The City’s litigation over the Westbury Square dilapidated buildings is now at an end. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the City’s Building to Standard Commission orders against the dilapidated buildings remaining within Westbury Square are final and can be demolished. The current owner of the decayed buildings has until November 25 to obtain demolition permits and begin demolition of those buildings.
However, the owners has until February 10, 2014 to completely demolish both buildings. Even though the owner will seek an extension of the repair order entered against the theatre building, once an extension is granted, an inspector from the City’s Public Works and Engineering Dept. will perform the requisite inspections to determine what repairs are needed. After all repairs are made, the owner can request a Certificate of Compliance to have the repair order released. The City Legal Dept. will check for permits and continue to monitor progress to ensure demolition progresses relative to the timetable discussed with the owner.
The Department of Neighborhoods, which heads the Neighborhood Protection Division, has been alerted and given a “heads up” that if satisfactory progress is not been made in November, the Dept. will need to find an available funding source and process these buildings for demolition. The District K office will continue to keep you posted on this evolving development.
