When the San Marcos City Council approved the annexation and rezoning of more than 700 acres of land to accommodate a new industrial rail park, the decision was a controversial one.
The project’s detractors believed that the SMART (San Marcos Air, Rail and Truck) Terminal is too big to use as a test of the new land development code and that there are too many unknowns to proceed. A group of area residents called SMARTER San Marcos spoke out against the development, asking the city council to slow the process down until more questions were answered about the effects the project would have on the area — not just in terms of stormwater drainage and water quality, but also traffic and general quality of life.
Proponents of the project emphasized the role the development could play in growing the San Marcos economy by bringing in jobs and capital investment.
“The development of the SMART Terminal is a transformational opportunity for our community and region,” said Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership. “Considering there is no other dual Class 1 rail-served industrial park within the five-county region, the SMART Terminal will provide our region with a tremendous competitive advantage. This new asset will now allow us to compete for companies that would never have considered us because they require rail to get their product to market.”
Those who wanted to see the project annexed — the developer had requested annexation — pointed out that if the industrial park were brought into San Marcos, it would be subject to the new land development code that sets strict regulations for stormwater management and water quality. Moreover, a Chapter 380 Economic Development agreement between the city and the developer, Michael Schroeder, could put restrictions on land use to mitigate pollution, noise and other issues. Council approved the Chapter 380 agreement the same night it voted to annex and rezone the land for the SMART Terminal.
The economic development agreement does include several attachments requiring enhanced water quality safeguards and drainage requirements, reduced impervious cover, an eventual traffic impact analysis and conditions to reduce sound levels and emissions. The agreement also includes a list of permitted uses and prohibited uses for the land.
What the agreement requires
One of the attachments to the Chapter 380 agreement with Schroeder requires enhanced water quality safeguards.
“Measures shall be implemented by the Developer applying applicable best management practices (BMPs) to ensure that, after full development of the property, at least 70 percent of increased total suspended solids are removed from stormwater and a water quality volume produced by a 1.25-inch rainfall is captured,” the attachment reads.
The agreement also requires water quality zone reclamation measures that “incorporate natural channel design techniques and address aesthetics by implementing a natural channel shape.”
Moreover, although city ordinances would allow 80 percent impervious cover, the Chapter 380 agreement requires impervious cover to “be limited to a percentage that is less than allowed by applicable City ordinances.” After full development, the SMART Terminal is not to have more than 70 percent of “the entire gross acreage of the Property.” Individual lots within the development can have impervious cover of no more than 80 percent of the gross area of the lot.
The agreement also comes with enhanced drainage requirements, meant to “reduce overall post-development peak rates of discharge so that they are at least 10 percent less than existing pre-development peak rates for the 2, 10, 25 and 100-year storm events at each point of discharge from the Property.”
The traffic impact analysis will be required “prior to or concurrent with the submittal of the first plat application for development on the Property or any portion thereof,” excepting the Katerra development, which has already been approved. When the traffic impact analysis is submitted, the agreement states, “the traffic impacts shall be evaluated based on assumptions regarding the full build-out development of the Property and not on the individual plats.”
The Chapter 380 agreement also requires that nothing on the property produce a measurable sound louder than 90 decibels when measured 200 feet from the property boundary. According to information from Healthwise cited by the University of Michigan, a subway or a shouted conversation is 90-95 decibels; the sounds of heavy traffic, a noisy restaurant, a power lawn mower or a window air conditioner are between 80 and 89 decibels. Sounds above 85 decibels are described as “harmful.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s permissible noise exposure limit is 90 decibels for an eight-hour day. The agreement does state that the developer has agreed to conduct a study to determine the establishment of a “quiet zone” if the city requests it.
Activities on the property are also required to “reasonably minimize the emission of smoke, odors, particulate matter or noxious matter” and no emissions containing hazardous materials will be allowed, based on the agreement. Activity at the SMART Terminal is also not allowed to interfere with operations at the San Marcos Regional Airport.
Other safeguards
The Chapter 380 agreement’s list of permitted uses includes dozens of possible business types, including offices, retail, philanthropic organizations, catering, extermination, urban farming, welding, distribution centers, micro-breweries, airport support and related services, hotels or motels, and daycare. Once Loop 110 is built — the roadway will run through the property — parcels west of the loop can be used for retail, banking, restaurants and convenience stores.
The list of prohibited uses prevents activities that would be considered particularly heavy industrial uses, such as junkyards; the manufacturing of paper or pulp, paint, lacquer, oil or similar products, carbon batteries, gas, acid or rubber; petroleum or petroleum product extraction; smelting; fat rendering; stockyards; sugar refining; rock crushers; labor camps; the manufacture or storage of fertilizer; or the refining, retail sale or storage of fuel, liquefied petroleum and flammable liquids.
Those who had opposed the annexation, rezoning and economic development agreement with the SMART Terminal say that they will be watching to see that the terms of the agreement are kept.
“We were disappointed with the Council’s decision to move forward with haste and not slow down so that citizens could be more completely informed,” said Karen Ford, a spokeswoman for SMARTER San Marcos. “Our citizens’ group had numerous questions about the 380 Agreement with the SMART Terminal developer which we delivered to Council at the March 19 meeting.
“While we really want to believe all the promises made about land use restrictions, water quality protections, nuisance abatements, traffic safety improvements and general development conditions,” she said, “the supporters of SMARTER San Marcos will continue our interest and will track the development to see that all promises are kept — and that ‘over and above’ protections are truly achieved.”
