San Marcos Downtown Area Plan

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS

OWNERSHIP (Recommendation A.8)

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? · Downtown lacks sufficient for-sale housing options. The Greater Downtown Area is 9.7% owner occupied, 85.1% renter occupied, and 5.2% vacant (Source: ESRI Business Analyst) · Residents in surrounding stable neighborhoods may be vulnerable to impacts of rising homes prices and land values · Homes in and around Downtown are typically older and in many cases in need of reinvestment · There is a growing use of homes for short term rentals near Downtown

DRAFT STRATEGIC HOUSING ACTION PLAN The City of San Marcos developed a draft Strategic Housing Action Plan in 2019 to guide workforce and affordable housing efforts in the city. The Action Plan is still pending reconsideration to address issues in the community, however many of the proposed action steps can help address housing issues in downtown. The Action Plan has four main goals: expanding housing opportunities, preserving and enhancing existing housing, leveraging community and regional partners, and quantifying the future needs of the community. (Recommendation A.9)

STRATEGIES TO CONSIDER FOR DOWNTOWN AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS (Recommendation A.6, A.7, A.8)

· Density and regulatory bonuses (e.g. parking requirements, height restrictions, density caps) for inclusion of affordable housing units or other desired projects in Downtown · Owner occupied unit rehabilitation support programs and expansion of low-income home maintenance fund · Enhanced code enforcement to address problem properties · Infill housing incentives for attracting for-sale housing product types such as townhomes and condos · Expand down-payment assistance for homebuyers

SAN MARCOS DOWNTOWN AREA PLAN

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