TUESDAY MARCH 3, 2015
VOLUME 104 ISSUE 63 www.UniversityStar.com
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CITY
Multifamily housing, commercial building permit demand decreases By Anna Herod SENIOR NEWS REPORTER @annaleemurphy Officials presented data illustrating a decrease in the number of permits issued for multifamily housing and commercial buildings from 2013-2014 at a Feb. 10 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Permit value by land use for commercial buildings decreased from $135 million in 2013 to $20 million in 2014, according to the presentation. Christopher Wood, Planning and Zoning commissioner, said the decrease in the quantity of permits issued for commercial buildings is a timing issue. “It is my understanding that the bulk of the commercial (permits issued) in 2013 was from school district projects,” Wood said. “With those projects wrapping up, there were none to replace them in 2014.”
“San Marcos has a better sense of place and that’s what we have going for us over a lot of the surrounding towns of our size.” —ANGIE RAMIREZ, PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSIONER Developers came in and secured multifamily housing permits because enrollment at Texas State started to increase about three years ago, said Angie Ramirez, Planning and Zoning commissioner. “I think probably that the decrease in multifamily housing (permits issued) is because it is really after that bubble of time when it was a little easier to get those larger developments in because we hadn’t really started talking about land use as it pertains to large multifamily developments,” Ramirez said. She said the decline in multifamily housing permits happened in part because city officials put restrictions on the land use map and elevated the development standards. The reduction can be attributed to the fact that some of the developers who wanted permits had already purchased them. The downturn in the number of permits issued is not expected to have a strong impact on population growth in San Marcos, said Steve Parker, assistant city manager. “We’ve been seeing some good steady growth here in the city,” Parker said. “We have seen a big uptake in the residential family permits, so we may be a little down in the multifamily, but I think we’re going to offset that with some residential.” There were 278 permits issued for single-family homes in 2014, up from 245 in 2013, according to the presentation. The surge of development in the city benefits residents in the form of low property taxes, Parker said. “We haven’t had an increase in San Marcos for a property tax rate since 2005,” Parker said. “We’ve been able to not increase property tax rates because of the development, so it has been a good thing.” San Marcos has been considered the fastest growing city in the country, but students are the reason for much of the expansion, Ramirez said. Ramirez wishes the population increase included more families and young professionals.
See HOUSING, Page 2
LARA DIETRICH STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Christian Ray tests samples of inventory Feb. 27 at Vape Shop San Marcos.
Texas College Tobacco Project to increase ‘vaping’ awareness By James Palmer NEWS REPORTER @jmesspalmer
T
exas State students are exploring professional marketing techniques as part of the Texas College Tobacco Project to increase awareness of electronic cigarette usage. The Texas College Tobacco Project is a campaign from the University of Texas at Austin designed to reduce tobacco usage among students. Students across Texas volunteer to campaign at their universities. The student volunteers hang posters, yard signs and banners de-
signed to provide information about tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. The displays will be completed by spring break. Texas State’s current campaign emphasizes the need for e-cigarette education, including further policy stances by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “We’re predominantly going to focus on vaping because a lot of students don’t realize that vaping is still considered a tobacco product,” said Julie Eckert, assistant director of Health Promotion Services. “(E-cigarettes are) not approved
MUSIC
Founder of Cheatham Street Warehouse leaves behind legacy of musical involvement By Jon Wilcox NEWS REPORTER @thrilcox Kent Finlay, musician, mentor and founder of the Cheatham Street Warehouse, died March 2 at the age of 77 at his home in Martindale. Finlay opened Cheatham Street Warehouse in 1974 and has since used the venue as a way to mentor and guide both obscure and famous musicians, said Blaine Moore, assistant manager. George Strait, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Todd Snider, James McMurtry and Eric Johnson owe their success in part to Finlay’s patronage, said Sage Allen, treasurer for the Cheatham Street Music Foundation. Finlay was born in a rural community outside of Brady, Texas, Moore said. Finlay learned to play music with his parents and four younger brothers. He moved to San Marcos in 1959 to attend what was then Southwest Texas State College, now known as Texas State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. Following graduation, Finlay began a teaching career in San Antonio but later moved to San Marcos to work at Gary Job Corps, Moore said. Finlay and business partner Jim Cunningham, a columnist for the San Marcos Daily Record, leased a decaying warehouse on Cheatham Street next to the railroad tracks in 1974, Moore said. The building had previously served as a railroad warehouse and features sliding doors for the transfer of cargo onto trains, Allen said. The rest is San Marcos history.
The Cheatham Street Warehouse is one of the city’s most valuable treasures, said Terri Hendrix, Grammy-winning artist and San Marcos resident. A group of locals formed the Cheatham Street Music Foundation to purchase the property in 2012 and preserve it from land developers, Allen said. The foundation’s members aim to protect the historic 105-year-old building and the culture of musical education started by Finlay. The Cheatham Street Music Foundation leases the property under the stipulation that the warehouse continue to provide education for songwriters, Allen said. Cheatham Street Warehouse hosts classes, concerts and the Songwriters’ Circle workshop, Allen said. The Songwriters’ Circle allows up to 20 artists to perform their material in front of a live audience, Allen said. “It’s about the musicians,” Allen said. “People get encouraged when they see other artists perform. It’s symbiotic.” Finlay encouraged all visitors regardless of their skill levels, Hendrix said. Hendrix was nervous the first time she signed up for the Wednesday night Songwriters’ Circle, she said. She was only 19 years old. “I just knew three chords,” Hendrix said. “Finlay was the one who encouraged me to be a songwriter.” Hendrix said Finlay was a free spirit, quiet and serious, a songwriter, a Texan and a dreamer. “He was always dreaming about his songs, even the songs he had yet to write,” Hendrix said. “His head was always stuck in the clouds, looking for lyrics.”
by the FDA, and it’s also within the policy.” The program aims to increase education on how products are marketed in order to determine why e-cigarettes are popular, Eckert said. Students will use a smartphone app to collect tobacco-marketing data. “We’re using a phone application (project officials have) created and provided for us to go into retailers that sell tobacco and do a scan of how they’re advertising it, how they’re marketing it, how much it costs and how many retailers have (specific marketing tactics),” Eckert said.
Jemm Corona-Morris, graduate student and project volunteer, said the app is a condensed version of a comprehensive survey UT used in the past for tobacco market research. The collected data will be used to analyze marketing techniques tobacco retailers around universities use to attract 18- to 24-year-olds. Eckert said the goal of the program is for participants to learn more about tobacco marketing, but health is another focus. Part of the campaign is dedicated to correcting students’ misconceptions about smoking.
See E-CIGARETTES, Page 2
UNIVERSITY
Officials seek funding for new engineering building By Anna Herod SENIOR NEWS REPORTER @annaleemurphy Three senators filed bills on behalf of Texas State officials in an effort to allocate funding for new engineering facilities.
secure money through legislation. Two similar bills were filed in 2013 but did not get past the House or the Senate. A conference committee was never appointed for the bill, so it died, said Bill Nance,
“We all came so close two years ago. I feel pretty comfortable that it’s going to go through this time.” —BILL NANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE AND SUPPORT SERVICES University officials hope to receive $107 million to fund the construction of a new 122,000-square-foot building for the Ingram School of Engineering. Senators Judith Zaffirini, Kel Seliger and Kirk Watson filed Senate Bill (SB) 21, SB 150 and SB 245, respectively, in an effort to
vice president of finance and support services. The university could experience a different outcome during the 84th Legislature. “We all came so close two years ago,” Nance said. “I feel pretty comfortable that it’s going to go through this time.”
See ENGINEERING, Page 2
JOHN CODY STALSBY STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Texas State has received a pledge of $7.1 million that will be used toward the construction on a new engineering building.