Government
BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN & ERIC WEILBACHER
Paxton sues San Marcos over marijuana reforms In November 2022, San Marcos voters approved Proposition A, which ended low-level marijuana offense arrests in the city. Now Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing San Marcos—along with Austin, Killeen, Elgin and Denton—for “adopting amnesty and nonprosecu- tion policies that violate Texas laws concerning marijuana possession and distribution,” according to a Jan. 31 news release from his office. The backstory Voters approved the ordinance with more than 80% of the vote. In November 2023, a report from the activist group Ground Game Texas showed that from January-June 2023 there was an 85% reduction in marijuana possession citations and arrests when compared to January-June 2022. During a March meeting of the San Marcos City Council, Police Chief Stan Standridge said arresting and charging individuals with marijuana possession still occurs if those arrests are due to other charges. Current situation According to Page 64 of the lawsuit filed, the attorney general seeks a temporary and per- manent injunction on “this ordinance and any corresponding San Marcos Police Department general order or directive, constitute a policy under which San Marcos will not fully enforce laws relating to drugs, including Chapter 481. Chapter 481 makes possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia an offense.” Eric Martinez, executive director of the activist group Mano Amiga, one of the organizations that
San Marcos seeks to test water in-house The city of San Marcos gained ground on reducing the turnaround time for determin- ing if drinking water is contaminated, as well as reducing boil water notice durations. San Marcos City Council approved a $118,654.32 contract Jan. 16 with Fischer Scientific through OMNIA Partners Coopera- tive Purchasing for water quality laboratory equipment to perform in-house testing on public drinking water and wastewater. Currently the city’s lab, located at its Public Services Complex at 2217 E. McCarty Lane, is being used for processing water samples but not analyzing them. Instead, the city is sending water samples to subcon- tracted commercial labs. The laboratory equipment purchased from Aquion IC and Gallery Aqua Master, according to agenda documents, will be used to test public drinking water and wastewater samples in-house, which means the city is one step closer to becoming an accredited laboratory. What it means Accreditation will give the city of San Marcos the ability to test all water and wastewater samples in-house, which will improve customer experience through quicker turnaround times. “The quicker that we can get results, the better, not only for us as a utility but to be able to provide the necessary communica- tion to the public in case there’s an issue,” Water Quality Manager Ron Riggins said.
How we got here The lawsuit asserts that cities do not have the authority to decriminalize marijuana locally. February 2022 Ground Game Texas and Mano Amiga kick off petition drive for a ballot proposition calling for the end of citation or arrest for those found in possession of 4 ounces or less of marijuana. August 2022 • Petition drive submits more than 10,000 signatures, City Council certifies 4,667 deemed valid by the City Clerk, clearing the way for the November ballot. November 2022 Proposition A passes with 81.84% of the vote March 2023 San Marcos Police Department clarifies misdemeanor marijuana enforcement following voter-approved ordinance November 2023 Misdemeanor marijuana arrests drop 85% in San Marcos, 1 year after voter-approved ordinance Jan. 31, 2024 Paxton sues San Marcos and several other cities over marijuana reforms • City Council opts to send the proposition to voters instead of voting on it themselves.
SOURCE: CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL/COMMUNITY IMPACT
collected signatures to get Proposition A on the ballot, said they welcome the lawsuit. “Rather than viewing this legal challenge as a setback, we see it as an opportunity to shed light on issues that demand attention,” Martinez said in a news release from the organization. In an email, city of San Marcos Communica- tions Manager Nadine Bonewitz said the city does not have a comment to provide at this time on the matter.
Buda makes headway with 775-acre development After years of negotiations, MileStone Commu- nity Builders has the green light to move forward with its development dubbed Persimmon. Buda City Council unanimously approved the 775-acre development agreement Feb. 6. The gist slated for commercial use, schools and a fire/EMS site. Persimmon would be financed through a tax increment reinvestment zone and a public improve- ment district.
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Several more steps are needed for the develop- ment to go forward, including the release of some property from Austin’s extra-territorial jurisdiction, request inclusion in Buda’s ETJ and more. City Manager Micah Grau said city staff will be continuing to negotiate terms with the developer.
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The Persimmon development is slated to have 2,300 residential units. Those will include town- homes, but not apartments or multifamily homes, according to agenda documents. Some areas are
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SAN MARCOS - BUDA - KYLE EDITION
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