Port Arthur resident challenges replat after alleged unpermitted work; inspections say stop-work order issued

A Port Arthur resident told the Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 18 that unpermitted construction and a recent addition to a garage at 6134 Diamond Avenue appear to be conversions to a second dwelling, and urged stricter enforcement. Planning staff said a stop-work order has been placed and building inspectors are monitoring the property.

Tony Legnon, who said he lives at 6156 Diamond Avenue directly next door, told commissioners he watched the work and raised it with city inspections. "They continued to work on it on weekends and holidays when they knew no city inspector would come around," Legnon said. He said the neighborhood has seen an increase in houses converted into multiple small rental units and that the added porch and structural timbers brought a portion of the building within about 2 feet of his property line.

Planning staff confirmed the city pulled a permit only for the existing dwelling and that work to convert the garage to a separate residence was not permitted. "We did put a stop work order on it," the zoning inspector Melanie said. Staff described the enforcement path as an initial citation and, if violations continue, a process that can advance to municipal court.

Commissioners repeatedly told the speaker that the commission’s legal role in a replat hearing is limited to reviewing proposed lot lines and whether the plat meets city standards. "By law . . . our focus is just the lines," a planning staff member said when asked whether the commission could deny a replat based on proposed future uses.

Staff told the commission it had been in contact with the property owner and that inspector Melanie would follow up. Staff also said past cases have resulted in removal of noncompliant additions when the court process required it, but that the building-inspection division generally cannot inspect the interior of a completed dwelling unless there is a permit or other legal basis.

The applicant for R25-19, listed in staff materials as Jose Velasquez and Bruce Reyes with surveyor Saltex Surveyors, requested a replat to divide part of Lot 10, Block 23, Port Acres, into Tracts 10-A and 10-B to separate an existing structure into two tracts for single-family residential use; staff recorded that 13 notices were mailed to adjacent owners at least 15 days before the hearing. A stop-work order was placed, staff said, and inspectors are monitoring the property; staff recommended following the city’s enforcement procedures if violations continue.

A motion to close the public hearing was moved and seconded earlier in the meeting. Later in the meeting a commissioner moved to approve R25-19 for replat; the excerpt of the transcript provided does not include a recorded roll-call or voice vote for that final action.

Legnon urged the commission and city staff to maintain enforcement oversight: "If we don't try to put a stop to people slipping through the cracks and bending the rules . . . we're destroying our own community," he said. Staff advised neighbors to document violations and report them to inspections so the inspector can pursue citations and, if necessary, court action.