The Hays County Commissioners Court discussed and voted Tuesday on the creation of the La Cima Public Improvement District (PID).

The commissioners court accepted full discretion in issuing debt to owners of property within the jurisdiction.

On the road to city approval, the La Cima project faced opposition because many feared the burden of debt from the development would fall to taxpayers. However, some present on Tuesday expressed confidence that this solution was the best for the project.

“As a citizen who has invested all my chips into the City of San Marcos table, this is an incredibly important project for our community,” said Peter Rose, a San Marcos resident. “It will bring better jobs, better housing and it will support our school system. It’s a number of things that has passed San Marcos by in past years.”

Rose said he could move forward with comfort and confidence knowing the commissioners held full discretion on the issuance of debt to developers owning property within La Cima PID.

General Counsel Mark Kennedy further assured residents debt would fall to the responsibility of developers and owners in the jurisdiction.

“When debt is issued, that debt is paid for through way of assessments against the owner or owners of property in that area,” Kennedy said. “It isn’t a debt that would be paid for by the county through taxes.”

However, the bill from the La Cima development is calculated by evaluating the county and the city’s overlapping debt, Kennedy said.

“There’s also a legislative ceiling of one-third of the appraised value that is an important check on the (debt issuances),” said Commissioner Will Conley, Precinct 3. “If the developers don’t (abide), we have absorption rates that are consistent with the market and values in vertical structure.”

The total indebtedness of the La Cima development is approximated to be $80 million, Kennedy said. An independent appraisal of the land for the project is the next step and is anticipated to be done in next 30 to 45 days.

The appraised value can be a tremendous asset for the county, Conley said.

“I think it’s important that every court looks at every circumstance in an individual basis with the county benefit in mind,” Cobb said.

While language in the resolution under the section “Nature and Improvements” mentions unds can be used for swimming pools, playgrounds and athletic fields, extensive conversations with developers have determined those features are not on the table, Kennedy said. Later improvements made to the PID must serve a county public purpose.

“For those who say they do want growth but want the developer to pay for the infrastructure, this is the perfect solution for that,” Cobb said. “It’s a solution that makes sense.”

This article was written by Alexa Tavarez and sourced from https://star.txstate.edu/node/2341