Monday night, Yvette Griego walked into Perez Elementary School in Dove Springs. She followed the hallway to the library, where City of Austin staff was gathered to field questions about home buyouts from victims of the recent Central Texas floods. Many of the affected Dove Springs residents, though, say that they’ve heard these answers from the City before — two years ago, after flooding hit their neighborhood around Halloween in 2013.
“In 2013, I had about a foot of water and mud in my home,” Griego says. “Unfortunately…that flood happened overnight, and we didn’t get any warning.”
Though she says she only took in about three inches of water in the most recent storms, she says she's sure she hasn’t seen the last of her flooding problems.
On top of that, Griego and her neighbors have been waiting more than a year for the city to purchase their houses as part of its Onion and Williamson Creek flood buyout program. Griego is frustrated, and so were most of the people who showed up to Monday night’s meeting.
That same night, in another room at Perez Elementary, City staff met with residents about permits. City Council voted at a special called meeting Sunday to waive permitting fees for flood victims.
Those who need permits to begin rebuilding can head to development offices at One Texas Center, or to a temporary permitting office at the Dove Springs Recreation Center. That temporary station will be open from 11 am until 7 pm today.
