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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSBB 2022-11-08 Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING SUBSTANDARD BUILDING BOARD OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, HELD AT THE COUNCIL WORKROOM, 4301 CITY POINT DRIVE NOVEMBER 8, 2022 The Substandard Building Board of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas met on the 8tn day of November 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Workroom. Present: Daniel Caulkins Place 1 Bill Wait Place 2 John Cope Place 3 Brian Crowson Place 6, Chairman Robert McCary Place 7 Absent: Michael Gist Place 4 Jeff Arwine Place 5 Staff Members: Stefanie Martinez Director of Neighborhood Services Thomas McMillian Assistant City Attorney Dave Pendley Chief Building Official Audrey Cappallo Executive Secretary Rayneice Home Code Compliance Officer Matthew Hall Code Compliance Officer Gary Taylor Building Inspector A. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Crowson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Before proceeding forward, Chairman Crowson sworn in Stefanie Martinez, Rayneice Home, Matthew Hall, Dave Pendley, Gary Taylor, Anwav Khalil, Paul Poropatic, Brandon Johnson, and Debbie Conway. B. PUBLIC COMMENTS - AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO ADDRESS THE SUBSTANDARD BUILDING BOARD ON MATTERS WHICH ARE SCHEDULED ON THIS AGENDA FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE BOARD, BUT NOT SCHEDULED AS A PUBLIC HEARING. IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE SUBSTANDARD BUILDING BOARD DURING PUBLIC COMMENTS, A PUBLIC MEETING APPEARANCE CARD MUST BE COMPLETED AND PRESENTED TO THE RECORDING SECRETARY PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SUBSTANDARD BUILDING BOARD MEETING. Chairman Crowson informed the Board that no one had signed up to speak during public comments. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 1 of 26 • ,t • • • • • • 0..}+ , ' - . . ?. a. , r�•:AA • .. ,. �� ... • . � , • .,! . .. .. ''�_ .. .ice'•, • • • t ai •fi • of s.r ee' ! g C f} s.,� ,�. �Ia x' f." .• • n r A .t' 3 of xY •• .. Y . •. :t'}i • • . • s CA APPROVE OF MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 SUBSTANDARD BUILDING BOARD MEETING. MR. BILL WAIT MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 13, 2022, SUBSTANDARD BUILDING BOARD MEETING. MR. DANIEL CAULKINS SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 5-0. C.2 THE SUBSTANDARD BUILDING BOARD MEMBERS SHALL ELECT ONE MEMBER OF THE BOARD AS CHAIRMAN AND ONE MEMBER AS VICE CHAIRMAN. Chairman Crowson asked if there are any nominations for Chairman and Vice Chair. In response, Mr. John Cope recommended that the Board keep same Chairman and Vice Chairman. Mr. Crowson and Mr. Wait accepted the nomination. MR.JOHN COPE MOVED TO KEEP MR. BRIAN CROWSON AS CHAIRMAN AND MR. BILL WAIT AS VICE CHAIRMAN. MR. DANIEL CAULKINS SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED5-0. C.3 SBB 2022-89 PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION AS TO WHETHER THE STRUCTURE ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6809 DRIFFIELD CIRCLE WEST KNOWN AS LOT 16, BLOCK 1, WINDSOR PARK ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS IS SUBSTANDARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCES AND ORDER REPAIR OR DEMOLITION OF THE STRUCTURE. APPROVED Chairman Crowson called on Stefanie Martinez, Director of Neighborhood Services, to present the case. Ms. Martinez informed the Board that this case they have seen in the past. This case was scheduled last month in October, however, that was removed from the agenda and the meeting cancelled because the property sold the day before the meeting. There is a new owner that purchased the property on or about October 31, 2022. She has had some communication with the Area Manager regarding the conditions out there and what they asked. She did explain to them that in order for this board to consider more than 90 days on their order or their time frame to get repairs completed, they had to present a detail action plan. The Area Manager did email her; however, they were not able to come to an agreed order because they had to have their legal staff review. As of today, the property has been completely cleaned of all debris and the entire fence has been replaced. They have done that in the very short time that they've owned the property. She'll defer at this point until the agent for the property on the can speak. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 2 of 26 Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any questions for the city. Chairman Crowson opened the public hearing and asked for anyone wishing to speak on the item to come forward. Ms. Anwar Khalil stepped forward. Mr. Khalil informed the Board that he purchased the property at auction on November 1, 2022. He stated he was confused as Ms. Martinez stated October. He is waiting on the deed. He knows the property needs work. He wants to make it look nice, but he needs to get the deed first. He thanked Ms. Martinez for letting him know that someone fix the fence. He doesn't know what needs to be done. Chairman Crowson stated that the city will get with him and let him know what needs to be repaired. Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Khalil if he was going to live in the house. Ms. Khalil replied no, he is going to flip it. Ms. Martinez asked for a recess to consult with the Assistant City Attorneys. She believes there's some confusion as far as the ownership on the property. The group that she has been working with is Brookshire or something. They purchased it back at the end of October, but Mr. Khalil is now saying he purchased it auction on November 1, 2022. The property was up for foreclosure auction by the bank, but she didn't know that the bank actually went through with it. It was her understanding that the property sold before that that could take place. Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Khalil if he has the paperwork showing ownership. Mr. Khalil replied yes. Ms. Martinez asked for a quick recess to verify the ownership of the property. Chairman Crowson granted the recess at 6:07 p.m. Chairman Crowson called meeting back in session at 6:10 p.m. Ms. Martinez asked the Board to table this case until later in the meeting so that staff can work through the conflicting information as far as the ownership and the transfers of title. We would like to do a little of research and come back by the end of the meeting to go back over that information. The Board approved to table this case until later in the meeting. Case was resumed at 7:58 p.m. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that there has been some discussion between our attorney, the property, and our legal staff. There may be some conflict with the ownership on this property. That's not really for us to determine at this point. Staff would ask that an order be issued to get the repairs done within 66 days or civil penalty be assess. The repairs would be to the exterior since we have never seen the interior of the property. The property has been cleaned and a new fence has been installed. There has been communication with the Breckenridge Company, who purchased the property on October 24, 2022, from the previous owner. The previous owner that came before the Board, Ms. Woods. She believed that Mr. Khalil purchased the property at a foreclosure on November 1, 2022, so there's that conflict for them to resolve on their Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 3 of 26 own. The order we would ask would be placed on the property, regardless of the ownership. Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Khalil if he had any paperwork showing that he purchased the property. Mr. Khalil responded yes. Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Khalil if he replaced the fence. Ms. Khalil responded no. Ms. Martinez advised the Board again that she had been in communications with the Area Manager, Mr. Will McKay for Breckenridge Company, who is the owner according to the title and the deed that was filed on October 24, 2022. Mr. McKay is the one that informed us he had his contractor clean the property and a new fence has been installed. He also gave us a detailed line of work with everything that needs to be done such as replace the fence, which is done, clean up the landscaping and the trash, which is already done. Roof repair that's due to be done on November the 18th. Replace the HVAC on November the 18th. Foundation repair November 25th and then replace the siding as needed by December 9th. General cosmetic work and interior painting, texturing new flooring by January 6th, and ensured that everything is complied with to the city code by January 13th. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Martinez how Mr. Khalil got informed of this meeting. Ms. Martinez responded that she didn't know how Mr. Khalil got informed of this meeting. We did post the notice on the door as required. Mr. Khalil replied that he went to the house with his lawyer and saw the notice posted on the door and he thought it best that he showed up to the meeting to see what was going on. He going to be contacting his lawyer and the auction company to see what is going. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Martinez if she knew if the mortgage had been paid off. Ms. Martinez responded she did not look to see if that had been paid off. She can tell them the title company that was working on the sale between Ms. Woods and the Breckenridge Company, did produce a closing statement to us and they did say they had closed and funded that. She interpreted the funding as they paid off all debt to the mortgage companies. In reference to the sale that happened on October 24th, to Breckenridge, we were aware of that. We were not aware that it was still on the auction list for November 1st. Chairman Crowson closed the public hearing. The Board discussed different timeframe options. MR. DANIEL CAULKINS MOVED TO ENTER THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR SBB 2022-89 DETERMINING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6809 DRIFFIELD CIRCLE WEST LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 16, BLOCK 1,WINDSOR PARK ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS THAT THE SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE IS HEREBY FOUND TO BE SUBSTANDARD BUILDINGS BY REASON OF CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THE NOTICES OF THIS HEARING. SUCH NOTICES ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED IN THIS ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED ALL REQUIRED PERMITS BE OBTAINED WITHIN 30 DAYS; AND ALL REPAIRS TO THE STRUCTURE MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 75 DAYS. IF THE OWNER FAILS TO COMPLY Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 4 of 26 FULLY WITH THIS ORDER, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO BRING THIS PROPERTY BACK TO THE BOARD AND REQUEST CIVIL PENALTIES BE ASSESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHAPTER 98, SECTION 98-470. THE CIVIL PENALTY REGARDING THE SUBSTANDARD VIOLATION MAY BE ASSESSED AT THE RATE OF$1,000.00 PER DAY WHICH THE PROPERTY REMAINED IN VIOLATION BEYOND THE COMPLIANCE DATE ESTABLISHED IN THE BOARD'S ORDER. MR. JOHN COPE SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 5-0. C.4 SBB 2022-91 PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION AS TO WHETHER THE STRUCTURES ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 4300 BOOTH CALLOWAY ROAD KNOWN AS WILLIAM W. WALLACE SURVEY, ABSTRACT 1606, TRACT 10A04A IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS ARE SUBSTANDARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCES AND ORDER REPAIR OR DEMOLITION OF THE STRUCTURES. APPROVED Chairman Crowson called on Stefanie Martinez, Director of Neighborhood Services, to present the case. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that 4300 Booth Calloway had come before the Board in June of 2022. She advised the Board that the property was cleaned within the 30 days and that portion was closed out. However, the repairs to the structure did not occur within that time frame. The City had been in communications with the property owner who is again out of the country and set to be back until the end November per email Code Officer Hall received today at 4:55 p.m. Code Officer Hall went and visited the property today just to get a status of the property. Ms. Martinez presented photos of the exterior taken earlier that day by Code Officer Hall. There is debris again on the property. Somebody has stacked tires at the property. Someone has been accessing the property, but we don't know who. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that Code Officer emailed the owner and gave him an update on the property and asking about today's hearing. We received a response prior to meeting saying Thank you. He saw the pictures and it is very painful as he told someone take care of the property in his absence. They didn't do so. He would take action immediately and correct the code violation. Unfortunately, he is still in Libya waiting for his wife, who will be granted her visa to the US on November 20, 2022. They will be home right after that date. He will inform Code Officer Hall by e-mail or by phone call when he gets there to set up a date for property to be inspected. Meanwhile, stated before, he'll arrange for someone to take care of the tires and correct these wrongs once again sorry. Ms. Martinez advised the Board once again the owner is out of the country, and somebody's accessing the property and has brought more debris in and the structure is still in violation. The structure has not been repaired. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 5 of 26 Chairman Crowson asked if there is water service to the house. Ms. Martinez responded yes, and she believed the electricity is still on at the property. Ms. Martinez presented some photos taken of the interior of the property on July 29, 2022 showing the property still in violation. Photos did show some minor repairs and some areas were boarded. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that staff recommends that the Substandard Building Board find the property owner failed to comply with the June 14, 2022 order to repair the structure within 30 days. • It is further recommended that the Board assess a civil penalty against the property for failure to complete the required repairs to the substandard structure on the property in accordance with Chapter 98, Sec 98-470 in the amount of $1,160.00 which is $10.00 per day that the property remained in violation of the Ordinances of the City of North Richland Hills since July 15, 2022 which is the day following the final day of the Board's Order requiring the structures be repaired within 30 days. Chairman Crowson asked if the Board had any questions for the city. Chairman Crowson closed the public hearing. MR. BILL WAIT MOVED TO ENTER THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR SBB 2022-91 DETERMINING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 4300 BOOTH CALLOWAY ROAD LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS WILLIAM W. WALLACE SURVEY, ABSTRACT 1606, TRACT 10A04A IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS,TARRANT COUNTY,TEXAS THAT THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE REMAINS SUBSTANDARD; AND ORDERED THAT THE PROPERTY OWNER BE ASSESSED A CIVIL PENALTY AGAINST THE PROPERTY IN ACCORDANCE WITH CHAPTER 98, SEC. 98-470 IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,160.00 WHICH IS $10.00 FOR EACH DAY THE PROPERTY REMAINED IN VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS SINCE JULY 15, 2022 WHICH IS THE DAY FOLLOWING THE FINAL DAY OF THE BOARD'S ORDER REQUIRING THE STRUCTURES BE REPAIRED WITHIN 30 DAYS. MR. ROBERT MCCARY SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 5-0. C.5 SBB 2022-94 PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION AS TO WHETHER THE COMMERCIAL RESTAURANT STRUCTURE ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6000 RUFE SNOW DRIVE, LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 2, BLOCK B, NORTHLAND SHOPPING ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS IS SUBSTANDARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCES, AND ORDER REPAIR OR DEMOLITION OF THE STRUCTURE. APPROVED Chairman Crowson called on Stefanie Martinez, Director of Neighborhood Services, to present the case. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 6 of 26 Ms. Martinez presented an area and zoning map of the property located at 6000 Rufe Snow Drive. Ms. Martinez provided the Board with an overview of action taken to date for the structure located at 6000 Rufe Snow Drive. • May 2, 2022 case initiated by Consumer Health Officer Meagan Fendley. She observed damaged tile floors, an interior wall with a hole and damaged/rotted wood throughout the Boston Market restaurant. A notice of violation was mailed to the address listed with Tarrant Appraisal District records. • June 1, 2022 - Officer Home observed some progress, although some violations still remained, she spoke with the manager on duty in regards to when the repairs would be completed. Home was informed they are behind on making repairs and that the notices of violation were sent to the corporate office. • June 22, 2022- Officer Home spoke with a manager Corina, she stated that the repairs have started and should be completed by the end of the week. She was . informed to call Officer Home next week to schedule re-inspection at the restaurant. • August 23, 2022 — Officer Home observed a leak from the ceiling, damaged floor tile, standing water and damaged/dirty ceiling tiles. Photos were taken. • October 11, 2022— Officer Home met with Alex Poropatic, Area Manager at Boston Market. She observed little progress since the last re-inspection, there were several items that had not been repaired/replaced. Case is being prepared for SBB in November 2022. Photos were taken. • October 24, 2022 - Neighborhood Services was notified of a fire just before 8AM. Due to the damage caused by the fire the restaurant has been closed and temporary securing measures have been placed by the business operator. Ms. Martinez presented several photos of the property. Photos included: • Photo of Notice of Hearing posted on the front door of Boston Market. • Several photos of broken and crack tiles. • Photos of holes in the wall in the restaurant area. • Photos of damaged to the kitchen and appliances. • Photos of water standing and tile damage in the kitchen area. • Photos of water damage to ceiling tiles and ceiling tiles sagging. • Photos of vents needing to be cleaned. • Additional photos showing water damage to the floor. • Additional photos of damages to the ceiling tiles. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 7 of 26 • Photo of debris on the floor and a rodent trap. • Photos of holes and exposed wiring. • Photo showing where they temporary fix one of the holes. • Photo showing tape has come down on whatever it was trying to secure up there. • Photos taken after the building burned. The building was secured and is secured with a fence. • Additional photos showed building being boarded. The window has bowed out as wells as the frame. There is a small gap but it secured as well as it can be temporarily. Ms. Martinez informed the Board that she will defer until the property owner or agent for the property has had a chance to speak before presenting Staff recommendation. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any questions for the city. Chairman Crowson asked if the establishment was open prior to the fire. Ms. Martinez responded that yes, the establishment was open prior to the fire. Chairman Crowson asked if we know what caused the fire? Ms. Martinez responded that she believes it is still under investigation with the fire department. She was at the scene the day of the fire and it was raining. Ms. Martinez did ask the fire department if the fire was caused by a lightning strike. Fire Department said there was no lightning in the area, but they were still investigating. So as of right now, it's been undetermined. Chairman Crowson asked what percentage of the building is damaged by fire. Ms. Martinez responded about 50 percent. She stated that she knows after the fire there was additional rain and some more of the ceiling has come in and we have not been back in the building because of the condition. Chairman Crowson asked based on where the tarp is located, is that the area of the fire. Ms. Martinez responded the fire was in the entire kitchen. It was in the attic up to the roof line, and over the drive through area. Chairman Crowson asked if the Fire Department suspect arson. Ms. Martinez responded they were investigating that as well, but again, it's undetermined. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any questions for the city. Chairman Crowson opened the public hearing. Chairman asked for anyone wishing to speak on the item to come forward. Mr. Paul Poropatic, the Area Manager for Boston Market, stepped forward. Mr. Poropatic advised the Board that he took over this location in July. It was determined that Corporate wasn't receiving the correspondences from the city as they have recently been sold. There has been some transition with the office and correspondences were going to the old Area Manager. Once he saw what was going on and he was told an inspector had come out to the location. He wanted to set up a meeting with the inspector to see what was going because he had been told that there were some structures that Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 8 of 26 needed to be fixed. He hired a contractor to start working on some of the things such as the holes and making sure the tile on the floor was getting fixed. He had been working on trying to get everything fixed as far as the ceiling tile keeping them in and keeping the owner informed. The fire happened on the 24th and it is undetermined if it the building was struck by lightning or anything like that. They are hiring contractors to fix the whole building. Mr. Poropatic doesn't know what their plans are right now. They have 60 days to determine if they are going to demolish the building and rebuild or if they are going to refurbish the building. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any questions. Mr. Daniel Caulkins asked for clarification that the building could be demolish. Mr. Poropatic responded yes. Mr. Poropatic stated that the owner of the restaurant is speaking to the owner of the building, which they lease, on whether it will be demolished or refurbished. Dr. Caulkins asked if an insurance carrier is involved. Mr. Poropatic responded yes. Chairman Crowson asked if this was a franchise. Mr. Poropatic responded no. Ms. Martinez informed the Board that she has received a couple of requests and one in writing from Boston Market asking that this case be delayed due to the fire. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that staff did discuss this. It is even more of a reason to bring it forward because it was already substandard and now with the fire, we would like to see some plan of action going forward. She understands that they're still working on this, but it goes to show that this is a concern. It is on one of the major thoroughfares. We know they've secured it and they secured it immediately. But staff would feel more comfortable with having an order on this with a timeframe. Also, in in accordance with the ordinance and the Statute, no more than 90 days can be given unless the owner • comes forward with a detailed plan of action. We have yet to see that and she understands that the fire just occurred, but we could have seen something as far as the other repairs that was needed on the interior of the property prior to the fire. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that it is the opinion of staff that the property was in violation of each portion of the NRH Code of Ordinances referenced in this presentation and was a public nuisance. Staff recommends that the Substandard Building Board find that the property substandard and order that: • All required permits be obtained within 15 days of the board order. • The building be repaired within 30 days of the board order. • If the property owners fail to bring the property into compliance, the city should be authorized to bring the property owner back before the Substandard Building Board to request a civil penalty; o A civil penalty may be assessed against the property for failure to repair the structure within the allowed time frame in accordance with Chapter 98, Sec. 98-470. The penalty may be assessed at $1,000.00 per day that the property remained in violation of the Ordinances of the City of North Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 9 of 26 Richland Hills since the Notice and Order was issued on September 29, 2022 and received on October 3, 2022. Ms. Martinez informed the Board that Mr. Poropatic, represents the business and is not actual owner of the business. This Order and any penalty would go against the property owner who is not present. Chairman Crowson closed the public hearing. The Board discussed different timeframe options. MR. DANIEL CAULKINS MOVED TO ENTER THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR SBB 2022-94 DETERMINING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6000 RUFE SNOW DRIVE LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 2, BLOCK B, NORTHLAND SHOPPING ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS THAT THE COMMERCIAL RESTAURANT STRUCTURE IS HEREBY FOUND TO BE SUBSTANDARD BY REASON OF CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THE NOTICES OF THIS HEARING. SUCH NOTICES ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED IN THIS ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED ALL REQUIRED PERMITS BE OBTAINED WITHIN 30 DAYS; AND ALL REPAIRS TO THE COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 90 DAYS. IF THE PROPERTY OWNERS FAILS TO COMPLY FULLY WITH THIS ORDER, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO BRING THIS PROPERTY BACK TO THE BOARD AND REQUEST CIVIL PENALTIES BE ASSESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHAPTER 98, SECTION 98-470. THE CIVIL PENALTY REGARDING THE SUBSTANDARD VIOLATION MAY BE ASSESSED AT THE RATE OF $1,000.00 PER DAY WHICH THE PROPERTY REMAINED IN VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS SINCE THE NOTICE AND ORDER WAS ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 AND RECEIVED ON OCTOBER 3, 2022. MR. ROBERT MCCARY SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 5-0. C.6 SBB 2022-95 PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION AS TO WHETHER THE STRUCTURE ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6721 RICHFIELD DRIVE, LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 5, BLOCK 2 OF THE RICHFIELD SUBDIVISION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS IS SUBSTANDARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCES AND ORDER REPAIR OR DEMOLITION OF THE STRUCTURE. APPROVED Chairman Crowson called on Stefanie Martinez, Director of Neighborhood Services, to present the case. Ms. Martinez presented an area and zoning map of the property located at 6721 Richfield Drive. Ms. Martinez provided the Board with an overview of action taken to date for the structure located at 6721 Richfield Drive. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 10 of 26 • June 4, 2021 — Officer Matthew Hall sent notice of violation to the property owner, there is no permit on file for a second floor addition. • June 11, 2021- Officer Hall returned call to the property owner, Elvira Galeyeva. There was no answer and a voicemail was left. • June 14, 2021- Hall received call back from the property owner, he informed her to contact Building Inspections/Planning Department to obtain the permit(s) needed for the existing construction. • July 9, 2021- Officer Rayneice Home received an email from Dave Pendley, the Chief Building Official for the Building Inspections/Planning Department stating that the property owner applied for a permit to construct a second story to their house back in 2018 but it was never issued. The property owner decided to continue to build without any permits and/or inspections. • July 26, 2021- Officer Home confirmed the applied permit(s) still remained on hold as of January 08, 2021. • October 12, 2021- Officer Matthew Hall issued PCA (citation) to property owner this date for no permit(s) for the second floor addition(s) made to the primary structure. • November 18, 2021 - Officer Home still does not see a permit(s) on file. Officer Hall is awaiting scheduled court hearing for PCA that had been issued to property owner, Brandon Johnson. • December 15, 2021— Officer Hall had the court hearing via Zoom, property owner, Brandon Johnson, was given until the third week of January 2022 to have all documents submitted to Building Inspections/Planning. • January 26, 2022 - Officer Hall received notice from Municipal Court that the property owners, Brandon Johnson and Elvira Galeyeva officially requested a trial by Judge on this matter and trial will be set in two weeks. The husband, Mr. Johnson, stated that he will contact his attorney for future correspondence until the matter with the courts is resolved. • February 8, 2022- Officer Hall attended the court proceeding with the property owners and prosecutor. Owners agreed to plead guilty and pay a reduced 180 day deferred fine of$256.00 and were given a 180 day probation period to have their required documentation submitted to the City. • September 7, 2022- Officer Hall and the property owners attended a virtual court hearing where the property owners were fined the remaining balance owed by Judge Bass. If the property owners do not file the remaining portions of their application for permit(s) within the next 30-45 days case will considered for submission to the Substandard Building Board. Ms. Martinez presented several photos of the property. The property is in violation of Chapter 98, Section 98-61 stating that no building or structure shall be erected, constructed, enlarged, altered, repaired, moved, improved, removed, converted, or Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 11 of 26 demolished unless a separate permit for each building or structure has been obtained from the building official unless exempted by this chapter. Photos included: • Notice of Hearing posted on door. • An actually photo of the property from Google map from 2019. • Photo from October of 2021 where you can see the addition on the top of that structure. • Another photo from Google Maps from May of 2022 showing the top of the structure and the additional structure on the side of the house. • Aerial photo showing the addition, and that the roof line has changed Ms. Martinez informed the Board that she will defer until the Board has heard from the property owner before presenting Staff recommendation. Ms. Martinez also informed the Board that Chief Building Official Dave Pendley is present for questions if the Board has any. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any for the city. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Martinez to go back to the photo showing the addition on the side. He asked if the carport or the structure was attached to the fence. Ms. Martinez responded it appears to her to be attached to the fence and also to the edge of the house, maybe the gutter area. She stated that might be something Mr. Pendley could answer. Mr. Pendley responded yes; Ms. Martinez is correct. If you want to call it a carport but it will have to be removed. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Martinez how Code was notified of this violation. Ms. Martinez responded that that question would need to be answered Code Officer Matthew Hall if recalls how that came in. Code Officer Hall responded that it was forward to him by the Permitting Department. Their employee, Dena, came over and stated an application from 2019 for this property that had not been approved and they had been notified and observed that the property owner had went ahead and undergone the second story additions and everything without the permit. The property owner knowingly, willingly went forward with the addition without the permit. The property owner original made the application and the application was under review. They were requiring some extra documentation from the property owner but they never received it after trying to get this information from the property owner on several occasions. Basically, the permit was never issued and the owner went ahead with the construction anyways. Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Pendley if knows the date the construction was completed. Mr. Pendley responded that he doesn't have an exact date when the construction of the addition was completed. Our residential plan examiner gave them some correction comments shortly that after it had been applied for. It is his understanding that there were some conversations that didn't go very well. Some time went by more so than what we would normally want, but then it came up again. We sent an inspector by and it he found that the addition had already been constructed. This is when sent it over to Code Officer Hall. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 12 of 26 Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Pendley what needs to be done to remedy the problem with the structure as it is obviously that carport structure will need to come down. Mr. Pendley responded that there is a process, we can't issue a permit when we have a zoning violation. The building on the north with the roof has to be removed. There are roof structures on the other side of the property, that were present on the ariel photo, need to be removed because they are not meeting side yard setbacks requirements. Once that has occurred, then we can issue the permit. In the meantime, the owners did apply for a brand new permit on October 31, 2022. It hasn't been reviewed yet. But it will mostly likely have the same items as the first plan exam had that were deficient. If we get everything, we need for the permit however they will have to conduct inspections. At that time, all the sheet rock will have to be removed for them to do the inspections for electrical and framing. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any questions. Chairman Crowson opened the public hearing. Mr. Brandon Johnson stepped forward and stated he lives at 6721 Ridgefield Drive. Mr. Johnson advised the Board that the carport is actually more like a lean to structure. He has several expensive race cars that he stores there. There are about seven lean to structures in his surrounding area. If his lean-to structure is deemed not up to code, it can be removed. The other buildings are under 100 square feet, and he believes those do not necessary require a permit. His understanding that if a building structure is over 140 square feet requires a permit. Chairman Crowson asked if he was taking about storage sheds. Mr. Johnson responded yes. It a storage shed. Mr. Johnson advised the Board that one of the lean-to structure is a doghouse. The other one has his pool equipment. He was also not prepared to represent himself, so he didn't bring any files to upload showing where those are. The structure in the upper corner that is long holds his four hot rods. He doesn't want his cars to get hit with hail. The last time he checked front carports weren't allowed. Even though I would argue that I would build a very nice structure. Mr. Johnson advised the Board that he does construction for a living and owns his own construction company. He knows what it is going to take to get a Permit and he did apply for a permit. It took him a little bit longer because he made changes and he didn't want to go through the same thing that he did when he first applied for a permit and he didn't realize that the city was going to require such an extraneous information on a remodel addition. It's not a new construction. There is a lot of parts of the house that didn't get upgraded to try to meet the energy codes of today's standard was a little bit hard. Covid hit. The reason he built the structure was for his in-laws that live in Russia. He was in time crunch to get this done and get them here. They are still stuck in Russia. Mr. Crowson asked him about the other two structures. Mr. Johnson responded that the structure is for pool equipment and a place for his dogs to go underneath. He did put a cover over it. It is attached to the side of the house. It just another lean to but he boxed it in. Basically, when you walk through his gate from the front of the house, it's just a place to put lawn mowers because he doesn't have a huge backyard. He had kids and Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 13 of 26 tries to keep their bike equipment out of the way. He feels he did it very tastefully out of cedar. Well, you know, just kind of lame to makes it sound bad to me. Well, it's boxed in. It's made of cedar. Mr. Johnson stated that he sent an e-mail from Dave, he believes, stating the permit wouldn't be issued for the addition if these structures weren't removed. Mr. Pendley commented that the correspondence was from Mary Lou. Mr. Johnson stated that he immediately responded to the email asking if they could have a meeting on site because he doesn't believe that these two lean to structures should be removed. The carport, he gets however there are four on his block and he feels that he is being attacked when there are other neighbors with the same exact thing. And those others are not tastefully done and he at least run water back into a gutter system. He is making sure his water doesn't encroach on the neighbor. Those can be removed. We do have the application for the permit for the addition. He knows that there are going to be some hurdles, because he has two young kids, to get this inspected. He owns an electrical company. He did all the plumbing and the framing. He has a structural engineer stamp that says everything is met to code. This is exactly how any engineer would say it should have been built. All that has been turned into the city. The city said that they will start review, Friday, which so happens to be Veteran's Day, so I doubt it starts Friday, so it probably gets pushed to Monday but at this point I'm in for permitting. If they want the structure removed, then he will have his guys remove it this weekend if that will get them through the next step of permitting then we are moving in the right direction. Obviously, there's going to be some walls that probably have to be opened up, some sheet rock to see plumbing. He already had a third party inspection company already signed off and he has documentation of everything. That part will probably get tricky on how much he has to remove. He has 14 foot ceilings that are tiled all the way to the wall. He is going to push back if that has to be removed. He is going to argue that he can remove the other side and it can be seen from that other side. As a homeowner he can do all of these things without a permit. Sorry, not without a permit but without a trade license. He has done some energy code test and there are some things that need to be fix. He has held off on fixing those things because he doesn't want workers working while there is a stop work issued. He has turned in the energy comp. He still needs to do the blown insulation. He doesn't know how long the permitting process is going to take as he believes he has answered all the questions. There are going to be energy issues with this old house and trying to bind it with the new structure so. He has engineered concrete, and engineered wall bracing. The only thing he lacks to complete this addition is to finish the energy efficient application. Chairman commented that the city is not going to approve the permit until those structures are removed. He stated once they are removed do not put them back up unless you get approval from the City. Mr. Johnson said understood that carports are not allowed. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any questions. Mr. Caulkins asked Mr. Pendley if the issue with the surrounding structures the setback requirements Mr. Pendley is responded yes. The two small ones on the South there, if they're detached and less than 144 square feet, they don't need a permit but they do need to meeting zoning requirements. The one in the rear has to be 3 feet from the side property line. The other one that is attached to the house is considered part of the house and it has to meet the setback requirements. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 14 of 26 Mr. Johnson asked Mr. Pendley the building that's attached to the house, is really not attached to the house. It just uses the exterior as a wall, but it is not physically attached to the house so is there still a setback requirement from the house. Mr. Pendley responded that he would he need to send someone out to look at it but it is not attached to the house then it still needs to be 3 feet from the property line. Mr. Johnson commented that it is 4 feet off the property line. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that it is the opinion of staff that the property was in violation of each portion of the NRH Code of Ordinances referenced in this presentation and was a public nuisance. Staff recommends that the Substandard Building Board find that the property substandard and order that: • All required permits be obtained within 30 days of the board order. • The building be repaired within 90 days of the board order. • If the property owners fail to bring the property into compliance, the city should be authorized to bring the property owner back before the Substandard Building Board to request a civil penalty; o A civil penalty may be assessed against the property for failure to repair the structure within the allowed time frame in accordance with Chapter 98, Sec 98-40. The penalty may be assessed at $10.00 per day that the property remained in violation of the Ordinances of the City of North Richland Hills since the Notice and Order was issued on September 28, 2022. Chairman Crowson asked for clarification from Ms. Martinez that the city will not approve the permits until the structures are removed. Ms. Martinez responded that is her my understanding Mr. Caulkins asked Mr. Pendley even though you can't issue the permit, you could be doing the review in concurrent with Mr. Johnson removing those structures so that would allow the permit to be issued within a few days of structures being removed, is that correct. Mr. Pendley responded that is correct. They will start the review process later this week like Mr. Johnson stated but it just won't be issued for construction until those structures get removed. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if anyone had any questions. Mr. Johnson asked Mr. Pendley when they could meet at the property to at least look at the one structure. Mr. Pendley responded that he probably could have one of his inspector go out there the next day and he might even go with him assuming he will be there. Mr. Johnson asked Mr. Pendley for a timeframe. Mr. Pendley stated he wasn't sure as he one other inspection but he has his phone number and will give him a call. He said probably before noon. Chairman Crowson closed the public hearing. The Board discussed different verbiage and timeframe options. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 15 of 26 MR.JOHN COPE MOVED TO ENTER THE FOLLOWING ORDERS FOR SBB 2022-95 DETERMINING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6721 RICHFIELD DRIVE LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 5, BLOCK 2 OF THE RICHFIELD SUBDIVISION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS THAT THE RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE IS HEREBY FOUND TO BE SUBSTANDARD BY REASON OF CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THE NOTICES OF THIS HEARING. SUCH NOTICES ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED IN THIS ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED ALL REQUIRED PERMITS BE OBTAINED WITHIN 30 DAYS; AND ALL REPAIRS TO THE STRUCTURE MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 90 DAYS. IF THE PROPERTY OWNERS FAILS TO COMPLY FULLY WITH THIS ORDER,THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO BRING THIS PROPERTY BACK TO THE BOARD AND REQUEST CIVIL PENALTIES BE ASSESSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CHAPTER 98, SECTION 98-470, THE CIVIL PENALTY REGARDING THE SUBSTANDARD VIOLATION MAY BE ASSESSED AT THE RATE OF$10.00 PER DAY WHICH THE PROPERTY REMAINED IN VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS SINCE THE NOTICE AND ORDER WAS ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2022. MR. BILL WAIT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 5-0. C.7 SBB 2022-96 PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION AS TO WHETHER THE MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE ON THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 7800 IRISH DRIVE LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 1, BLOCK 4, RED GATE ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS IS SUBSTANDARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCES AND ORDER REPAIR OR DEMOLITION OF THE STRUCTURE. APPROVED Chairman Crowson called on Stefanie Martinez, Director of Neighborhood Services, to present the case. Ms. Martinez presented an area and zoning map of the property located at 7800 Irish Drive. Ms. Martinez provided the Board with an overview of action taken to date for the structure located at 7800 Irish Drive. • September 8, 2022 Neighborhood Services Director Stefanie Martinez observed a chain-link fence to be unsecured where several units were damaged due to a fire that occurred three months ago. • September 9, 2022 a case was initiated by Neighborhood Services Director, Stefanie Martinez. She observed several units damaged due to a fire. She emailed a Notice and Order to the property owners of Davis Plaza Apartments. • September 10, 2022 - Officer Home observed the unsecured fence to now be secured and locked. Photos taken. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 16 of 26 • September 12, 2022- Home spoke with Penny Sheetz, the Supervisor for Class A Management, LLC via phone to discuss the existing code violations and to provide a plan of action on how the buildings would be scheduled for repairs. • September 14, 2022 — Home received email from Penny Sheetz, of the area that is now cleaned up and secured at Davis Plaza Apartments. She also stated that they are still waiting for the insurance to complete their process before they can start repairing the buildings/units. She will update Officer Home as soon as they have a plan for the repairs to the fire damaged buildings/units. • October 20, 2022 - Officer Home observed the existing fire damaged buildings, no change fence remains secured and lock. Photos were taken. • October 25, 2022 — Director Stefanie Martinez spoke with Gordon Nicholson via phone who identified himself as the owner. He explained that they currently have two bids for repairs to the existing fire damage and are awaiting the third bid. They have also hired a Public Adjustor. They hope to get the third bid in soon so they can evaluate them and select one. It was explained a detailed plan of action would need to be provided to the Board so that they can evaluate it. It was also explained that the ordinance requires a plan of action in order for the Board to give more than 90 days to complete the work. Ms. Martinez presented several photos of the property. Photos included: • Photo of the Notice of Hearing posted on the fence and the fire structure in the background. • Photo was taken on the day Ms. Martinez was driving the area and observed it. Phot showing the fence open and the burn structure. • Another photo of the burn structure in September 2022. • Additional photos showing the damage to the front of the structure. • Photos showing the damage to the side of the structure. • Additional photos showing the outside of the building. Ms. Martinez informed the Board that she will defer until the representative here has had a chance to speak before presenting staff recommendation. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Martinez you just drove around and found this, does the Fire Department not communicate with your department about structures that burn. Ms. Martine responded we do communicate, although sometimes it's delayed. There was a mishap where they thought we were being included on the emails regrading fire damage properties but we were not. That has been corrected so we are now being informed of fires in a more timely matter. Chairman Crowson opened the public hearing Ms. Debbie Conway with Class A management stepped forward. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 17 of 26 She advised the Board that they have secured a contractor now, Belfour Restoration. They will be working with the city on getting permits and plans and working with what we have to do. Based on this kind of damage, we're probably looking at six months to rebuild. She doesn't think it can be done in 90 days, but they can get an action plan for the Board and present it to the city. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Conway if she thinks they will demolish. Ms. Conway responded no; they are going to rebuild. They have gotten everything they need from the public adjuster. We worked with the insurance company and now we have secured our contractor so they should be reaching out to the city next week. They have started the asbestos abatement. They have to do that before they can go in and work so that was done today. Once the results comes back, they'll be able to start work, but they'll get with the city and get permits. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any questions. Mr. Caulkins asked Ms. Conway if she had a timeframe how quickly those permits can be secured. Ms. Conway responded that the contractors will be reaching out the city next week to get those permits. She does know because they've done other fires for her before it takes about six months to complete what they're going to do. First, they will do the roof and get that all cleaned up. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that it is the opinion of staff that the property was in violation of each portion of the NRH Code of Ordinances referenced in this presentation and was a public nuisance. Staff recommends that the Substandard Building Board find that the property substandard and order that: • All required permits be obtained within 15 days of the board order. • The building be repaired within 90 days of the board order. • If the property owners fail to bring the property into compliance, the city should be authorized to bring the property owner back before the Substandard Building Board to request a civil penalty; o A civil penalty may be assessed against the property for failure to repair the structure within the allowed time frame in accordance with Chapter 98, Sec 98-40. The penalty may be assessed at $1,000.00 per day that the property remained in violation of the Ordinances of the City of North Richland Hills since the Notice and Order was issued on September 9, 2022 and received on September 13, 2022. Mr. Caulkins asked Ms. Martinez given that we do have a 90 day limit due to no action plan being provided and if it does require 6 months that the Board in a future session could extend the timeframe. Ms. Martinez responded yes city staff could bring this case back to the Board and ask for maybe a reconsideration. Of course, we would like to see some action taken by then. She would not be favorable for an extension if we get to 90 days and no action has been taken. Mr. McCarty asked Ms. Pendley once application for permits have been applied for how long does it take to get reviewed. Mr. Pendley responded that when a permit is applied Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 18 of 26 for on a Substandard Building Board case, he gets involved and the permit will usually get issued within 15 days. Chairman Crowson recessed the Substandard Building Board so they may confer privately with its attorney to seek legal advice in Executive Session at 7:08 p.m. Chairman Crowson called meeting back into session at 7:19 p.m. Ms. Conway informed Ms. Martinez that she believes she has an action plan available. She is trying to access her email through her phone. Ms. Martinez gives her an email address to send it to and she can display it to the Board. Ms. Martinez displays the documentation she received and it is determined that the documentation provided is an actual bid and not an action plan. Chairman Crowson closed the public hearing. MR. DANIEL CAULKINS MOVED TO ENTER THE FOLLOWING ORDER FOR SBB 2022-96 DETERMINING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 7800 IRISH DRIVE LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 1, BLOCK 4, RED GATE ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS THAT THE MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE IS HEREBY FOUND TO BE SUBSTANDARD BY REASON OF CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THE NOTICES OF THIS HEARING.SUCH NOTICES ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED IN THIS ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED ALL REQUIRED PERMITS BE OBTAINED WITHIN 30 DAYS; AND ALL REPAIRS TO THE MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 90 DAYS. IF THE PROPERTY OWNERS FAILS TO COMPLY FULLY WITH THIS ORDER, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO BRING THE PROPERTY OWNER BACK TO BOARD TO REQUEST A CIVIL PENALTY. A CIVIL PENALTY MAY BE ASSESSED AT $1,000.00 PER DAY THAT THE PROPERTY REMAINED IN VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS SINCE THE NOTICE AND ORDER WAS ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 9,2022 AND RECEIVED ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2022.MR. BILL WAIT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 5-0, C.8 SBB 2022-97 PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDERATION AS TO WHETHER THE MULTI-FAMILY APARTMENT COMMUNITY LOCATED AT 8359 NORTH HARWOOD ROAD LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 1 AND LOT 2, BLOCK 1, SILVERADO ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS IS SUBSTANDARD WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CITY'S ORDINANCES AND ORDER REPAIR OR DEMOLITION OF THE STRUCTURE. APPROVED Chairman Crowson swore in Victor Huhem. Chairman Crowson called on Stefanie Martinez, Director of Neighborhood Services, to present the case. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 19 of 26 Ms. Martinez presented an area and zoning map of the property located at 8359 North Harwood Road. Ms. Martinez provided the Board with an overview of action taken to date for the structure located at 8359 North Harwood Road. • July 28, 2022 - Building Inspector Gary Taylor compiled a spreadsheet with the existing code violations at the apartment complex, Tides on Hardwood. • August 9, 2022 - Building Inspector Gary Taylor and Officer Rayneice Home met with Louie West, Senior Regional Asset Manager and Esmeralda Castro-Moreno, the Community Manager for the Tides on Harwood apartment complex to discuss the existing code violations such as HVAC issues, cracks in bricks, rotted/damaged wood, siding, trim and peeling paint throughout several buildings within the apartment complex. • August 10, 2022 — Gary Taylor observed trash/debris along the street and throughout the complex, Gary sent an email to Louie West, Senior Regional Asset Manager and Esmeralda Castro-Moreno, the Community Manager informing them the trash/debris needed to be removed. • September 28, 2022-The Notice and Order was mailed. • September 30, 2022 — Officer Home received an email from Esmeralda Castro- Moreno, the Community Manager. Castro-Moreno informed Home that the carport repairs have been approved, should start soon, and completion should be no later than 30-days. The HVAC, insulation/exposed wiring and irrigation was completed. The dead trees & shrubbery have been removed, pending the approval to move forward with having a contractor to cut back all trees away and off buildings. Roofing repairs have been completed on various buildings. • October 20, 2022 - Officer Rayneice Home posted the Notice of Hearing on the front door of the leasing office, a photo was taken. • October 20, 2022 - Building Inspector Gary Taylor received the engineer report of the carports in phase one of the apartment complex via email. The structural engineering report outlined the reported distress in the carport structures. Ms. Martinez presented several photos of the property. Photos included: • Photo of the Notice of Hearing posted on the front door. • Photo exhibits the cracks in the wall, which shows that there's some structural issues. • Photo showing damage to the AC connections and the condition of condensers out there. • Photo of some rotten wood and the rotten wood was painted over instead of being replaced before being painted. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 20 of 26 • Photos of the carports that engineers report was detailing. It rotted on the metal I beams. • Photo of the debris overflowing from the dumpsters. • Additional photos showing the structural cracks in multiple buildings. • Photos of the interior showing the shifting in this structure. Cracks in the wall. The windows that are not lining up. Ms. Martinez informed the Board that she will defer until the representative here has had a chance to speak before presenting Staff recommendation. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Martinez if she is talking about the whole apartment complex or if it is one particular building that is substandard. Ms. Martinez responded there are multiple buildings that are in distress at this point, and Building Inspector Gary Taylor is also here. He has been the one working with this property and can identify the different buildings that are in violation as well. Chairman Crowson asked about how many buildings are we talking in total. Mr. Taylor responded there are over 24 buildings. Chairman Crowson asked if the apartments are occupied. Ms. Martinez responded she knows a majority of them are. She knows that Inspector Taylor did request a list of all the vacant units. I believe it's the intent not to allow releasing of those until the violations have been repaired. Chairman Crowson opened the public hearing. Mr. Huhem advised the Board that he represents this company on several properties. They are large international group. They have several properties in the state of Texas. They've recently done quite a bit of purchasing in the last couple of years. He thinks this property is a recent purchase this year. They put a lot of money into their properties. They take over properties and they fix them up. This one is a very large property and. It is, in his experience, typical to have the foundation issues in Texas, unfortunately. They're working with those issues in an orderly fashion. In his opinion, they've taken care the majority of the issues. He doesn't know if the officer is present but he believes the majority of the items that were pointed out have been addressed. Most of them have been completed. They're still working on some other parts. They sent him a copy of a $24,000 charged invoice and a check that was paid on October 20, 2022 to a foundation company to do some structural work. I'm basically here just to kind of vouch for this company. They want that property to be in better condition. He is interested to hear if the officer has gone out there and found that they haven't been addressing issues, but they've been spending a lot of money since day one this property. Chairman Crowson commented based on the photo taken a few days ago some of the items haven't been addressed. Mr. Huhem commented that he noticed some of those photos were taken in October and some were taken before October of cracks in the brick. The most recent photos he believed were structural issues. I have the invoice from the structural company and the Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 21 of 26 check they paid pretty significant to get this fix. He knows that these issues are being addressed. Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Huhem if he has visited the property. Mr. Huhem responded no; he hasn't been on site to see these. He has represented this company for about a year now. Chairman Crowson asked Mr. Huhem if he has a plan of action on when all these issues will be remedy. Mr. Huhem responded unfortunately due to supplies shortage and things are taking a little longer but they are fairly quick. Looking at the photos he isn't sure if the cracking in the brick has already been addressed. The foundation that caused the cracking has been addressed. He isn't sure what the plan is to seal that up as that is not his area but he can certainly have them provided an action plan. Unfortunately, he didn't have a lot of notice for this hearing so he wasn't able to get everything together, but they can certainly submit an action plan within two weeks. He isn't aware of any issue with this client as far as not being proactive with putting money into properties. Mr. Cope asked Mr. Huhem when did they acquire the property. Mr. Huhem responded he is guessing around June 2022. Mr. Cope commented you're guessing. Mr. Huhem responded that it was bought this year. They bought a lot of property this year. He isn't sure when this one was purchased. Mr. Cope asked Mr. Huhem do they due diligence studies of properties before they acquire them, Mr. Huhem responded yes, they do but their area is purchasing properties that need work and make the repairs. Mr. Cope asked Mr. Huhem so when they go in, they've assessed the property, and they know it needs work, they know what they're going to do because they've had to assess that cost when considering what they're going to pay for the property so why don't we have an action list of what they're going to do. Mr. Huhem responded that he sure that he can get it but he is only saying a couple weeks as he doesn't know if it's out there, but one could exist right now. Mr. Cope asked Mr Huhem are any of those units occupied that have windows like that. That may not be able to be opened in the event of an emergency. Mr. Huhem responded he also handle any landlord tenant liability issues and he would be surprised if there's any unit occupied that has a window that won't open. Mr. Cope asked Mr. Huhem if he knew of any studies that had been performed by the owner to ensure that is the case. Mr. Huhem responded no he doesn't. Mr. Caulkins asked Mr. Huhem with these foundation repairs typically requires a permit, do you know if the foundation repair company pulled a permit with the city for those repairs. Mr. Huhem responded he would guess they did. I have the invoice and he hoped that amount included the permit. They used a third party company for that repair. They have a maintenance team that handle smaller repairs. He would be surprised if the third party company didn't pull the permit and he can't answer as he doesn't know. Mr. Pendley commented that he didn't see where a permit was pulled on the foundation repairs. Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 22 of 26 Mr. Caulkins commented that it I key to get proper permits pulled because that allows the city to come in and inspect those improvements and allows the building department to get engaged with reviewing if there are any structural defects that need to be addressed. It certainly looks like with some of the settling, that the building department may be looking for some reports from the structural engineer, which I guess on the carport there already is one and evaluating what's going on and in assessing what repairs may need to be made. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that Inspector Gary Taylor is available to address some of their questions. He has been personally out there and has been working this property so he can be on the record addressing those questions. Building Inspector Gary Taylor stepped Building Inspector Taylor advised the Board that he handles all the inspections for all the 42 apartment communities in the city and all the hotels, motels, and retirement centers. He used to rehab apartment complexes all over the United States. He has never seen one painted without the wood work being replaced. They have gotten 7 permits to do foundation work. Building six was one of those and the brick on the north side of Building 6 is in imminent failure. Some of the cracks you could stick your finger. Building 18 is very similar. When you start a 3 story building and it starts cracking like that it goes up to column. All stacks are affected. This all started by not having the irrigation turned on. You would have cracks in the ground that you could stick your hand in. He would drive by the property every day to see if they've done stuff. They have done some tree and shrub removal. We asked that the carports to be evaluated, which we did. The engineer said he wanted them torn down, but there are other options. Chairman Crowson asked Building Inspector Taylor if had seen any foundation repairs been done as stated by Mr. Huhem. Building Inspector Taylor responded yes and he inspected those repairs. When work comes up like this on an apartment complex and they get a permit, he gives them his cell phone number so they can call him and come out and do the inspection. Once inspection is done, he goes back into the officer enter the data. Chairman Crowson asked the foundation repairs that he had seen and inspected were they up to standard. Building Inspector Taylor responded no, it's not up to standard because they didn't even implement the irrigation systems again. Building 6, for example, on the north wall, that building had extensive foundation work. The brick has not been repaired. The veneers, the cracks are still open. Building 2 faces Hardwood and the brick started to fall off the wall as they were jacking the building. We have three properties in the city that have brick problems, foundation problems because they don't irrigate. They don't keep the soil to the right content. When Code Office Home and I met with Louie and the other staff members, we asked that they give us a schedule of what you are going to do, a timeline and we could work with them. This was to keep Code Compliance Department away from them but never received. anything. Now, Code Compliance Department is involved. We have 42 properties and he hasn't had the participation he normally gets from staff and regionals and owners. He hasn't gotten responses. He did ask them when they bought the property and they painted it white if that was the primer, because now he can see every little detail that's wrong through the fence along the Hardwood, it's going to need to be reworked. Several buildings are Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 23 of 26 going to have to be either rebricked or some other veneer put on it. Building 6 is the worst and building 18 is seconded. Chairman Crowson asked if nobody lives in these apartments. Nobody lives in these apartments. Building Inspector Taylor responded funds have been limited. He has seen this before as he rehabbed apartment complex three or four years before coming to the city. You always did an assessment of the brick, the veneer, and the wood trim. You would prime it and painted it before you put it up. They just shot it all over the labels on the meters, the air conditioning units. They just over sprayed. He wouldn't have accepted the work, but there's no permit required for that. He has a very good relationship with most all the properties and all the owners. All the rehabs he has seen in 18 years, this has been one of the worst. Mr. Caulkins asked Building Inspector Taylor in the foundation repair work, had it just occurred in the last two months or has it been occurring over a longer period of time. Building Inspector Taylor responded that the irrigation worked when property was owed by Northstar. The irrigation system was up and running. The irrigation systems effects the building foundation, fire lanes, entrances in and out of the property. When the irrigation was stopped and they did the repairs on the foundation, they brought it up to a certain level and then with all the cracking and the properties ground, we recommended they start the irrigation system. When they did that, that soil got saturated again and pushed the buildings up and so now the brick is failing again. They had one that we did allowed them to put hardy siding on because the wall was falling off. Building Inspector Taylor advised the Board that he gave Building Management a very extensive list of his inspection and asked that they provide a timeline on what they were going to do and no response. Within the last month, most of complaints are coming from this property. The complaints consist of cracking, doors won't shut, windows won't open, cabinets pulling away from the wall. It needs work. It is going to require a lot of money to make the necessary repairs. Chairman Crowson asked Ms. Martinez if the city request some sort of certificate of occupancy. Ms. Martinez responded yes, with new ownership or change of ownership. Chairman Crowson replied for individual/rental units. Ms. Martinez responded no, not for individual/rental units but for individual buildings on apartment complexes. Ms. Martinez informed the Board regarding a question earlier about when the property was transferred with this new owner, it looks like the deed was filed in May of 2021. Ms. Martinez asked the Board if they had any other questions. Mr. Cope asked if anyone has inspected each individual apartment to ensure that those residents have free egress through the windows and through the doors and that they are not impaired by doors that don't function anymore because of the shifting that's taking place. Building Inspector Taylor responded that was his next step to do interior inspections as he has done that to several apartment complexes in the past. He is also taking units out of service they can't rent out until those units have been fully inspected. Once the unit becomes vacant and before they start rehab, he is inspecting those units. Building Inspector Taylor asked Mr. Cope if he answered his question. Mr. Cope responded well, partially, but there are folks living there now. Those units haven't been Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 24 of 26 inspected and presumably are suffering the same. Building Inspector Taylor responded that the rate of complaints coming in is so rapidly that he is inspecting a quite a few a week. Mr. Cope commented that he understood Building Inspector Taylor limits. He isn't actually holding him responsible to do this He is concerned for the residents who are living in these circumstances that may not be in a safe circumstance as a result of this property. Building Inspector Taylor commented they are starting to lose tenants because of these issues. Mr. Pendley responded to Mr. Cope question; we don't inspect every single unit every time inspection. We have had some circumstances when we are trying to get compliance that we do start doing individual unit inspection. The logistical problem with this particular property is that they have over 400 units in both phases and there is coordination with the occupant to let us in. Lot df people don't want to let us for different reason so we can't get into them all. Building Inspector Taylor commented that we have over 9000 units in the city right now. Chairman Crowson asked the Board if they had any other questions for the city. Ms. Martinez advised the Board that it is the opinion of staff that the property was in violation of each portion of the NRH Code of Ordinances referenced in this presentation and was a public nuisance. Staff recommends that the Substandard Building Board find that the property substandard and order that: • All required permits be obtained within 15 days of the board order. • The buildings be repaired within 30 days of the board order. • If the property owners fail to bring the property into compliance, the city should be authorized to bring the property owner back before the Substandard Building Board to request a civil penalty; o A civil penalty may be assessed against the property for failure to repair the structure within the allowed time frame in accordance with Chapter 98, Sec 98-40. The penalty may be assessed at $1,000.00 per day that the property remained in violation of the Ordinances of the City of North Richland Hills since the Notice and Order was issued on September 28, 2022 and received on October 17, 2022. Chairman Crowson closed the public hearing. MR. BILL WAIT MOVED TO ENTER THE FOLLOWING ORDERS FOR SBB 2022-97 DETERMINING THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 8359 NORTH HARWOOD ROAD LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS LOT 1 AND LOT 2, BLOCK 1, SILVERADO ADDITION IN THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS THAT THE MULTI-FAMILY APARTMENT COMMUNITY STRUCTURES ARE HEREBY FOUND TO BE SUBSTANDARD BY REASON OF CONDITIONS SET FORTH IN THE NOTICES OF THIS HEARING. SUCH NOTICES ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED IN THIS ORDER. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED ALL REQUIRED PERMITS BE OBTAINED WITHIN 30 DAYS; AND ALL REPAIRS Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 25 of 26 TO THE MULTI-FAMILY APARTMENT COMMUNITY STRUCTURES MUST BE COMPLETED WITHIN 60 DAYS. IF THE PROPERTY OWNERS FAILS TO COMPLY FULLY WITH THIS ORDER, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO BRING THE PROPERTY OWNER BACK TO BOARD TO REQUEST A CIVIL PENALTY. A CIVIL PENALTY MAY BE ASSESSED AT$1,000.00 PER DAY THAT THE PROPERTY REMAINED IN VIOLATION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS SINCE THE NOTICE AND ORDER WAS ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 AND RECEIVED ON OCTOBER 17, 2022. ROBERT MCCARY SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION TO APPROVE CARRIED 5-0. D. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Crowson adjourned the meeting at 8:18 .m. Brian Crowson, Chairman ATTEST: OAAa? C A Audrey & jDaIIo, lEycecutive Secretary Substandard Building Board Meeting November 8, 2022 Page 26 of 26