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San Antonio vacant‑building program reports inventory growth; compliance and senior assistance funds reviewed
Summary
Vacant‑building staff outlined registration and enforcement steps, noting ~1,100 successful renovations since program start and an inventory concentrated inside Loop 410. Development Services reported nearly $1.25M in fines/costs due to the compliance fund and updated the board on a $100,000 senior assistance fund. (350 characters max)
Britney Williams, vacant building program manager, briefed the Building Standards Board on May 28 about how the program identifies, registers and enforces standards on vacant properties. The program expanded since its pilot in 2014, now covering roughly half the city with most inventory inside Loop 410. Williams said staff has 30 days to verify vacancy, 90 days for owners to register and that failure to register leads to citations and municipal‑court cases with fines of up to $500 per violation.
Williams described the registration packet and standard-of-care exterior requirements (12 items covering foundation, roof, walls, broken windows, temporary plywood limits and trespass filings) and said owners who are actively working with permits may receive fee waivers. She also noted that roughly 60% of owners in the inventory are individuals rather than corporate entities and that since inception the program has had over 1,100 successful cases (renovated, reoccupied or sold).
Michael Uresti, development services manager, presented an update on the Administrative Hearing Compliance Fund covering Oct. 1 through April 25: combined fines and costs due totaled about $1,247,634.50, with paid fines at roughly $89,587.50 and outstanding fines around $1,058,047. Staff said they are working to make the compliance fund easier to use and will coordinate with the city attorney on potential code modifications.
Uresti and counsel clarified that fines assessed through the administrative-hearing process are civil fines managed through municipal court and are not filed as liens under the administrative-hearing statute; municipal court collection efforts are underway and the city has contracted collection services.
Uresti also reported on the Senior Assistance Fund (budgeted at $100,000 for the year): 53 applications received, 38 abatements completed, three unfunded and a median cost variance by council district. The current balance was reported at about $15,375.
Board members asked about inventory geography (yes, downtown is included), how long abatement requests roll over if funds are exhausted, and whether large abatements (for example removal of large trees) would be unfunded and referred to other city programs. Staff said they coordinate with other departments (parks, municipal programs) and will monitor program data to improve outreach and enforcement.
