Planning & Zoning Commission - Regular Meeting

I'll call this regular meeting and planning zoning commission to order on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026 at 6 p.m. Roll call please. Sure.

William Agnew here. Randy Bryan here. Cheryl Burleson here. David Case here. Lupe Costilla here. Mariah Dunn. Allison Hardy here. Lucy Johnson here. Ronnie VanUnderkerke here. We have a quorum.

I'd like to welcome everybody to tonight's meeting. As you please sign off your cell phones. The commission may only discuss item posted on tonight's agenda. All other anchorage is afforded to staff. The commission will strive to ensure that meetings are conducted in a courteous manner, in an atmosphere free of defamation, intimidation, and personal insults, profanity, or threats of violence. This now brings us to our citizen comment period. I do not believe we have anybody signed up. All right. This now brings us to our consent.

Oh.

Why don't you come on up and give me your first and last name. It's y'all's lucky day. We'll do both of y'all. So if you both please just come to the podium, state your name. You have three minutes after you state your name.

Hi, my name is Dwayne Bradley, and I own the Davenport 194 South Guadalupe. But I'm here representing South Square Collective, which is a group of business owners, including the Davenport, industry, Gus's. Triple Six Coffee Shop, Patio Doshetta, and Rogelio's. And we are all very in favor of Thirsty Go getting their cup. We were super excited when we heard that they were going to move into the old Aqua Brew space. They fit into our area of town very well, and we hope that you'll approve the cup for them. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bradley.

Hi. Hi. I'm Jean Baggett with the Downtown Association, also known as DASM. I'm here to comment on item number three on your agenda. Behind the old HEB Center at MLK in Guadalupe is a brewery. For several years, Aqua Brew was housed there. It is totally furnished with vats and brewing equipment and sat vacant for quite a long time. Thirsty Planet is now the owner and brings with it a reputation of being a respected business. They offer many flavors of beer and alcoholic beverages. It is so great to see that this space is being utilized by such a prominent brewing company. This company comes with many years of experience having been in Austin. DASM is so happy to have such a truly high caliber company in that space and look forward to years of engagement in their tasting room with our community. They also have a space available for gatherings, something our downtown and city definitely need. We welcome our new neighbor and know that they will be a valuable asset to our downtown. We definitely recommend that This CUP receives your approval. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Baggett. It's a pleasure to have DASM here today representing downtown. Do we have anybody else in the chamber that wishes to speak? Anybody online wish to speak? All right, brings us to our citizen comment period. I mean, I'm sorry, brings us to our consent agenda. We have two items. One's going to be our meeting minutes, but we'll move to item number two right now. And if we so choose, approve them both at the same time.

Chair, I move to approve the consent agenda, items one and two.

Oh, thank you. We've got a motion to approve by Commissioner Johnson, seconded by Commissioner Bryan. Any further discussion on this item? All right, roll call, please. Sure. Randy Bryan.

Yes. Michelle Burleson. Aye. David Case. Aye. Libby Costillo.

Aye.

Mariah Dunn. Aye. Allison Hardy. Aye. Lucy Johnson.

Aye.

Ronnie Vinoderkirky. Aye. William Agnew. Aye. The motion to approve carries. That brings us to item number three. CUP 2631, Bluebonnet Copacking, hold a public hearing and consider a request by Brian Smittle on behalf of Bluebonnet Copacking for renewal of a conditional use permit to allow on-premise consumption of beer and wine located at 110 East MLK Drive, Suite 130. Open public hearing.

Good evening, Chair, Commissioners, Craig Garrison, Planner. Bluebonnet Copacking, also known as Thirsty Planet Brewing, is located within the 110 Shopping Center at the southeast corner of East MLK Drive and South Guadalupe Street. Next slide. The business has held a beer and wine conditional use permit since April of 2025. Surrounding uses include restaurants, bars, professional offices, and multifamily apartments across Guadalupe Street. As stated in the staff report, this location has had a history of a brewery since August of 2017. Next slide. Existing zoning is character district 5D downtown. The proposed hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12 a.m., and Friday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., and the CUP expired on April 22nd of this year. Next slide. Staff use San Marcos Development Code Section 2834 and 5155 when reviewing the case, and this analysis is found in your staff reports. The tasting room is approximately 2,200 square feet, and the outdoor patio is also approximately 2,200 square feet. This is a closer site plan of the floor plan, sorry, closer floor plan. And 36 notices were mailed to surrounding properties and two posted signs were placed in the property. Staff has received zero comments for or against. And staff recommends approval of CUP 2631 with the following conditions. This permit shall be valid for three years and shall expire June 23rd of 2029, provided standards are met. No outdoor amplified sound shall be permitted after the closing of the business, but in no case later than 12 a.m. The business is responsible for cleaning the area within 100 feet of any exit land development code section 5155E2D. The number of people occupying the building is required to remain compliant within the fire code to include ensuring that occupant loads stay at or below posted levels. and the paramount should be posted in the same area and manner as the certificate of occupancy. I do know the applicant is available for any questions. That concludes the presentation. Thank you.

All right. If you like the applicant, you may speak in favor of your permit at this time. And you please just state your name and address, and we'll have three minutes.

Brian Smittle, 12601 BK Parkway, Austin, Texas. Good evening. My name is Brian Smittle. I'm here on behalf of Bluebonnet Co-Packing, which owns Thirsty Planet and Hops and Grains. I run the brewery operations. Our director of sales, Louie, is here as well. First, I want to thank the commission and city staff for working with us to allow us to remain open after our original CUP period expired on April 22nd. That was not intentional. Because of federal permitting delays and related to the government shutdown, our final approvals took much longer than expected. We received our final TABC approval on March 4th, and had our soft opening on March 7th, and frankly missed the CUP renewal timeline while focusing on opening and getting compliant. We appreciate the city's patience and will not be late for future renewals. As a quick update, San Marcos businesses have been extremely welcoming. We are already in approximately 15 local accounts in San Marcos, and we're continuing to build relationships here. Outside of San Marcos, the brands are also regaining momentum. We are in approximately 300 restaurants and bars in Central Texas, along with HEB, Central Market, Walmart, Randall's, Speck's, Total Wine, and Twin Liquors. Whole Foods is expected soon, and we're also reopening the San Antonio market. Thirsty Planet has been a part of the Texas craft brewing community since 2010, with brands like Thirsty Goat Amber, Buckethead IPA, Zoe, and Pale Mosaic. Our goal is to bring those brands back responsibly while also making this San Marcos location a positive part of the community. We are family-oriented and dog-friendly. We recently hosted the Barks for Beers, sponsored a local hockey team in Kyle, and are partnering with Mothership here in San Marcos to sponsor an artist. We're also looking for additional nonprofit, neighborhood, and community partnership opportunities. Our facility is available for nonprofit and neighborhood groups whenever we can be helpful. We believe the brewery creates a very revitalized gathering space, brings additional foot traffic to the area, and supports surrounding local businesses. We appreciate the city's support and respectfully request the approval of the CUP.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Smith. Anybody else in the chambers wish to speak? Anybody online wish to speak? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing.

Make a motion to approve CUP 2631 with staff recommendations, except that the expiration date will be April 22nd, 2029, which is three years from the expiration of the current CUP. I'll second.

All right. Motion approved by commissioner Agnew, second by commissioner Burleson, um, with a maturity date of April 22nd, 2029. Any further discussion on this item? Yes, sir. Commissioner Agnew.

I do have a question. Uh, this is not located in the CBA, correct?

Correct. It's not.

So if they do decide to serve food, it has no bearing on the CUP. That's correct. Okay. That's fine. Thank you.

Any further discussion? All right, roll call, please. Sure.

Michelle Pellison. Aye. David Case. Aye. Libby Costillo. Aye. Mariah Dunn. Aye. Allison Hardy. Aye. Lucy Johnson. Aye. Rodney Venetokirky. Aye. William Agnew. Aye. Randy Bryan. Yes. The motion to approve carries. Thank you. Brings to item number four. CUP 2632, Valentino's. Hold a public hearing and consider a request by Cody Taylor on behalf of Valentino's for renewal of a conditional use permit to allow on-premise consumption of mixed beverages located at 110 North LBJ Drive. We will open the public hearing.

Good evening, Chair, Commissioners, Craig Garrison, Planner. Valentino's is located north of the intersection of East San Antonio Street and North LBJ Street. Next slide. The business has held a restaurant CUP since 2021. The San Marcos Development Code has specific requirements for restaurants within the central business area, and surrounding uses include personal services, offices, bars, restaurants, and the Hayes County Courthouse across the street. Next slide. The existing zoning is character district 5D downtown. The hours of operation are Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. and Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. The CV expiration is October 10th of 2026. There are concerns from environmental health and code compliance and there were 21 calls reported with the San Marcos Police Department over the last three years. Planning Department staff considered the health code violations during our staff analysis and drafting the staff recommendation So that was included in the recommendation, even though you just received those health reports in person today. Staff, use San Marcos Development Code Section 2834 and 5155 when reviewing this case, and that analysis is found in your staff reports. And before, you'll see the current floor plan. On the next slide, you'll see the patio floor plan. 404 notices were mailed to surrounding properties and one posted sign placed on the property. Staff has received zero comments for or against. And staff recommends approval of CUP 2632 with the following conditions. The permit shall be valid for three years and shall expire October 10th of 2029, provided standards are met. The business is responsible for cleaning the area within 100 feet of any exit. Land development code section 5155E2D. The number of people occupying the building is required to remain compliant with the fire code to include ensuring that occupant loads stay at or below posted levels. And this permit should be posted in the same area and manner as the certificate of occupancy. I do know the applicant is here and that concludes the presentation. Thank you.

Thank you. Would the applicant like to speak in favor of your permit at this time? Okay. Any of us in the chambers wish to speak? Anybody online? Seeing none, we'll close the public hearing.

Make a motion to approve CUP 2632 with staff recommendations. I'll second that. I'm sorry.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Plus three additional conditions, which we customarily attached to restaurant CUPs in the CBA, and those conditions are the business must have a kitchen and food storage facilities of sufficient size to enable food preparation. The kitchen must be equipped with and must utilize a commercial grill, griddle, fryer, oven, or similar heavy food preparation equipment in accordance with the city's health code. Next, the business must have meals available to customers during the hours that the business is open. A meal must consist of at least one entree, such as a meat serving, a pasta dish, pizza, a sandwich, or similar food in a serving that serves as a main course for a meal. At least three entrees must be available during each meal service. And additionally, the business must be used, maintained, advertised, and held out to the public as a place where meals are prepared and served. An eating establishment shall have a posted menu on their website and any applicable social media platforms. That's it. Okay, do we have a second from Commissioner Costillo?

Sure.

Okay, we have a second. And it brings us to discussion. For clarification, what Mr. Agnew just, and please correct me if I'm wrong, Commissioner Agnew, what he just repeated is a copy and paste from land development code onto the conditional use permit that goes on the wall.

That's right.

So nothing new was added as far as.

I see. Okay. Okay.

Any further discussion?

Yes, sir. I have a question. So how come on the previous one there was like a sound ordinance thing, and on this one there's not? Is it just because of the location? And I guess that's for city, or for staff, I mean.

Yes, Commissioner. Staff did analysis and found that there was no residential or multifamily nearby. Secondly, downtown there is a lot of noise coming from all restaurants and bars. Finding enforcement for that sound condition to be hard.

I do have a question for Claudia. Yes, sir.

Good evening, Commissioners. Claudia Cormier with Code Compliance.

Thank you. So when I look at the pictures here, they look bad. But realistically, there's only three or four buts. And the one that bothers me the most is the one that looks out of the way 48 hours after you were notified. Is that correct? The one with all plates around the black bench out front? Are there any other businesses? Because I don't go downtown after 6 o'clock. But are there any other businesses around that area that have the same issues?

Not with the plates. Um, like I said, and like I put in my draft, I have no problem with approval just to clarify that, you know, everybody's being held to the same standards as far as cleanliness. But as far as plates, no, um, I don't have any statistics from our downtown crew about any other, um, kind of trash. This is the one that stands out because it's the plates from food, unfortunately. but I know that they're, um, I believe our downtown manager keeps track of any kind of other cleanliness issues such as bodily fluids and like, and we're talking about vomit, um, urine, anything like that. But I don't have that on me. Thanks. Yes, sir. Yeah.

Just reference. Mr. Van Otterkirke's question. I walked downtown with my dog early in the morning pretty frequently. There are other places we run across that have food out on the sidewalk. It's kind of a chronic problem down there. My dog loves it, but I don't. I don't. But no, they're not the only ones.

And I just want to be clear. I don't expect businesses down there to be babysitters. I mean, it's going to happen, but okay.

Any further discussion? Do I need to repeat those three conditions? We got those on there? Okay, good.

Roll call, please. Sure. David Case. Aye. Libby Costillo. Aye. Mariah Dunn. Aye. Allison Hardy.

Aye.

Lucy Johnson.

Aye.

Ronnie Minotukerke. Aye. William Agnew. Aye. Randy Bryan. Aye. Michelle Burleson. Aye. Motion to approve carries.

All right. This brings us to our executive session, item number five.

Planning and zoning commission will convene an executive session in accordance with sections 551.071 of the Texas government code to consult with the city attorney to receive legal advice regarding conditional use permits.

I'll apply it. I'll apply it. TO PROVIDE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL. DO I HAVE A SECOND?

I'LL SECOND.

MOTION APPROVED BY COMMISSIONER CASE, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER BERLINSON. ROLL CALL, PLEASE. SURE. LUPE COCIA.

AYE. MARIA DUNN. AYE. ALLISON HARDY. AYE. LUCY JOHNSON. AYE. RONNY BERNARDO-KIRCHY. AYE. WILLIAM AGNE. AYE. RANDY BRYAN. AYE. SHELL BERLINSON. AYE. DAVID CASE. AYE. CONVENE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.

CAN YOU NOTE THE TIME AS WELL?

I WASN'T SURE HOW I WAS GOING TO GO ON THAT ONE.

IF YOU CAN NOTE THE TIME THAT WE'RE... AT 6-17 PM. THANK YOU. Are we staying in here or are we going to the conference room? Aye.

Allison Hardy. Aye. Lucy Johnson. Aye. Ronnie Van Otterkirche. Aye. William Agnew. Aye. Randy Bryan. Aye. Cheryl Burleson. Aye. David Case. Aye. Lupita Costilla. Aye. We're adjourned at 7.14 p.m. All right.