San Antonio Building Standards Board Meeting - October 9, 2025
San Antonio Building Standards Board Meeting - October 9, 2025
The San Antonio Building Standards Board (BSB) met on October 9, 2025, at 9:00 AM to hear cases regarding dangerous buildings. The meeting included roll call, approval of minutes, a staff report, and consideration of four properties for demolition. All motions passed unanimously. One agenda item was postponed due to ownership changes.
Consent Calendar
- The board approved the minutes from the previous meeting as drafted by a unanimous voice vote.
Staff Report
- Jenny Ramirez, Code Enforcement Manager, reported that agenda item #9 (1239 Collabor Road, Council District 1) was pulled because new ownership developments required proper notification. The item will be rescheduled.
- Three emergency demolitions were read into the record: 326 Montpelier Drive (fire on 9/8/2025, demolished 9/16/2025), 2038 Lion Street (fire on 9/24/2025, demolished 10/1/2025), and 244 Delhurst Drive (accessory structure fire). No further board action was required per Chapter 6-175.
Public Comments & Testimony
- 730 Gabriel: Owner Rinda King testified that the property was her childhood home and she had fallen ill during COVID, making repairs difficult. She requested time to compare costs between city demolition and private contractors. Her cousin, Cassandra Smith, supported the request for time.
- 5647 Mayo Drive: The board read three letters into the record from Martin Salas (incarcerated, pleading for extension to restore his grandmother's home), and from Barbara Rodriguez (requesting an extension on behalf of Salas). The letters described efforts to obtain a roofing permit and expressed sentimental value.
- 249 Barrett Place: Two public comments were read. An anonymous comment described the property as abandoned for over eight years, an eyesore, and a magnet for rodents and homeless persons. Amanda Lee Kemmer, a neighbor, spoke in favor of demolition, noting the property had been neglected and the city had spent money on lawn maintenance.
Discussion Items
- 730 Gabriel (Case first time heard): Staff recommended demolition. The property at 730 Gabriel, built in 1949, was vacant, had no utilities since 2006, and showed severe structural damage (roof holes since 2008, rotting floors, foundation failure). It was within 1,000 feet of a school. The owner stated she could not afford repairs due to disability and wanted to demolish and rebuild for home dialysis. The board found the property a public nuisance, not feasible to repair, and ordered demolition within 30 days.
- 5647 Mayo Drive (Third time heard): Staff recommended demolition. Property owned by the estate of Sanchez Julio. No owner present. Previous 90-day repair order expired; a re-roof permit was issued but no work done. The owner's son is incarcerated. The board found it a public nuisance and ordered demolition within 30 days.
- 5411 Stony Brook Drive (First time heard): Staff recommended demolition for both the main structure and an accessory structure. Property owned by Vallejo, Flores, and Ayala. No contact made. Extensive interior damage, trash, stripped wiring, a leaning storage unit. Board ordered demolition within 30 days.
- 249 Barrett Place (First time heard): Staff recommended demolition for the main structure. Property owned by Garcia and De Villa. No contact made. Built in 1929, pier and beam foundation sinking, roof hole, animal feces, spongy floors. Board ordered demolition within 30 days.
Key Outcomes
- Motion 1 (730 Gabriel): Unanimous vote to declare the property a public nuisance, order demolition within 30 days, and require the property be secured and free of trash/debris.
- Motion 2 (5647 Mayo Drive): Unanimous vote to declare the property a public nuisance, order demolition within 30 days, and require the property be secured and cleared.
- Motion 3 (5411 Stony Brook Drive): Unanimous vote to declare the property (main and accessory) a public nuisance, order demolition within 30 days, and require the property be secured and cleared.
- Motion 4 (249 Barrett Place): Unanimous vote to declare the property a public nuisance, order demolition within 30 days, and require the property be cleared of trash and debris.
- Administrative Items: Judy Kroom announced Yvonne Addison's appointment to the board (Council District 8, engineer category), reappointment memos for Dwayne Nelson and Fred Andes scheduled for City Council approval, and a call for applicants for at-large positions with a deadline of October 17, 2025. The next full board meeting is October 16, 2025. Meeting adjourned at 10:28 AM.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Dwayne Nelson. I'm the chair of today's meeting. Welcome to the San Antonio Building Standards Board for October the 9th, 2025. If we could, let's have roll call. Present. Joel Solis. Present. George Graymus Jr. Present. Dr. Arlinda Lopez Rodriguez. Present. Kayla Miranda. Present. Evon Addison. Fred Andes. Present. Also present in the meeting from the City of San Antonio are Eric Burns and Lucinda Orozco from the City Attorney's Office. And from Development Services. Melissa Ramitas, Deputy Director. Jenny Ramides, Code Enforcement Manager. Judy Kroom, Development Services Specialist Supervisor. Melissa Garza, Administrative Assistant 2, and myself, Estorties Development Services Specialist 1. Chair Accorma is present. Thank you. The City of San Antonio provides translation services for anyone who may need assistance in uh understanding what's happening with the board. If we could, let's have the Spanish translation of that. Good morning, everyone. Buenos días, uh tenemos services de traduction of spanol. Thank you. As stated previously, a quorum is present. Please silence your cell phone or any device that may disrupt this public hearing. No person shall delay or disrupt the proceedings or disobey the order of the chair. If you wish to speak on a case, you'll be allowed three minutes. However, an owner or owner's representative will have unlimited time. Please keep all information relevant to the property in question and the code violation. As advised prior to the public hearing, the city will provide translation services for anyone needing assistance. It is our understanding that you have made such arrangements as advised in your notice of hearing. Our expectation is that you submitted the required documents prior to this public hearing. Your responsibility as a property owner or lienholder of a dilapidated structure case is to demonstrate the following. Number one, provide the required documents, discuss your detailed scope of work with a cost of each item outlined in order to bring the property to compliance to the satisfaction of a code officer. Number two, submit the required proof of financial ability to pay for the proposed work and discuss the feasibility of the repairs depend upon monies at hand. And number three, request the amount of time needed to complete the work. All abatement ordered by the board shall be enforced. All work proposed must be done within code regulations with required permits prior to commission commencement of the work. You may obtain all permits from the Department of Development Services located at 1901 South Alamo Street, San Antonio, Texas, 78204. If in doubt as to the process during the time, please contact the code enforcement officer. Any offer any owner or lienholder dissatisfied with the order of this board may file an appeal in civil district court within 30 days after the date that the order is mailed. If you have any questions regarding the order, please contact the four code enforcement officer of development services staff member by phone at 210-207-5422.
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