, live, work, and enjoy the small-town charm in a safe, inclusive, and walkable environment. A beautiful intersection between past, present and future, Downtown San Marcos is ever-evolving, celebrates diversity, values history, supports local business, demonstrates sustainability, and provides a sense of connectedness to other neighborhoods, the San Marcos River, Texas State University, and beyond.

January 12, 2023 Open House

The City hosted an Open House to present the Draft Downtown Area Plan to the community and kick-off the public review of the draft plan through February 3.

October 12, 2022 Downtown Open House

The City hosted an Open House to present progress made on the Downtown Area Plan including draft recommendations related to key concepts and ideas provided by the public throughout the plan process.

June 22, 2022 Downtown Community Workshop

The City hosted a community workshop to kickoff the Downtown Area Plan. Participants visited a variety of interactive stations on topics related to downtown, Community input received will help shape the vision and goals for the downtown area.

Downtown Online Survey

The Downtown Area Plan Online Survey was available online to the community following the in-person Community Workshop and received approximately 205 participants. The online survey mirrored the questions from the in-person workshop and provided the community an additional opportunity to participate.

Downtown Existing Conditions Assessment

This Existing Conditions Assessment sets the stage for the San Marcos Downtown Area Plan by identifying salient recommendations from previous planning/City efforts; analyzing physical conditions; and providing strengths and weaknesses of Downtown through initial staff and stakeholder feedback, as well as available data.

Explore Previous Draft Plans

At their October 17 meeting, the City Council made an amendment to the Plan and postponed final action to November 9. The below plan includes their amendments.

At the September 26, 2023 P&Z meeting, the Commission recommended approval of Downtown+ with amendments. The amendments were incorporated into Downtown Plan++.

At the April 25, 2023 P&Z meeting, the Commission directed staff to prepare Downtown Plan+ using the redlines provided by the subcommittee consisting of Chair Garber, Commissioners Meeks, Commissioner Agnew, Commissioner Case, and Mayor Hughson.

The Public Review Draft includes comments collected in January 2023.