CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — This damaged driveway envelope near Weber and Holly has raised questions about its ownership and who would be responsible for the repair process.
The city of Corpus Christi said fixing it is the responsibility of the property owner. David Loeb, the owner of a nearby shopping center said it's the city's responsibility.
The damaged driveway, which has a massive pothole right where it met the pavement, was located just outside the property line of the Weber Square Shopping Center. Loeb told KRIS 6 News that he has been talking to city about this issue for months.
"The city's response was, 'We're not going to fix that, that's not ours to fix,' Loeb said.
The hole in the driveway entrance caused damage to at least two vehicles, according to Loeb, owner of the nearby Weber Square Shopping Center.
"So there were a couple of accidents. Because I have a leasing sign-up, people would call me and say 'Hey, is this your property?' So I pulled out my files and showed them, I do not own the property, it's the city's," Loeb said.
But Loeb said the city has repeatedly denied ownership.
An e-mail sent to Loeb by the city on March 1 stated that it's the responsibility of the owner, which in this case is the owner of the former Bank of America building to maintain that area.
Loeb still insisted that it is in fact the city's property and their responsibility to fix the driveway entrance permanently.
"They've been pretty adamant that it's not their responsibility to fix this. I've read through the ordinances, there's hundreds of pages of ordinances that covers this. I can't find anything that it's the adjacent property owners responsibility to fix city property," he said.
The city later sent Loeb another email saying they would do a temporary fix, which is what we see here today.
Loeb has sent surveys to the city to show that this is their property.
After 4 months of investigating by the city's legal team, Assistant Public Works Director Gabriel Hinojosa told KRIS 6 News this is what they concluded.
"Article seven says that if constructed by a private property owner, the maintenance is the responsibility of that property owner that constructed it originally. It is not the city's property," Hinojosa said.
The city says although they put in that temporary fix, they have no plans to put in a permanent fix at the driveway approach.
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