José Pérez and his family were afraid of their stove. It caught on fire when they tried to cook, so the family bought prepared food. They had other problems in their apartment, too: The air conditioning went out for a week one August, there was no hot water for a month, and mold grew in […]
Building and Standards Commission
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: History lessons
Fighting for your government seems to run in families… With Independence Day looming on the horizon, not much was happening at the July 3 Zoning and Platting Commission meeting. In the spirit of patriotism, and to make everyone’s journey to City Hall worth their time, Jim Duncan, the vice chair of the commission, took the […]
Posted inCourts
Council rejects settlement with apartment complex owner in substandard housing case
The plot thickened in an ongoing affordable housing saga as City Council Thursday denied a settlement in the city of Austin’s lawsuit against Orchard Plaza apartments owner Walter Olenick for substandard housing code violations. Council Member Greg Casar, in whose district the complex is located, said on the dais that it simply was not a […]
Posted inThe Code
Former Code director’s delay put STR renewals in limbo
The former Code Department Director Carl Smart’s decision to pause judgment of several appeals from Type 2 short-term rental owners became clear over the course of the July 26 meeting of the Building and Standards Commission, over a year after many of the appellants’ licenses had expired. “I don’t want to say he was stalling,” […]