The San Marcos City Council discussed the 2020 Census and land rezoning at the first regular meeting of the year on Jan 7.
Texas State sociology professor Dr. Gloria Martinez represented the city’s Complete Count Committee during a presentation to the council. The presentation was an update on the committee’s planned outreach efforts to the San Marcos community to gain the most accurate count possible for the upcoming 2020 census.
The census is a headcount of the entire country’s population that occurs once every decade. It is important for this count to be accurate since it determines the number of seats Texas gets in congress and assists in the redrawing of district boundaries.
In order to maximize accuracy in hard-to-count areas throughout the city, the Complete Count Committee will begin a multimedia marketing campaign in February after engaging and informing their partners. These partners include the city council, Texas State University, San Marcos CISD and various nonprofit organizations and businesses.
Furthermore, the council chose to move forward with the annexation of 39.37 acres of land located at the western corner of South Old Bastrop Highway and Rattler Road. Additionally, an ordinance to rezone 29.4 acres located in the 3200 block of South Old Bastrop Highway was approved, classifying the district as “Character district 3” instead of “Future development district.” These ordinances will be further discussed Jan 21.
The council also temporarily denied an ordinance to rezone six acres located at the western corner of South Old Bastrop Highway and Rattler Road as “Character district 5.” The denial was in response to concerns of a CD-5 type district’s ability to construct five-story buildings, as this area contains single-family housing and a high school.
San Marcos City Council meets every first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. The agenda can be accessed through the Agenda Center on the City of San Marcos website.