Austin panel continues case on decaying Westover Road home after neighbors urge demolition

Jeff Musgrove, presiding commissioner of the Building and Standards Commission, opened testimony on case CL2026013540 concerning a vacant, homesteaded house at 1704 Westover Road and invited Development Services staff to present the city’s findings.

Erica Thompson, a code supervisor with Austin Development Services, told the commission the case began with a February 2022 complaint and that repeated inspections, administrative citations and municipal‑court escalation followed. Thompson said the city obtained warrants and abated the property’s interior and exterior in January 2026 after she found trash and debris piled four to five feet high and unsecured doors. She recommended the commission adopt staff’s proposed findings and issue a repair order giving the owner 45 days to obtain permits and correct violations; if compliance is not achieved, a $250‑per‑week civil penalty would begin to accrue on the 46th day and interest would run at 10% per year on assessed amounts.

Tammy Plemmons, who said she lives adjacent to the property, urged a different outcome. “For over 20 years this home has entirely been unoccupied,” Plemmons said, recounting long‑running code complaints, what she described as an active rodent infestation and dead trees that have already damaged neighboring property. Plemmons also said public records show more than $274,000 in unpaid taxes and argued demolition was the only viable path: “Because of the level of decay, the extreme financial delinquency, and the recurring safety risk, we believe demolition is the only viable path forward.”

Commissioners pressed staff on the interior condition and on outreach to the owner, who staff said is elderly, disabled and living about six hours away. Thompson said an inspector and a social worker had repeatedly reached out, but the owner intermittently communicated and ultimately stopped responding.

One commissioner moved to replace staff’s repair order with a demolition order, laying out 45 days to obtain permits and authorizing the city to demolish and record liens for city costs if the owner failed to comply. That motion failed on a 3–3 roll call vote after discussion split commissioners over salvaging what they described as a potentially recoverable structure versus ending the neighborhood safety risk.

After withdrawing the failed motion, the commission instead adopted staff’s findings and voted unanimously to continue the matter to the commission’s May 27 meeting for a status update. The commission asked staff to bring more information about social‑worker outreach, whether volunteers or community groups can assist, and any evidence of repair activity or security measures. The commission’s order will be mailed to interested parties.

The commission distinguished between discussion, direction to staff and formal action: commissioners did not issue a demolition order at this meeting but set a time‑certain follow‑up that could escalate enforcement if compliance or a credible repair plan is not demonstrated.