La Cima

As a new development, La Cima, has become the talk of the town. The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance has many questions about the development, as we do with all new developments. Along with others we were invited to meet  with the developers in the early, conceptual phase of the project. The presentation was interesting, but very general. As with all such projects it continues to evolve, and  we continue to have questions. Some, for example, are related to the parkland: Would the 100 proposed acres of parkland be dedicated to the city? Is there a plan to connect to Purgatory Creek Natural Area? Others are related to water quality: Where are the recharge features?  The Master Plan is another concern: How does this proposal fit with the 2013 master plan? There is more not known about this project than is known.

SMGA does not endorse development proposals. Our mission is to create an interconnected system of parks and natural areas. To that end, and in support of our values of protecting natural resources and providing nature-based recreation, we talk to developers and their team members to try to improve projects. We encourage our city leaders and relevant agencies to expand our natural areas, greenbelts, greenways and trails and our recommendations may cause developers to improve their plans. We may even ask that approval be denied when projects are wholly counter to our vision. We prefer a cooperative, respectful process to best serve our community and our interests in support of the SMGA mission.

There may be some portions of the current proposal which are consistent with SMGA’s mission. La Cima offers approximately 100 acres of greenspace along creek floodways and interconnected trails within the La Cima neighborhood. However, at this time, the proposal does not include a connection to Purgatory Creek Natural Area, but it does set aside land for endangered species as part of the Hays County Habitat Conservation Plan. All in all there are many issues which need clarification, and SMGA and the general public will look forward to clarifications in the future.