Terrell council hears code-enforcement overhaul as downtown merchants press for faster fixes

Raelynn Smith, assistant director of municipal development and downtown project manager, told the Terrell City Council on March 4 that staff is shifting code enforcement from a purely punitive model to a neighborhood-services approach that emphasizes communication and voluntary compliance.

Smith said the city recorded 2,078 code-compliance contacts for the 2024 calendar year: about 1,500 resulted in voluntary compliance, roughly 105 were city abatement actions and 214 cases went to municipal court. "A lot of the conversations we've had with staff in the past couple of weeks is not necessarily about the volume of code compliance ... but honestly, the impacts that we're making in the neighborhood," Smith said.

The presentation followed public comments by downtown business owners Jane McFadden and Carrie Robinson, who described falling facades, declining foot traffic and businesses leaving downtown. "Our facades look rough ... if we can what we can do to make Downtown Terrell great again," McFadden told the council.

Smith identified key city code chapters staff enforces and monitors: Chapter 4-19 (adopted International Property Maintenance Code), Chapter 4-25 (commercial and multifamily landscaping), Chapter 4-31 (minimum property maintenance and safety standards for multifamily), Chapter 7-3 (highways and grass) and Chapter 7-4 (abandoned and junk vehicle regulations). She said staff will add extra phone calls and letters, improve property-owner records (particularly for out-of-state owners), and focus on targeted priorities and measurable performance rather than simply counting the number of letters issued.

Council members pressed staff on timing, payment options for city abatement bills, and how notices are triggered. Smith said the standard timeline is that property owners generally have 10–14 days to correct a violation after a letter is issued and that staff will document a second attempt to notify owners. "If there's a request for more time, then where is the city? We're gonna work this," she said.

Smith said staff would bring specific ordinance changes to council later, including proposals about vacant and abandoned property registration, hotel/motel standards, pool and boarding-house regulations and multifamily maintenance rules, and flagged the building standards commission as an active partner in that work.

Council members and staff also discussed a menu of community-centered enforcement approaches described at national conferences — for example, proactive notices in high-complaint areas and volunteer or church partnerships to help elderly or disabled residents comply. Several council members asked that outreach efforts be focused so that property owners do not feel targeted but that the city concentrate limited enforcement resources on high-impact properties.

Ending: Smith said staff will return with draft ordinance recommendations and prioritized performance measures. Council did not take a formal vote on ordinances at the March 4 meeting but signaled interest in targeted code changes and improved owner notification and records management moving into spring.