Building and Standards Commission denies tenant appeal for 201 West Powell Lane

The City of Austin Building and Standards Commission on Dec. 6 denied a tenant appeal of a notice of violation for 201 West Powell Lane, upholding structure‑maintenance violations and admitting city and owner exhibits into the record.

Courtney Britt, a code investigator with Austin Development Services Code Compliance, presented staff’s case and photographs showing stored and partially dismantled appliances and a stock tank containing stagnant water. Britt said the notice included two structural maintenance violations and that the case history included prior administrative citations and an eviction order.

The tenant, identified in the record as Mr. Seliger, asked for a continuance and said he had a settlement requiring him to vacate the property by March 1. He warned the commission that enforcement would “destroy my business,” saying he had “$10,000,000 worth of parts on the property.” The commission considered the continuance request and, noting it was the third request, voted to deny it.

After staff and owner exhibits were admitted, Commissioner motion carried to adopt staff’s proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and deny the appeal. The commission directed staff to mail a notice of denial within 10 days, and the record shows the decision can be appealed to district court under the Texas local government code.

The owner, Kemi Ovisi, told the commission she had settled with the tenant and expected the tenant to leave by March 1. The commission admitted the tenant’s additional exhibits before the final vote.

Outcome: appeal denied; order of denial to be mailed within 10 days.