Petition and Fairview Update
March 25, 2010
In my last post, I stated that members of the Community of Fairview were going to contact the Mayor. Since that date, not only have they contacted Mayor Leffingwell, but they have also gained the support of Texas House Senator Gonzalo Barrientos as well as the interest of several local news media resources, such as Fox News and Community Impact.
The attention, however, does not mean that Fairview’s troubles are over. Community leaders are still encouraging people to request written extensions to their final date of compliance. At first, code violators were told that they had to be in compliance by March 26, 2010. It is my understanding that most people have managed to get their requested extensions. The issue is that sometimes they are not being given written extensions, just verbal ones over the phone. Additionally, all neighbors and interested parties are being asked to write letters to the Mayor and council members. In my last post, I provided just a few selections from these letters. Apparently, the letters kept coming and Mayor Leffingwell took note.
On March 11, 2010, a member of our community gave a persuasive speech in front of Mayor Leffingwell and city council. This is copy of the speech in its entirety:
I am Thomas Heikkala. I have lived at 502 Arbor Lane in the Fairview neighborhood for the last 18 years, and I am one of the 75 folks there facing criminal sanctions ,threatening us with $ 2000.00 dollars a day in fines and utility cut offs, to force me into initiating code compliance by March 26th. It is insulting to be treated like a criminal and herded into a process.
You may have read the article in yesterday’s Statesman? Y? N?
Fairview residents have been meeting over this issue and most all of us feel that some anonymous person has obtained complicity from the City of Austin to harass and intimidate our neighborhood arbitrarily and to impose an unfair process to resolve it.
One neighbor wrote to me saying, “It is unfair for the city to suppress the value of home properties in the Fairview Section Neighborhood, by not allowing for small additions, and at the same time be handing out variances and exceptions to tax rules to many developers, businesses, and wealthy land owners who want to create more density.”
Fairview residents are distressed, because we see the City using discriminatory behavior, exacerbating the situation, and hiding behind code compliance instead of seeking a fair, compassionate, and reasonable solution.
At the same time, in ignorance of requests, several years have passed with no reply from City on neighborhood requests for a clean up of Williamson Creek, speed bumps on Ramble Lane, and to curb the deadly speeders adjacent to Fairview on South 1st Street.
We all appreciate that there are building codes, however most of the code violations in Fairview are 10 to 40 years old. Many of these homes have been bought and sold several times with folks inheriting this situation, and there are retired folks and people on fixed incomes involved here.
Whether or not Fairview residents knew their home was remodeled, had a carport built, or lived in a flood plain we are being treated like we have done something wrong and now have to pay for it.
All of us are being told there are no alternatives, but to go thru the expensive permit process as if we can all afford to do renovations.
What we would like to see is a fat and compassionate process, for example, to have a variance granted for flood plain situations, a grandfathering of older renovations, MORE TIME to deal with the issues, and having the burden of fees waved and/or financial assistance to help us out.
Thomas Heikkala and other community leaders expect to meet again with the Mayor within a few weeks.
Petitions concerning the Fairview code violations issue are circulating and if you are interested in signing one, please feel free to contact me. This problem may not affect you this time, but if Austinites let this stand, it may become the norm and keeping Austin weird – or even interesting – may one day be impossible.
Written by:
Kristi Cohen
Click to see Kristi Cohen’s Website
I’m an owner of a rental home in Fairview, and have received a notice of violation letter for a carport constructed without a permit (prior to my purchase of the property in 1987). I found a document on the web about code enforcement laws in Texas which states: Criminal Enforcement: Must include a mental state (ex. knowingly, intentionally, with criminal
negligence) for fines over $500 or if mental state not explicitly waived (Texas Penal Code §6.02). To me this sounds like fines can’t exceed $500 unless the intended to break the laws.
I went to the city permit office for more information and was told I needed to pay $100 for an application and then $33 for the permit. I have no doubt that during this process the inspector would find other code violations. I was also told that my property would need to go before the flood plan review board because I was within 150 feet of the 100 year flood plain.
I heard a story of this happening in another neighborhood in Austin and that the remedy was to obtain signatures from neighbors that they did not oppose the construction that was in violation. This would allow the structure to be ‘grandfathered’. I don’t know if this is true, but I was planning to try it. Just wondered if anyone else has heard of this, because I’m sure the city offices would not volunteer this information.