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Officials Find Multiple Code Violations in Weslaco Trailer Park

7 years 2 months 1 week ago Monday, January 16 2017 Jan 16, 2017 January 16, 2017 6:25 PM January 16, 2017 in News

WESLACO - A Rio Grande Valley city is cracking down on trailer parks violating planning, building and code violations.

Hidalgo County health officials flagged more than half of the trailers and RVs on a Weslaco last week. They said violators are making the properties a dangerous place to live.

Joe Pedraza, a health official with Code Enforcement, said the violations needed immediate attention. He said RVs with “anything between plumbing and electrical violations” were cited, including those with “propane tanks right next to” them.

Maria Casares and her husband live in one of the mobile homes. She said she’s unsure why her home received the notice last Thursday.

Casares said her place isn’t perfect, but it’s what her family can afford.

“We can’t pay more, it won’t be enough. We can’t afford it. We pay rent and eat with the little we get paid,” she said.

Tomas Perez, owner of the property and landlord, said health issues have kept him from spending time on the property. He said he tries staying on top of repairs at his location.

“If something gets broken or pipes get broken, we fix them right away,” he said.

Perez said six out of the 18 mobile homes in his property are vacant. He said those empty trailers make it hard to afford repairs in his land. Regardless, he said he’ll comply with city ordinance.

“I’m willing to fix whatever they tell me I need to do, and whatever I have to spend a little extra money to fix,” he said.

Casares said they’ll try to keep up with minor repairs. She said she expects Perez to fix major issues.

“I don’t have a problem with him... If he hasn’t fixed it it’s because he doesn’t want to, but he know what needs fixing here, he knows,” she said.

Pedraza said the city hadn’t inspected the property until recently.

“He pays for the power and they never get disconnected. So, therefore, they don’t need a reconnect from us to go out there and inspect. That’s where the red flags would come up,” he said.

Pedraza said the most immediate issues are the electric violation. He said that’s on the city’s priority list for the property.

Weslaco Planning and Code Enforcement said if a landlord fails to act on a notice by not tending to repairs, they’ll face fines. The fines are tacked on daily until the violation is resolved. 

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