Resident urges emergency abatement after alleged fill in engineered drainage near East Sunset Heights

Jessica LaBaer, a District H resident speaking during public comment, told City Council the neighborhood is "already hyper vulnerable" after FEMA map changes and rapid dense redevelopment. She said a property at 839 East 27th Street filled an engineered public ditch with gravel to build an unpermitted private parking pad inside an AE 100-year floodplain and that city code enforcement had issued three red-tag violations without structural remediation for nearly a year.

"The city of Houston spent approximately 3 and a half million dollars of taxpayer funds on major capital improvement projects to widen, deepen, and engineer the roadside drainage ditches on our street to handle this exact burden," LaBaer said, and she asked Mayor Whitmire to direct Houston Public Works to "bypass the court's fine process and order an emergency right of way abatement" to remove the illegal fill and protect homes before the next heavy rain.

Councilmember Castillo responded that inspections and citations remain in force and that monetary citations are part of the compliance process, but he said he would continue conversations with Public Works and monitor field inspections. Castillo noted he was not a lawyer and deferred legal questions to the city prosecutor, and he offered to have Public Works staff speak with LaBaer directly.

Council did not announce a city crew abatement order during the meeting, but staff in the chamber were identified for follow-up.