City Council

CITY OF EL LAGO BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION 411 TALLOWOOD DRIVE, EL LAGO, TEXAS 77586 JANUARY 18, 2022 – 6:00 P.M. NOTICE is hereby given that the Building Standards Commission of the City of El Lago, County of Harris, State of Texas, will hold a meeting at six o’clock (6:00) PM on January 18, 2022 at the City Hall Events Room, 411 Tallowood Drive, El Lago, Texas, with respect to the following: AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. CITIZEN COMMENTS Citizens are invited to speak for up to three (3) minutes on items on items relating to the meeting 3. CONSENT AGENDA Consider/Approve minutes from meeting held on December 15, 2021. 4. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY PUBLIC HEARING (CONTINUED FROM DEC. 15, 2021) 4.1 Receive a presentation and report from the City Building Official about the integrity of the structures located at 307 Shadow Creek Drive, El Lago, Texas. 4.2 Receive comments from persons associated with the property at 307 Shadow Creek Drive, El Lago, Texas, as to why the structures located on the property should not be declared to be substandard and why the Commission should not order that the structures be vacated, repaired, or destroyed. 5. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ORDER NO. BSC 2022-01 REGARDING THE STRUCTURES LOCATED AT 307 SHADOW CREEK DRIVE, EL LAGO, TEXAS. 6. ADJOURNMENT In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of El Lago will provide for reasonable accommodations for persons attending City Council Meetings. Requests should be received 48 hours prior to the meetings. Please contact the City office at 281-326-1951. I CERTIFY THAT A COPY OF THIS NOTICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR THE DATE LISTED ABOVE WAS POSTED AT CITY HALL, 411 TALLOWOOD DRIVE, EL LAGO, TEXAS, AT LEAST 72 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING, PER THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT. __________________________ Rachel Lewis, City Secretary  CITY OF EL LAGO MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 15, 2021 BUILDING STANDARDS COMMISSION MEETING 411 TALLOWOOD DRIVE, EL LAGO, TEXAS 77586 1. CALL TO ORDER Commissioner Greenlee called the meeting to order at 6:02 PM. Present: Chris Ulrickson Robert Wohrer Scott Greenlee Ken Paschall Absent: Charles Sager 2. CITIZEN COMMENTS There were no comments from citizens. 3. CONSENT AGENDA 3.1. Minutes from the Building Standards Commission Meeting of August 18, 2021. Ken Paschall made a motion to approve and Rob Wohrer provided a second. The vote was unanimous to approve. 4. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY PUBLIC HEARING 4.1 Receive a presentation and report from the City Building Official about the integrity of the structures located at 307 Shadow Creek Drive, El Lago, Texas. Armand Barbe, Building Official, presented his report dated October 18, 2021. Report is attached. He stated the home was poorly maintained and there were visible holes in the side of the home. He stated animals have access to the house and water was able to flow into the house. He stated he would need to have access to the home to access health hazards and determine if safety issues were present. He informed the commission a metal plate had been placed over one of the holes on the outside of the home after his report was conducted, but this repair would not constitute an appropriate repair. He presented pictures for the Commission to review. The pictures are attached. Commissioner Paschall asked how the Building Official would be able to gain access to the interior of the home. City Attorney, Justin Pruitt, stated the owner could allow access or the City could get a judicial warrant to gain access. 4.2 Receive comments from persons associated with the property at 307 Shadow Creek Drive, El Lago, Texas, as to why the structures located on the property should not be declared to be substandard and why the Commission should not order that the structures be vacated, repaired, or destroyed. Rebecca Bowen, a registered owner of the property, stated she hasn’t seen the photos presented. Mr. Barbe gave her a copy of the photos to review. She requested time to address the issues in the report from the Building Official, and said she could not lose her home. She said she wanted to do more permanent repairs but she lost her job. She said her plan was to call upon family members to help. Commissioner Greenlee asked how much time she would need to correct the issues, and Ms. Bowen said she did not know how long due to her limited resources. Commissioner Ulrickson asked how long she resided at the property. Holly Justice, the other registered owner informed him that they had lived there for 19 or 20 years. Commissioner Greenlee asked if the owners would allow the Building Official to inspect the interior of the home and Ms. Bowen replied  that she did not feel comfortable doing so. She said she would feel more comfortable with the inspection to determine the scope of work after they’ve had time to do some repairs. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE STRUCTURES LOCATED AT 307 SHADOW CREEK DRIVE, EL LAGO, TEXAS. City Attorney Pruitt informed the commission the state of Texas only allows up to 90 days to move forward. He explained that an order would come out of the current meeting and three things could occur. The first is the commission could order the home be repaired to minimum standards. Second, an order could be set to vacate the residence, and third, the order could be made to demolish the home. The order would state that repairs must be done and benchmarks to be met. Ms. Bowen said she would like time to review the codes. Commissioner Greenlee made a motion to declare the property at 307 Shadow Creek Drive, El Lago, Texas, 77586 as substandard. There was a second from Commissioner Ulrickson. The vote was unanimous to declare the property substandard. Commissioner Paschall made a motion that the Building Official and homeowners present a scheduled plan to repair the property to present to the Commission in a month’s time. A second was provided by Commissioner Greenlee. The vote to approve was unanimous. City Attorney Pruitt stated he would draft an order to review at the next meeting and the owner may appeal the order to the City Council after that time. 5. ADJOURMENT – There being no further business Commissioner Greenlee adjourned the meeting at 6:37 P.M. ATTEST: ________________________________ Chris Ulrickson, Chair Rachel Lewis, City Secretary