san antonio – The federal government has sued the city of San Antonio to stop the demolition of a West Side nuisance property known to neighbors as a “drug den.”
The home, in the 2100 block of Athel Avenue, was the target of a city raid in August. In February, the Building Standards Board (BSB) ordered the house to be demolished, citing various structural and safety issues and “repeated criminal enforcement”.
However, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said the homeowner, who died shortly before the Feb. 1 BSB hearing, had a federally insured reverse mortgage in 2010, and HUD said the property's He said he had a lien.
And since the owner has passed away, HUD claims the debt is owed. Demolishing the home could make it harder for HUD to raise money if it needs to sell the property.
drugs, DART, demolition
The Danger Assessment and Response Team (DART), which targets the city's worst nuisance properties, raided the home on August 22, 2023.
The DART program is administered by the City Attorney's Office and also works with several other city departments, particularly law enforcement and the police department.
City spokeswoman Laura Mays emailed KSAT a statement from the City Attorney's Office, which read in part: “This property has received numerous complaints from neighbors due to felony drug sales by an individual who resides there. It was sent to me,” he said.
“You can see a lot of people coming and going,” neighbor Juan Melo told KSAT on Friday. “It's basically like a drug den.”
“Everyone knows it here,” he said.
SAPD SAFFE Officer Anthony Pena also said at the Feb. 1 BSB hearing that neighbors had complained about drugs being distributed outside the home. He said there have been about 40 calls to police over the past two years, including eight disturbances, two assaults, “about” seven shootings and two mental health calls.
“Obviously, we know there is criminal activity going on from this home,” Pena said, but said SAPD was unable to identify any crimes beyond those reported by neighbors.
During a raid in August, police found a woman in possession of several grams of what appeared to be methamphetamine and arrested one woman. Another person staying at the home was arrested on an outstanding felony warrant.
But the city wasn't just focused on drugs and crime.
Hazardous Facilities Officer Crystal Town presented numerous photos of the home taken during the August raid. Photos showed a dilapidated building with broken or boarded-up windows, partially exposed slab floors, rotting damage under a leaky sink, and large amounts of trash and debris.
The city returned to its home base on Dec. 19, but Town said nothing seems to have changed.
City officials recommended that the building be demolished, citing a number of safety issues with the building, including that it is aging and has become a “hanging point for vagrants and criminals.”
The city identified the owner as Cesario Peña. However, her granddaughter Priscilla Cruz told BSB that Pena passed away just a week and a half ago. Bexar County land records show Pena left his home to multiple people.
Although Cruz was not one of the beneficiaries, she also told the board she had lived on the property for two years.
“I moved to the property because I heard what was going on. I tried to clean the property, but nothing came of it,” she said.
Cruz said he didn't know drugs were coming in and out of the house because he was “always working.”
She also recently learned that there was a reverse mortgage on the property, so she wasn't sure if the “bank” would take over the house.
The board ultimately voted 5-0 to order the home demolished.
HUD lawsuit
The federal government filed suit March 12 in the Western District of Texas, seeking to have the city's demolition order declared invalid and unenforceable.
HUD said it was not informed of the February 1 BSB hearing until it had already been held. It also argued that the board did not have the authority to order the demolition of properties on which HUD had a lien.
According to HUD's complaint, Cesario Peña took out a HUD-insured reverse mortgage through Wells Fargo in 2010 for $72,000. The loan was secured by a deed of trust to Wells Fargo, which the government announced it ultimately signed with HUD in 2017.
The 2017 transfers indicate that the interest on the original loan likely increased to near the limit the bank would take on the risk. In other words, Wells Fargo was passing its claims and associated risks onto HUD.
Pena had already signed a second trust agreement with HUD in 2010, according to the complaint.
However, when Pena died, the debt had to be paid immediately. Because HUD holds both trust deeds, the federal agency is responsible for recovering the funds.
If Pena's heirs can't pay the debt, HUD will have to sell the property to repay the funds, which would likely be made more difficult if the house is demolished.
In its response to the lawsuit, the city denied many of the government's claims and asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed.
The city attorney's office also said in a statement to KSAT that “the purpose of the lawsuit is to temporarily halt the demolition process while the parties negotiate a solution, if possible.”
A HUD spokesperson told KSAT in an email that the agency cannot comment on unresolved litigation.
Vacant?
Bexar County land records show the BSB chairman signed an order on Feb. 8 requiring the home to be demolished within 30 days.
The order also called for shutting off utilities, vacating homes and “preventing unauthorized entry.”
But the house was still standing on Friday amid a legal battle. It was unclear whether it was vacant or not.
No one answered the unlocked door and no cars were in the driveway.
But someone left a full trash can on the curb for pickup, and neighbors say they still see people coming and going.
“They still do whatever they have to do,” Melo said. “That means nothing has changed.”
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