Did the City of Lucas needlessly delay building permits to Lovejoy ISD?
The following conclusions have been reached after corresponding with Ted Moore, requesting LISD documentation, corresponding with the City of Lucas, requesting City documentation, and conversations with the Lucas City Manager.
The delay in Lovejoy ISD getting a building permit was due to Lovejoy ISD non-compliance with City of Lucas ordinance requirements. The majority of code violations had not been resolved since the multi-purpose building was built and additions were made to the football stadium bleachers (3,000 thousand additional seats approx). Some of the compliance issues affect the safety and well-being of children and Lovejoy ISD citizens.
All parties were invited to provide documentation. The documents received show the Lucas City staff operated in a professional, reasonable manner to protect the children, the staff and the citizens of Lovejoy ISD and Lucas.
It was discovered, after this investigation was shared with the community, that Mr. Moore misinformed the community in meetings with sports parents and an email about the building permit delay. (email below)
Background
A large number of Lovejoy parents and children showed up at the September 17th city council meeting with the impression that the City of Lucas was planning on denying a building permit. Parents were notified by an email from a Lovejoy ISD parent. (email below) Other Lovejoy ISD parents were very angry because they were told that the City of Lucas was needlessly withholding a building permit for the high school addition. They claimed to have documentation to prove this claim. To date, no documentation has been provided to support this claim by Lovejoy ISD or anyone else.
Weeks prior to the Sept 17th council meeting Lovejoy ISD and the City of Lucas had been working on a Memorandum of Understanding that was not finalized until one hour before the September 17th City Council meeting. The Memorandum of Understanding was moved to the first agenda item before public comments and was approved by City Council as planned. The Memorandum of Understanding addressed outstanding ordinance violations and the building permit was issued the following day.
(see attached Memorandum of Understanding)
Lovejoy ISD parents were angry, but did they have a reason to be? Was the information they had accurate? Did Lucas have valid reasons for not issuing a building permit? Where did Lovejoy parents get the information that Lucas was deliberately and needlessly delaying building permits?
History
In 2004, Lovejoy ISD agreed to comply with Lucas City Ordinances upon annexing into the City of Lucas, in exchange for the City of Lucas allowing sewer access only to the high school property.
The Lovejoy High School plat was approved by the 2004 council with the stipulation that staff concerns including parking, and fire lane access would be addressed prior to the filing of the plat.
Years later, Lovejoy ISD had yet to comply with some outstanding ordinance violations. The addition of the multi-purpose building and stadium seats exacerbated outstanding parking issues, building code ordinances, and emergency vehicle access to the stadium. In the event of a sports injury, emergency vehicles had no access to the stadium or baseball field. Lovejoy ISD staff suggested that injured athletes or fans could be loaded on a golf cart to get to emergency vehicles.
Lovejoy ISD and city of Lucas staff were exchanging correspondence concerning Lovejoy ISD non-compliance issues with city ordinances. Many issues were resolved but several issues kept reappearing without resolve.
Lovejoy ISD started working on the high school addition without a building permit. Electrical work was being done without a permit and therefore not inspected. A wall was put up that made the fire safety system ineffective. The wall constructed divided an overhead light fixture, blocked sprinkler access to the classroom and placed the fire alarm light outside of the classroom so it could not be seen by children and staff inside the classroom in the event of a fire. (Pictures below) A stop work order was issued and Pogue construction has been cited. 
Mr. Moore stated the building permit “process took a length of time that was in my experience longer than normal”. Mr. Moore was apparently unaware that the delays were due to Lovejoy ISD staff and their resistance in complying with Lucas ordinances. The Lucas City Manager, frustrated with stalled efforts, asked that the building permit issue be placed on the August 6th City Council agenda.
Before the Aug 6th Lucas City Council meeting LISD attorney and staff along with City of Lucas attorney and staff met outside the city council meeting hall.
Specifically, Bob Roeder (Lovejoy ISD’s attorney); Dennis Womack (LISD Asst Supt); Donna Washburn (LISD Facility Director); Robert Patrick (Lucas City Manager); Joe Gorfida (Lucas City Attorney) were in attendance.
Lovejoy ISD attorney realized that Lovejoy ISD had failed to comply with ordinances and that LISD did not have a valid complaint.
Lovejoy ISD asked that the agenda item be removed and agreed to work with the City on a Memorandum of Understanding.
It took the lawyers and two parties six weeks to hash out a Memorandum of Understanding. Memorandum as approved September 17th, and building permit was issued the following day.
Correspondence and Documentation
Additional documents obtained through public information requests are listed at the bottom of this page.
Correspondence between Lucas resident and Ted Moore, Lovejoy ISD superintendent
Lucas citizen:
| Mr. Moore, A very involved Lovejoy ISD parent is claiming there are documents that show the City of Lucas is holding up LISD building permits without cause. Please provide me with the timeline and documents which substantiate this claim. If Lucas is holding up building permits without cause, this is unacceptable. I am copying the City Manager and council on this to ensure this does not or is not happening. I am also asking Lucas to provide a timeline and documents which document the permit process and timeline. However…IF this is just a false claim, I would hope you would clear up the misinformation within the Lovejoy ISD community. In the past, you have always utilized the Email Express to clear up misinformation spread in the rumor mill and that would be an appropriate vehicle in this instance as well. |
Mr. Moore's response:
| The school district has just completed a process to secure a building permit for the Phase III addition at the high school. The process took a length of time that was in my experience longer than normal, but we have now secured the permit through a collaborative process with the City of Lucas. I appreciate your willingness to advocate for the school district with the city if that were warranted, but your assistance is not needed at this time. Respectfully, Ted Moore Superintendent Lovejoy ISD 469-742-8011 |
Lucas citizen:
| Very good. I am so glad that the building permit has been secured. Unfortunately there is still the matter about the City of Lucas holding up building permits without cause. I am trying to find the truth in this matter. Would you please elaborate on why the experience was longer than normal? Would you please substantiate statements & timeline with documents? Also, can you elaborate on the email below? Below is an example of information being spread throughout the Lovejoy community that implies that the city of Lucas is indeed unnecessarily holding up building permits for Lovejoy ISD : (bolding and italics I added to note certain statements of interest)
|
Mr. Moore's response:
| The issue has been resolved in a positive manner from the perspective of both organizations. The permit was requested in the middle of June and granted on September 18th. It is my belief that we have developed a collaborative relationship that will serve both organizations well in the future. With Respect, Ted Moore Superintendent Lovejoy ISD 469-742-8011 |
After the fact, it was discovered that it was Mr. Moore that misled the community in his correspondence below, that was then distributed to the community in subsequent emails:
xxxxxx, Thanks for the opportunity to speak to your DC membership and some Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 6:39 PM Sxxx/Mxxx/Rxxx’/Sxxxxx: attached please find an em I rec’d Per his message last nite, would u all pls forward his em below to Thx ------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Additional document links are below, with their summation here:
March 1, 2004
Letter from Rich Hickman to the Mayor of Lucas, Tom Fleps:
LISD agrees to annex into Lucas and abide by all ordinances.
Lucas brings sewer into Lucas for high school (no sewer available anywhere in Lucas at this time)
Lovejoy ISD’s traffic study calls for 1875 vehicles and parking spaces.
Lovejoy ISD currently has 1109 spaces.
Lucas staff has raised concerns since 2004 about parking and building heights.
Lovejoy ISD in 2004 bypassed staff and went to city council which at that time agreed to allow LISD to delay meeting ordinances to a later date.
Oct 31, 2007
Lucas emails LISD about many outstanding ordinance violations.
When LISD added on to the high school in 2007, they were reminded of their agreement to meet city ordinances concerning parking , building height, and emergency vehicle ingress and egress.
Nov 2, 2007
City of Lucas is notified of several city ordinance violations:
Emergency vehicle ingress & egress (Fire lane)
Building height
Parking spaces
July 28, 2008
PBK responds to outstanding issues:
City of Lucas Comment #2: Fire protection plans not reviewed
Lovejoy ISD Response: No comment.
June 22, 2009
Lucas Civil Engineer comments on multiple issues.
Building height
Parking spaces
Emergency vehicle access
June 30, 2009
Checklist provided LISD construction firm, PBK returned to city with comments.
Parking issue not resolved
Emergency vehicle ingress and egress not resolved
July 17th
Outstanding city ordinance issues not addressed:
Parking
Emergency vehicle access. PBK refers to approved plat.
LISD states that the plat as exists was approved by the city of Lucas in 2004.
July 20, 2009
Dennis Womack sends letter to city seeking to establish the authenticity of the 2004 plat for Lovejoy High School, rather than modify the plat for emergency vehicle access.
July 24, 2009
Same issues not addressed:
Parking
Building Height
Fire lanes
July 29, 2009
City manager confirms City of Lucas approval of 2004 plat along with the stipulation that LISD address Lucas City staff concerns before filing of the plat. In 2004, the City of Lucas accepted a verbal promise from LISD that these outstanding issues would be addressed:
Fire lane (emergency vehicle access)
Parking
City manager told LISD that the easiest and quickest way to resolve emergency vehicle access was to amend the plat.
Should LISD not agree to amend the plat, LISD and city attorneys must get involved to modify the plat to give emergency vehicles access and delay the building permit.
August 3, 2009
Pogue construction, hired by LISD, has been working on the high school building without a building permit. A stop work order is issued.
Classroom E101 is in violation of city codes and requires a permit due to electrical installations.
LISD requests to continue work on classrooms that do not require a permit and the City of Lucas agrees.
August 6, 2009
Dennis Womack sends a letter to the City of Lucas giving reasons why LISD will not comply with city ordinances.
August 6, 2009
Agenda item to discuss delay in building permit placed on Lucas City Council agenda by Lucas City Manager.
http://www.lucastexas.us/objects/cc-20090806-rg-minutes.pdf
Lovejoy ISD requests agenda item be removed and agrees to work on a Memorandum of Understanding between Lovejoy ISD and the City of Lucas.
Sept 16, 2009
Email is sent to Lovejoy ISD parents requesting their attendance at the City of Lucas Council meeting.
No mention is made that Lovejoy ISD and the City of Lucas have been working on a Memorandum of Understanding for over six weeks and that once completed the council approval is a simple formality.
Sept 17, 2009
http://www.lucastexas.us/objects/cc-20090917-rg-agenda-1.pdf
Lucas City Council meets and approves Memorandum of Understanding agenda item after it is moved to the first agenda item before public comments.
Memorandum of Understanding addresses the parking space issue and emergency vehicle access. Excerpts below.
City has requested and LISD has agreed to increase the on-site parking from the existing 1,109 parking spaces to 1,575 parking spaces that meet current codes at the time of installation and increase the coverage of the fire lanes serving the football stadium per recommendations of the City of Lucas Building Official and Fire Chief (collectively, the “Future Parking and Fire Lane Improvements”) at such time as LISD undertakes work on the Future Improvements as listed above……
When constructed, the Current Fire Lane Improvements will allow fire and emergency access directly onto the track located within the football stadium. City acknowledges that driving or placing any fire or emergency vehicle or other apparatus on the track would cause irreparable damage to the track and agrees to use the track only in the event of a catastrophic event fire or Medical emergency event under the direction of the Fire Departments’ Incident Commander. The City assumes no liabilities or responsibility for such damage that may occur.……
The Future Parking and Fire Lane Improvements as reference herein shall mean and include the addition of 500 on-site parking spaces in accordance with the ordinances, rules and regulations of the City, and the extension of the existing fire lane around the football stadium in the approximate locations as shown on Exhibit “A”. The City shall be under no obligation to issue a building permit for any of the Future Improvements unless, at the time LISD makes application for a building permit for any of the Future Improvements, LISD includes in the scope of work relating thereto the Future Parking and Fire Lane Improvements. The City shall be under no obligation to issue a certificate of occupancy for the Future Improvements until such time as the Future Parking and Fire Lane Improvements have been constructed and approved by the City.
Public Information Request Documents:
http://www.lovejoyschools.com/LucasLovejoyMOUaccepted9-10-09.DOC
http://www.lovejoyschools.com/planreviewcomments.PDF
http://www.lovejoyschools.com/PIR2009-80.PDF