Open Records Request - 12/04/04
Request to Review Applications for Certificates
of Occupancy
Note: This request
was research into possible illegal actions on the part of Code Enforcement
personnel. City employees are routinely withholding certificates of
occupancy based on non-existent ordinances or illegal requirements from the
city.
-------- Original Message --------
Dear Ms. Hutson:
This is a request under the Texas Open Records Act, chapter 552 of the
Government Code (formerly V.T.C.S. article 6252) as well as Article I, Sec. 8 of
the Texas Constitution, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,
the common law of the State of Texas and any statue providing for public access
to government information.
I request that I be sent copies of the following documents or, if there are a
large number, be permitted to inspect the following documents and receive copies
of the ones I would like:
All applications for a certificate of occupancy for any new or existing
business to be located in North Richland Hills, Texas including all responses,
notices and documents given to such applicants, relating to such applications,
delivered, mailed or communicated in any written manner to businesses
located in the City of North Richland Hills, Texas, by any Staff member of
any department of North Richland Hills, Texas.
This request is applicable only to such documents for the period of January
1, 2002 to the present time. This is to specifically include all applications
for occupancy of any kind during this same period. I am particularly interested
in communications regarding the destruction or removal of signs and/or any
communications about city participation in the building of new monument type
signs. This specific interest should not preclude full disclosure of all the
documents requested above.
If you have any questions about the nature or scope of this request, please call
me at the phone number listed below. If you determine that all or some portion
of the information requested is excepted from required disclosure, I request
that you provide me with the portions of the requested information that are
public and reasonably segrable from that which you believe is excepted. If any
records are in active use or in storage, please certify this fact in writing and
set a date and hour within a reasonable time when the records will be available,
as required by section 552.221 of the Act. If you determine that all or some
portion of the information requested is excepted from required public disclosure
under a particular exception, I request that you advise me as to which
exceptions you believe apply. If you rely on previous determination, please
advise me of the applicable court decision or Attorney General's opinion. If
there is no such determination, please advise me of the request for such an
opinion, as required under section 552.301 of the Act, and a dated copy of your
letter to the Attorney General. I call your attention to section 522.353 of the
Act, which provides penalties for a failure to release public records. I am
prepared to pay reasonable costs for copying, within the guidelines set by
sections 552.261, 552.262, 552.263, 552.267, 552.268, 552.269.
I appreciate your attention to this and expect to hear from your office within
ten days.
Sincerely,
Ron C. West
Compliance: The City Secretary made arrangements
for me to review any files that I was interested in at city offices. An
appointment was made and the initial records that needed to be looked at, were
reviewed. If there is a need to review other specific cases, an additional
Open Records Request will be required for compliance. They do not allow
this research into open records to occur without such a written request.
(i.e., you can't call and just ask them for what you need.) Files
appear to be incomplete and the investigation is continuing.