City of Aransas Pass has Targeted More Than 250 Properties for Demolition

Ever since Hurricane Harvey hit Aransas Pass, the City has been busy with the demolition of several abandoned structures as part of an effort to get rid of dangerous, dilapidated buildings.

"It has been a project that the City has been primarily focusing on to address collapsing structures, dilapidated structures, and anything that is posing a threat to our community. We have been tasked by the Council to go out in our community to address these issues," said Aransas Pass Code Compliance Officer Cory Elrod.

Aransas Pass has targeted more than 250 properties for demolition. Once a property is deemed unsafe, it can be condemned and that can lead to demolition.

"We have had at least 160 demolitions that have made the list. As of right now, we have 29 open cases. Over the last few months, we have closed out about 60 of them, meaning they have been abated by the property owner. The first goal for the City is to get the property owners responsible for their properties. So out of all of the completed demolitions, the City basically has paid nothing towards these demolition costs so far. We are coming up on our demo dockets where we are coming across properties that the property owners are not wanting to take responsibility so we have to begin a process to take them to civil court through our City attorney, and that is a fee we are going to have to pay for. But we will get that back once that property gets purchased or the lien gets paid off on that property," said Elrod.


The big reason the City is pushing for these demolitions of vacant buildings is safety.

"The number one reason we are focusing so hard on dilapidated structures is that they pose a risk; it's a hazard to our residents and the visitors that come to our community. You are looking at fire hazards, you have issues with squatters, squatting on these properties, so your crime levels will be going up potentially on these properties. That is one thing the City police department wants to focus on, to eliminate those hazards to our community," said Elrod.


The City relies on help from outside sources to notify them of code violations. This information comes from police and firefighters, tenants, neighbors and the general public who drive through town and see these problems.

“Another reason, it helps beautify our community. It makes room for more advancements, new homes to go up once these structures go down so it is definitely a growth aspect as well," said Elrod.

Property owners are responsible for the cost of the demolition if the City is forced to level a home. The City will do it, but puts a lien on the property.

"So if property owners, once we start discussing with them, and they have a financial issue where they can't get the structure down, the City and City attorney will review the case and work up an agreement with Council and the property owner for the City to do the demolition. Once we get to that process, they will draft up an agreement between the City and that property owner to make monthly payments back to the City to prevent a lien getting put on that property," said Elrod.

The city of Aransas Pass is still making plans to have even more abandoned structures demolished within the next few months.

"The property owners that we have had so far, I'm going to say, at least 90 percent of them are complying. They understand that their structures are dilapidated and pose a hazard to our community, So they are pretty receptive on working with the City on getting these structures down at their expense," said Elrod.

Story by Roland Rodriguez, Public Relations