BEAUMONT, Texas — Parts of Beaumont almost feel forgotten. With buildings and houses that date back a hundred years or more, it's easy for things to fall into disrepair.
City leaders say enough is enough. The city council heard from about a dozen property owners on Tuesday who asked for more time to fix things up.
If they don't, the city will demolish their property.
The City of Beaumont will be scheduling the demolition of about 30 properties as a result of Tuesday’s meeting.
The other property owners who showed up bought themselves a little more time.
"I just wanted to come up here and make a stand on why they shouldn't demolish the house,” said real estate investor Devonn Brown.
Brown is trying to buy more time.
"I feel like they treated me well about it. They understood where I was coming from. They approved me,” Brown said.
He played football at Lamar University and wants to rebuild this house on Garland Avenue for students to rent.
"I used to have to travel over five to six miles just to get to school back and forth. I just want to build closer, student living there," Brown said.
The city voted to give Brown, and about a dozen others, 50 days to complete their projects.
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But more than 30 other owners didn't show up such as the owner of a house on Frazier Drive.
"It is a junkyard out in the front yard,” said city councilman Mike Getz.
Those properties are getting torn down.
"You have a lot of citizens that complain because they have to live next door to these structures," said Beaumont Mayor Robin Mouton.
But it's not like the city didn't give them a chance. Most of these owners have had multiple extensions to complete their projects.
"The council is not eager to tear down anyone's structure," said the city planning and community development director Chris Boone.
He said this is one of the more difficult parts of his job.
"Many of our structures are aging, and you have the storms on top of that,” Boone said. “We have a good amount that we have to look at and again prioritize, but we try and do this about four times a year."
Plenty of second chances, but in the end, the city has to make a judgment call.
"Yeah the owner didn't show up, so we will move forward for demolition," Boone said.
So, the owners who were approved for extensions will have 150 days to get their property up to code.
The other 30 will have their structures torn down, and the city will cover the cost of the demolition.