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New building official briefs board on demolitions, permits and open-vacant property rules
Summary
Reggie Harris, the city's newly hired building official, introduced himself to the Board of Adjustment and gave a status report on multiple code-enforcement properties, permit expirations and the city's process for owner compliance and demolition.
Reggie Harris, the city of Freeport's new building official, told the Board of Adjustment on Wednesday that staff will provide monthly updates on code-enforcement actions, several demolition-ready sites are being managed for owner compliance, and the city will pursue orders when properties remain open or do not show progress.
The updates matter because they describe the city's next steps for multiple properties cited for demolition or dangerous conditions and clarify how permits and owner compliance affect enforcement timelines.
Harris introduced himself as the city's new building official and said he started about five weeks earlier; he described prior experience at Dow Chemical and in Houston. He gave specific property updates: 122 West Tenth Street and 122 West Seventh are demolished down to slabs and staff have engaged owners and contractors to seek owner compliance before the city would remove slabs; 24 North Avenue was owner-demolished after an earlier Board order; 1719 West Ninth has active but expired permits and staff will update the board at the next meeting; 922 West Twelfth had a permit pulled on April 29 and permits generally are valid for 180 days.
Harris told the board that, under the city's enforcement approach and within Texas law, staff will work with owners who show a plan and progress but will bring properties back to the board when orders expire or progress is not maintained. He said, "permits are only good for 6 months. They're good for 180 days," and further noted, "any property that's open and vacant for more than 7 consecutive days is deemed a dangerous building," language he referenced while explaining why staff will bring more open-and-vacant cases to the board.
Harris said he and staff would ensure proper legal notice before any demolition, noting the city must verify paperwork and avoid undoing work if an owner sells a property to a third party during the enforcement window. He said he plans to bring these matters to the board monthly and to coordinate with Patty and other staff to make contact with owners and contractors.
No formal orders, new demolitions, or votes on code enforcement were taken at this meeting; the report was informational. Harris agreed to return with updates on specific parcels at the board's next meeting.
