Nightmare on Pech Road

Critics have complained that the new law does little to encourage rehabilitation, but instead gives the city a capricious power to tear down any building it decides must go. Moreover, critics complain that the new ordinance is confusing and moves responsibility for its enforcement from trained building inspectors to Neighborhood Protection, which otherwise deals with complaints about junked cars and weeds.

"It was a law directed to slumlords and drug dealers, but everyone will have to be very careful," says Joan Denkler, a member of the Citizens Housing Coalition, a watchdog group that has criticized CURB. "It is a very severe law that is written so that it entangles people."

The feud between Yetiv and the city is further framed by a recent controversy involving Huey and the demolition of a Spring Branch apartment complex. In that case, Leonard and Betty Leath sued the city, claiming Huey pressured city inspectors to revoke their permits, leading to the building's demolition. Huey blamed the Leaths, saying they could have saved their building if they had only submitted the proper plans. At the trial, building inspectors testified that the Leaths had the wrong permits.

The Leaths were awarded $150,000 in an out-of-court settlement, which departing City Attorney Benjamin Hall III unsuccessfully tried to keep confidential. Hall justified the attempt by arguing that publicity would encourage "copycat" litigation from other property owners whose buildings have been torn down.

Yetiv, however, doesn't want to file a "copycat" lawsuit; he figures there are enough similarities between the Leath case and his own experience that he'd better challenge the city in court while Aspenwood is still standing.

But for now, he can only wonder about his sudden reversal of fortune. "Until April of this year, I had the support of Helen Huey on down," Yetiv says. "Everybody thought I was the best apartment complex owner in Spring Branch. Now, I don't even get invited to the Apartment Task Force meetings anymore.