09.4 - 1324 Alta Vista Ave - Applicant Letter — original pdf

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SUSAN M. PARTEN, P.E. 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 Ph: Email: HLC Board Members City of Austin, Texas March 17, 2025 Subject: Demolition permit application – 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Dear HLC Board Members: Hopefully you’ve had an opportunity to review the other information I’ve provided previously detailing and sharing photos for just some of the problems with the duplex structure at 1324 Alta Vista Avenue. I thought it might be useful to also provide some history, as related to the period during which I’ve owned the property, and efforts taken to try to mitigate problems and work with the existing structure. I know this is a lot of information to share with you, but I feel it’s important that the City understands the extent of the problems and major efforts and expenses undertaken to try to address those problems that have finally led to the decision that demolition is unavoidable. I purchased the property in early 1995, and it has been my primary residence since that time, which is at least about twice the tenure of any other owner. While the house was under contract for purchase, an inspection revealed many major problems, some of which hadn’t been disclosed in the real estate listing, and the purchase price was significantly reduced to try to cover at least some of those repair expenses. As a civil engineer who even then had substantial experience with surface runoff and groundwater intrusion management practices, as well as other types of construction repairs, I felt that the problems revealed with the structure could be managed and corrected. Those were things like rotted deck, aluminum wiring, leaking flat roofs(four flat roofs) needing repair/replacement, a very long and deep French drain needed uphill of the entire structure where moisture had been observed to be impacting the eastern wall of the lower level of the uphill side of the duplex (the portion buried into the hillside along Alta Vista), etc. Starting in 1995 I began making those major repairs to the structure. I had several French drains installed (four total, in various locations around the building), replaced the roof multiple times during the past 30 years, replaced the rotted deck, etc. etc. One of the previous residents is a local remodeling contractor who had worked with my brother to restore an old church that my brother had bought and donated to a meditation group near the corner of Mary and S. 5th. Because he had lived in the house, I spoke with him in detail Page 1 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 about some of the challenges, trying to brainstorm viable structural solutions. He wasn’t able to help, given that nature of the most serious problems. What was not revealed in the purchase inspection, and that I did not know about until replacing the wooden rotting deck between the uphill and downhill living units, was that beneath the deck was a massive concrete slab that had either been poured during the original construction, or sometime thereafter. That massive slab was found to prevent access to the uphill / buried wall of the rental unit, where over time more and more water intrusion and associated mold / mildew were occurring, due to substandard construction done originally (woefully inadequate sealing and water-proofing of that buried wall). It has also prevented access for dealing with major plumbing issues discovered over time, as they were also beneath that concrete, and under the slab of the downhill rental unit. Some of the biggest problems are detailed in the other document accompanying the permit application describing the reasons demolition was found to be necessary. When a few years ago finally — after major exterior and interior improvements done, only to then go through the nightmares I describe in the document accompanying the demolition application — I concluded that all I was doing was putting good money after bad with this duplex structure, I knew I needed to figure out other living arrangements while tearing down and rebuilding this structure. I have lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and didn’t want to have to move out of the neighborhood. I have another duplex nearby, and when the HOME initiative enabled adding a 3rd living unit, that allowed me to build a detached addition there. That construction is well underway now. Last year the HLC unanimously approved the addition at that property, stating they felt the style and design were “a win” for the neighborhood. As soon as that construction is complete I will move there. The duplex at 1324 Alta Vista will then be vacant for subsequent demolition. Due to property taxes, insurance and lost rents for now four years, (due to the downhill rental unit not being habitable because of the water intrusion and mold / mildew issues), I’d like to move forward with demolition as soon as possible. I believe it also poses neighborhood safety concerns to leave the duplex vacant for any extended period of time prior to demolition. On the subject of safety and public health: As mentioned previously, the water intrusion and mold / mildew situation has continued to worsen over time along the east wall of the downhill rental apartment (buried into the hillside and attached to and below that concrete slab underlying the wood deck between the two sides of the duplex). When I purchased the duplex in 1995, the downhill rental unit had carpeting downstairs in the living room and dining areas. I noticed soon thereafter that the carpet seemed brittle and that the feet of furniture in the living room had what appeared to be rust stains under them. The renters told me that indeed, the carpet occasionally got saturated along that wall and area of the living room during and following rainstorms. Page 2 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 At left is a photo of flooring damage from water coming up from around the concrete foundation of the downhill rental and getting under the flooring. After learning of the extent of the water intrusion I began taking major steps to try to correct the situation, including installing three French drains: around and just uphill of that unit: One in the raised garden area to the east of that wall where one of the flat roof scuppers has to drain; and two on the northeast side of the rental unit (one uphill and one adjacent to the northeast corner of the apartment) ; And I had roofers move another scupper to try to drain more of the flat roof areas toward the west and downhill of the rental unit. Those measures seemed to help for a while, but water intrusion continued. So I had a carpenter remove my deck between the uphill and downhill residences all along the 2nd story of that rental unit, and flashed and sealed the seam between the concrete underlying the deck and the east wall of the rental. I removed carpeting in the downstairs rooms of the rental and replaced it with tile, so that if flooding continued, at least it could be mopped up. These measures collectively seemed to help for a period, although the last long-term tenant continued to have to keep towels on the kitchen floor along that wall to catch water whenever it rained significantly. situation. This is after tile was installed to replace the ruined vinyl flooring in the kitchen. This tenant was exceedingly patient with the Page 3 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 That is obviously not a good rental / tenant situation, particularly in an area where property taxes are extremely high, and rents have to pay for taxes/insurance and mortgages. Even so, I’ve kept rents well under market to encourage renters to stay, despite those circumstances. The last long-term tenant was a professor of Anthropology at UT, and had spent (and continued to spend) much time in Southeast Asian and other 3rd world / developing countries overseas. He joked with me at times that he’d grown accustomed to inconvenient living conditions living overseas, and as long as I kept rents very low for him, he seemed willing to weather the water and mildew / mold concerns. Despite that willingness, at times he seemed very concerned with the situation. Below are a couple of his text messages, showing a combination of excessive tolerance but also much concern. For about a year, and before he moved closer to UT permanently, he left to live overseas to do research and during that period we agreed to sublet his apartment. After he left on his trip and before subletting it, I had the entire apartment cleaned, treated with Kilz for the mildew / mold around baseboards, and had all the baseboards then primed and painted along with walls and other trim. I explained to the new tenant some of the flooding / water intrusion issues that had occurred, and cautioned her that she’d need to keep the back patio swept and French drain cleared of leaves / buildup, etc., and she seemed to understand and be willing to work with things. During her residency in the apartment there were some prolonged rainfall events, and all of the measures taken to date proved useless for preventing major water intrusion into her apartment. One night during a rainstorm around 10 pm I got a call from her that water was pouring into her apartment. I’ve described that situation also in the other document submitted with the permit, but here are some of her texts. I went over immediately to help her and her Page 4 of 11 boyfriend bail out the apartment and then mop up the water, having to continue bailing into the rain intensity slowed. 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 After I’d thought things had dried out, I got these texts from her. Note that this was less than a year after treating the apartment for mildew and repainting all baseboards. Page 5 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 Suffice to say, after this event, the tenant could not relocate soon enough. Soon after the UT professor’s return from research abroad, he moved closer to UT, and the apartment has been vacant since. It cannot be re-rented. It is therefore a huge financial burden these past four years. In reviewing City code as related to the circumstances at 1324 Alta Vista Ave., it seems like a couple of provisions may be applicable to my application for demolition. Here are those code provisions: ______________________________________________________________________ § 25-11-213 - BUILDING, DEMOLITION, AND RELOCATION PERMITS AND CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS RELATING TO CERTAIN BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES OR SITES. (C) This section does not apply to a structure if the historic preservation officer determines that the structure: (2) does not meet at least two of the criteria for designation as a historic landmark (H) combining district prescribed by Section 25-2-352(A)(3)(b) (Historic Designation Criteria); (J) The building official may not release a demolition or relocation permit for a building or structure deemed contributing to a National Register Historic District or a historic area (HD) combining district until the Commission has reviewed and made recommendations on the application for a building permit for the site, unless the building official determines that demolition or relocation is necessary for reasons related to public safety. _______________________________________________________________________ I believe the above circumstances related to water / mold issues may support a provision in City code allowing for demolition prior to the City’s issuance of a permit to rebuild when there are public health and safety considerations. I believe it also poses public / neighborhood safety concerns for the property to be completely vacant after my household moves to the new nearby addition that’s currently under construction. Regarding item (C ) (2): The Travis Heights – Fairview Park survey done for the purposes of applying for National Historic District status has been observed by a number of property owners in the neighborhood to have significant errors including property characterizations, and with numerous other inconsistencies. Given the significant added legal and financial burdens placed on “contributing” homes in these districts, it seems that much greater care is needed in conducting these surveys and making these determinations. The survey and narrative used for the district application can be found at: https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/NR/pdfs/100006796/100006796.pdf. Page 6 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 Since there were over 50 properties included in this proposed national district, under Texas minimal notification requirements only a 30 day local newspaper notice was required for “public notice” on the proposed district. Most property owners did not even know what was happening, and by the time I learned of the process and of the survey that had been done, it was well after the time window during which I could have objected to the misinformation assigned to my property in that survey. My duplex at 1324 Alta Vista Avenue was considered “Contributing”, with a descriptive categorization of “Modern”. It also said there had been “minimal” changes, which isn’t the case. Regarding the principal exterior elements, it says “stucco”, which was never on any portion of the building, and the only “metal” that is along the roof trim, most of which I had installed within the past 10-12 years during a period when I had major work done in hopes of being able to avoid tearing down and rebuilding the structure. Regarding the survey stating that the duplex at 1324 Alta Vista Ave. had been “minimally altered”, please note the following: (1) A garage facing Milam Place (where there is still a pull-in driveway) was converted into a studio/office over 30 years ago, changing the exterior framing on that whole side of the structure facing the street; (2) A dormer was added to the downhill rental unit side facing Milam Place, replacing tall French roof style windows that offered insufficient light to that upstairs bedroom; (3) metal sheeting used for cladding the upstairs exterior of the downhill rental was replaced with cement board siding; and (4) And the appearance of the roof on the uphill side of the duplex facing Alta Vista and Milam changed completely due to removing composite shingle roofing the replacing it with standing seam metal roof. Below is a photo of the main residence before those changes. Page 7 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 The above photo shows the composite shingles on the mansard trim around the flat roof before I had the roofer change the composite shingles to double standing seam metal roofing panels, which are currently there. So the “metal” referenced in the survey under the “principal materials of construction” was actually new, and completely changed from previous decades. The above photo also shows the cheap wood sheathing with 1x2 vertical cedar trim that was there before I – also just a few years before the neighborhood survey was done – had that replaced with cement board siding. All of the major work that I had done between around 2007 and 2015 was during a period when I still very much hoped the structure could be salvaged and remodeled. As seen in the above photo, the 1324 Alta Vista Ave duplex structure is sunk into the hillside, dwarfed on the uphill side by even the first story of the residence on the north side (which actually does have stucco exterior). Regarding installing the dormer on the portion of the duplex facing Milam Place, the photo below is from historical street view, and a bit fuzzy, but you can see that there is no dormer on the front of the downhill rental in October 2007. Page 8 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 The dormer and other major changes (including style / type of window) were made to the downhill rental unit between 2007 and 2011. As a quick note re: the survey’s treatment of other properties relative to “changes”, and in looking just at properties near mine, it seems curious that the property at 1313 Alta Vista Avenue (photo below) was considered “Non-Contributing”, despite its appearance seeming to contribute far more to the historic character of the neighborhood. It was apparently designated as “non-contributing” because they’d added a “Craftsman style porch” to the house, and had thus “severely altered” its front appearance. So changes to the property over time were obviously of importance to those doing the survey. However, major changes to my property over time were either ignored, or the surveyors were not aware of those changes. And again – had I been formally notified of the process, I’d have definitely corrected that misinformation. Page 9 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 Finally, please refer to the portion of the survey that provides descriptions about the styles of architecture considered important to and the basis for the application for the national register (pages 28 through 35). Copied below is the section relating to “Modern”, which was applied to my duplex at 1324 Alta Vista Avenue: “Recent Trends: New Traditional and 21st Century Modern Styles Little development occurred in the proposed district from the late 1960s through the 1980s. By the 1990s, however, the district became popular, both for its historic character but also because of its central location close to downtown jobs and entertainment venues. People began to enlarge their houses with additions and some demolished older homes and replaced them with modern ones. In the 2000s, development pressures increased dramatically in the district and widespread redevelopment occurred, replacing historic buildings with modern houses and condominiums. Some of the new styles are inspired by historic architectural designs such as Victorian, Craftsman, or Colonial Revival styles that Virginia McAlester defines as New Traditional styles. Others are more modern and abstract in designs McAlester terms as 21st Century Modern. Since about 2005, the trend in modern design in the district has been toward modern houses with a patchwork of different wall materials defined as the “Decoupage” subtype of the 21st Century Modern style. Typically, they are asymmetrical in form and combine three or more exterior materials as part of their design; cladding usually consists of juxtaposed geometric-shaped wood, stucco, stone, or metal planes, and frequently include expanses of metal-framed glass. Despite the influx of modern styles and new construction, the Travis Heights-Fairview Park Historic District retains sufficient historic architectural fabric and character to convey a good sense of its history as early suburban additions to South Austin, and the larger city of Austin.” Page 10 of 11 1324 Alta Vista Avenue Austin, TX 78704 It seems clear from the above comments in the survey that “modern” structures weren’t thought to make a particularly favorable architectural contribution to the neighborhood. In reading through the Historic Designation Criteria, it also seems reasonable to conclude that this duplex structure does not meet at least two of those criteria. Please let me know if you have questions regarding any of the information submitted. Regards, Susan M. Parten, P.E. Page 11 of 11