VOLUME 102, ISSUE 72
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APRIL 3, 2013
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Master plan update reading gets first approval from city By Karen Zamora News Reporter City councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the first of two readings of the new Comprehensive Master Plan, which is being updated for the first time since 1996. The council, city staff and residents recently completed a 13-month process of updating the city’s master plan, which will guide the growth and development of San Marcos for the next 10 years. The council will make its final vote on the plan April 16. “It’s been a plan a long time coming,” said Mayor Daniel Guerrero. They created a citizen advisory council and a steering committee made up of volunteer members from a cross-section of the community to develop the master plan. It entails rewriting land development code, looking at the 37 existing neighborhoods and adopting the parks master plan and environmental restrictions across town. Bill Taylor, chair of the master plan steering committee, said members from both committees created the Dream San Marcos website and had open houses and “design rodeos” to garner input from residents about different city issues within the last year. The committees came up with more than 30 different ideas about what the master plan should look like during these events. The draft of the master plan presented to the council Tuesday came from an open house at Texas Music Theater. Donna Hill, vice chair of the master plan steering committee, said tools needed to implement the update include reviewing different elements of the master plan and making amendments, if needed, twice a year. Hill said her vision is that staff and city council use the Comprehensive Master Plan map to encourage growth in those areas. “This is what we came to after all these meetings,” Hill said. “This represents the culmination of all the public input, all the responses, all the expert opinions and the general agreement of where to locate the 33,000 people and the growth until 2025.” Residents asked the councilmembers during the public hearing portion of the reading to include an arts district and the Lazy Oaks project as part of the Comprehensive Master Plan. Matthew Lewis, director of planning and development services, said Lazy Oaks was included in the master plan, but was cut off because the proportions of the map were not scaled correctly. The councilmembers voted to amend wording of the ordinance, including the addition of the arts district and the reconstruction of the map to include Lazy Oaks.
Carlos Valdez, Assistant Photo Editor
Musicians perform at the 13th annual Unplugged concert April 2 hosted by The Center for Texas Music History at Texas Music Theater.
Country lovers take the stage at Texas Music History concert By Randi Berkovsky The University Star After the opening song on the large stage at Texas Music Theater, Gary P. Nunn, one of the founding fathers of progressive country music, let the audience know his pas-
sion for music parallels the love he has for his home state. “You ask me what I like about Texas,” Nunn said. “Well, I could tell you, but we’d be here all night long.” This love was the foundation for the Center for Texas Music History’s 13th annual Unplugged concert
READ TMT, PAGE 3
Verizon films new commercial featuring campus landmarks By Jordan Gass-Poore’ and Paige Lambert The University Star
We didn’t go find somebody from California to tell us what San Marcos needs to be.”
A woman’s father comes to visit her at an undisclosed university campus in the latest Verizon Wireless commercial, but the school’s bookstore, lecture hall and archway may look familiar to Texas State students. Austin-based Fueled Films shot the Verizon Wireless commercial on campus Tuesday. The Undergraduate Admissions Center and its archway set the scene for the commercial’s father/daughter reunion during the oneday shoot, and the duo shopped at the University Bookstore. The crew also filmed in the Centennial lecture hall.
-Daniel Guerrero, Mayor of San Marcos
READ CITY COUNCIL, PAGE 3
Rio Vista Park
555 Cheatham Street
“Texas State is very film friendly, as opposed to other universities that don’t really accommodate,” said Arie Guerrero, Fueled Films locations expert. “It’s structurally beautiful compared to some of the smaller universities.” Guerrero said the commercial is promoting new Verizon technology similar to the iPad. He said the storyline aims to show viewers how the device can help them succeed academically, financially and in their dayto-day lives. Some unpaid Texas State student extras filed into the Centennial lecture hall Tuesday evening for free pizza and the chance to win an iPad. Others came to the shoot in hopes of having
San Marcos City Park 170 Charles Austin Drive
Star File Photos
their face shown in a commercial that, according to the release form, may be aired worldwide. Anthony Monroe, mass communication junior, Teejay Johnson, undecided sophomore and Aly Munnings, undecided freshman, stayed scattered throughout the Centennial lecture hall for their first roles despite an hour wait. None of the three are Verizon customers. Johnson and Monroe heard about the evening commercial shoot while riding their bikes past the UAC, but were not sure what to expect. Crew members told extras to pretend the projector screen in the lecture hall was a teacher, and respond accordingly by nodding their head.
Alcohol access points designated as part of city park ordinance By Nancy Young News Reporter
Map courtesy of Google
Tuesday night. The free event series started in 2001 through the university’s History Department as a way to educate students and the general public about the unique musical heritage of Texas.
Though an ordinance banning the public display of alcohol in city parks went into effect Jan. 1, river access points for bringing booze into the water were not clarified until recently. The San Marcos City and Rio Vista Parks, located at 170 Charles Austin Drive and 555 Cheatham Street, respectively, are the two city greenspaces with designated river-access points. The city has put up signage to designate points where park visitors can bring alcohol into the river because the federal waterway is not affected by the ordinance. Alcohol must be kept in closed coolers in all
areas besides the access points, according to the ordinance. Rebecca Ybarra-Ramirez is the executive director of the San Marcos Convention and Visitor Bureau. She said the access points were designated right before March 29 to prepare for the rush of river goers on Easter weekend. Ybarra-Ramirez said city officials hoped the access points would have been put into effect earlier. Ybarra-Ramirez said though the process was delayed, she is glad the access points have been designated now. She said rivergoers can still drink in the river, but alcohol must be concealed in all other instances in city parks. “Anybody can get in and out
of the river at any parkland,” Ybarra-Ramirez said. “They can have alcohol, but it must be in a cooler, and the cooler has to be latched. So, you can technically walk through the park with a cooler without a problem. As long as it is closed, and you are not displaying alcohol, you are fine.” Ken Bell, San Marcos fire marshal, said the access points make it easy for people to get on and off the river. “They won’t have to feel like they have to look over their shoulder the whole time,” Bell said. “It’s just managing how to get alcohol to and from the river easily.” Park rangers don’t want to
READ ALCOHOL, PAGE 3