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Gunter council orders demolition of fire‑damaged home at 1145 Stonebridge Pass
Summary
After staff and consultant testimony that construction inspections were missing and an engineering letter was illegitimate, the Gunter City Council unanimously ordered the owner to remove or demolish the fire‑damaged structure at 1145 Stonebridge Pass within 30 days.
The Gunter City Council voted unanimously on June 5 to order the removal or demolition of the fire‑damaged, partially constructed home at 1145 Stonebridge Pass after city staff and consultants described long‑running inspection failures and a fraudulent engineering certification.
City counsel read the council's findings into the record: “the city council finds that the property located at 1145 Stonebridge Pass, Gunter, Texas is in violation of the ordinances relative to substandard structures under chapter 3 titled building regulations of the city code of ordinances and that the structure is determined to be unsafe and dangerous,” and that the structure is “dilapidated and unfit for human habitation.” The order gives the owner or lienholder 30 days from the date of the order (06/05/2025) to remove the structure, and authorizes the city to demolish the property and place a lien if the owner fails to act.
Consultant testimony detailed incomplete construction inspections before a large fire. Ty Chapman of River Veritas told the council that post‑tension tendons in the foundation “hadn't been stressed, patched, mortared back in,” and that he would not recommend rebuilding on the existing slab without a current engineer evaluation. Resident Michael Gallagher, who said he lives directly across the street, told the council the foundation was “trash.”
City staff presented a packet of inspection reports, photographs, certified‑mail notices and a record of communications with lienholders that staff said established proper notice under the city's procedures. Counsel also told the council that staff verified at least one previously submitted engineering letter was illegitimate and that the owner had paid for, but not completed, a demolition permit earlier in the process.
The council’s order cites the city code authority (Article 3.04 — Dangerous Structures) and imposes an administrative penalty provision should the owner fail to comply; the order allows the city to secure and demolish the structure and attach a lien and to seek penalties up to $1,000 per day.
