I've just returned from a week of enjoying the beaches and relaxed atmosphere of South Padre Island, Texas. Each year we are able to book the same room with the same view at our favorite hotel and have been watching with interest the progress of a highly-touted luxury resort condominium project in full view of our hotel balcony. Last year we noted that many of the units had been presold and expected the resort to be up and running this year and were thinking of enduring a sales pitch just to get a tour of the facilities.
We found that construction had been halted last year and is not expected to resume. The skeletal structure is now known locally as "The Leaning Tower of Padre" because the entire 26-story building has shifted at it's supports and leaning toward the northwest. Check out the photo. For reference, there is a construction crane visible to the right of the building that is perpendicular. Can you see the tilt? Articles I was able to find in the local media indicated that the structure would stay where it is until a $125 million dollar lawsuit had been settled. The beautiful landscape of the island will be blighted for some time, it seems.
Unlike Oregon where building codes are in place and subject to inspection at nearly every level of government, Texas, at least in this area, has no building codes that apply outside the city limits of each municipality. Zoning seems to be nonexistent.
While I still may be among those who occasionally grumble about the paperwork and research needed in Oregon to help clients determine if their building and development plans can be realized, I'll now have a new appreciation for those rules and regulations that prevent eyesores and unsafe building practices from being a part of our own landscape.
Comments(1)