Pearsall hosts Town Hall August 10 on permit issues

By Marc Robertson - Editor | August 3, 2023

MAYOR HOPES TO EDUCATE PUBLIC ON CODE COMPLIANCE

Pearsall Mayor Ben Briscoe will preside with members of the city council at a Town Hall meeting Thursday, August 10, to discuss permit applications and urban development.
The meeting will be open to the public and begins at 6 p.m. in City Hall on Ash Street downtown.
Briscoe said this week that he hopes local residents as well as contractors such as builders, plumbers, electricians and roofers attend the meeting.
The application process for home and commercial development has been under discussion by the council for the past two months and has attracted queries from the public, with a number of residents unsure if their projects may be approved.
At the same time, City Hall has tackled several apparent code violations, according to the mayor and City Manager Fred Reyes. Briscoe noted in an interview on Tuesday that he believes the city’s code enforcement department faces an uphill battle in ensuring city-wide compliance, both in new construction and remodeling.
“When work is done on your home, it has to be done by a licensed contractor,” the mayor said. “We can’t have peoples’ electrical circuits or plumbing done by just anyone. Someone could get hurt or, worst case scenario, killed as a result of improper construction or installation.”
“This is not just about educating the people on the codes and established permitting process,” Briscoe said of the upcoming meeting. “This is also about hearing from the community. We want to know what kind of issues the people have faced, the difficulties they have had in meeting code requirements or applying for permits in the first place.”
Briscoe added that he believes every contractor beginning any type of new build, repair or upgrade to a property should first ask for and review the city’s permit for the work.
“We want the city to grow; everybody wants Pearsall to grow and become a better city,” Briscoe said. “But we can’t get there if we don’t follow the process.”
Councilors will take questions and discuss their plans for the city’s development, both for residential home improvement and commercial economic growth.
The mayor addressed some concerns over the permitting process during a June 13 council meeting at which City Hall acknowledged there have been violations of the municipal building code in the past and that some property owners have failed to make the appropriate applications for their improvement permits.
Mayor Briscoe also said last month that he believes some property owners have applied for construction permits only after making their improvements, which he said constituted a violation of the municipal code and the application process.
City Manager Reyes indicated last month that code violations extend beyond the downtown residential areas and have been found on the city outskirts, where he said some property owners have placed buildings without first researching whether they are on a flood plain or whether they have access to public rights of way.
Construction permits issued only by City Hall are required before any utilities may be connected to a structure. City councilors themselves are not authorized to issue permits or to make independent decisions on allowing any construction projects to proceed.
Briscoe said in June that he recommends the city impose penalties on those who facilitate construction or building placement without a permit, including builders and those who move mobile homes onto private property.
The city’s code enforcement department – staffed by a single employee – handles permit and code compliance as well as addressing public nuisances such as abandoned, dilapidated or hazardous structures, abandoned vehicles, overgrown properties and trash dumping.
“All of this falls into code compliance,” Briscoe said. “We have to simplify the process, both in the application and the general understanding of the law, and in the enforcement itself. It will be important for the general public as well as the licensed contractors in the area to know what’s required.”