Vision SMTX Comprehensive Plan

IMPLEMENTATION

Lastly, the fiscal impact analysis identified major findings related to the location of growth that impact land use and future annexation decisions. • The location of growth significantly impacts the effectiveness and cost of fire service. Fire service effectiveness is driven by response time to calls for service and the utilization of firefighter units and apparatus. Development that is far from existing fire stations (i.e., with a response time greater than four to six minutes) impacts response times and utilization of units. New development outside existing fire station service areas has a much greater cost to serve as it will generate the need for new stations and firefighter staffing. • The location of growth also impacts police response as new developments are farther from the core of the city. Response times will be longer, and this generates the need for more districts and more officers. In addition, the City of San Marcos’ ETJ is within four different counties (Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, and Hays). Growth that occurs in Caldwell, Comal, and Guadalupe counties within the San Marcos ETJ produces greater service costs than Hays County. This includes farther distances that may need to be traveled to coordinate or process incidents. • Potential growth areas for the City of San Marcos, in some cases, are outside of existing water and sewer service areas for the City’s water and wastewater utilities. New development in areas outside of existing utility service areas will generate requests for service even if the new development is not annexed into the San Marcos. If the City chooses to not expand its service boundaries to serve new development, it can create the potential for encroachment of neighboring districts or new, small-scale water and sewer districts to be formed. Encroachment from other districts can limit the City’s influence on the direction and pattern of development. Small-scale districts, especially sewer districts, can create the risk for future failure of the small sewer system or inadequate standards that may impact the long-term quality of life for San Marcos residents. The expansion of the City’s utility systems should follow the direction and pattern of growth prescribed in this Comprehensive Plan.

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SAN MARCOS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN 2024