By Moses Leos III.
Opening a small antique store was a dream for Buda business owner Lillie-Ann Alcala. Confusing fees and complicated bureaucracy from the city of Buda nearly killed it.
Having an equally troubling time is Greg Henry, who owns Willie’s Joint on north Main Street.
The frustrations felt by Alcala, Henry and others may change how Buda works with small businesses.
Troubles began for Alcala when she tried to change a property on Cedar Street from residential to commercial use. She said staff attempted to discourage her, saying the initial plan was in the city’s right of way (ROW).
With confusing fees and troublesome bureaucracy, some business owners struggle to get their small businesses open in Buda. Streamlining the process for small businesses to open in Buda is a solution some believe could rectify the issue. Buda business owner Greg Henry (below) moves material out of his restaurant while renovating his new business on Loop 4. Struggles with the process of starting a new small business has Henry and others hoping for change in Buda. (Hays Free Press file photoa) |
She had to gain approval from council to move forward.
“The house and lot is small but it has a lot of potential for business,” Alcala said. “It’s adding to the downtown business if it’s going there.”
However, she found little guidance within Buda city staff to assist her.
Specifically, she struggled with answering questions of where she could begin the process. Alcala found very few at city hall to help her.
Those problems were compounded by the city’s website, which she said was confusing.
“I wish someone would say ‘sit down and let’s get this done,’” Alcala said. “Nobody did anything.”
Alcala ran into larger issues when she tried to complete her site plan. Surprise fees began to pop up, along with unknown procedures.
The tipping point occurred when the city tried to levy a $1,000 “in-lieu of sidewalk” fee, as Alcala’s property has no sidewalk.
Struggles to get the project moving forced Alcala to place her dream on hold.
Henry’s troubles started when he began renovating an existing structure owned by Barbara Pecuch.
However, Henry said the process in Buda doesn’t help small business owners in his situation.
“They are treating me like I am building a development from the dirt up,” Henry said in an emailed response. “The crazy thing is almost everything is in place except parking, [a] grease trap … and 2 Walls added inside that are not load bearing walls.”
His chief issue was inconsistent answers from city staff. Numerous times, Henry was promised one thing, but then told something else.
It reached a boiling point when the city nixed his plans to use an existing driveway on the property – something Henry said city engineer Stanley Fees told him was possible.
Fees told Henry, per city code, a driveway couldn’t exist 200 feet from Stagecoach Park. Both Henry and Pecuch claim the driveway existed before the city opened the park.
As a result, Henry was forced to put a driveway on the opposite side – something Henry and his own engineer say could place patrons in danger.
Recurring and other issues put the business site plan in limbo. Frustrations continued for Henry, who said he struggled to get a response back from Fees.
Fees denied making promises on anything. In addition, he said Henry didn’t give the city or their engineering firm, Lockwood Andrews & Newnam, time to review the plan.
“We need time to review this stuff,” Fees said. “The standard turnaround time is no more than ten business days.”
Chance Sparks, director of planning in Buda, said some of the issues in both circumstances were a result of the business owners’ projects.
“Converting commercial property [from residential] is one of the more difficult things to do,” Sparks said.
He said the differing construction methods hindered progress on both accounts – both related to parking. Sparks said there have been few residential to commercial conversions over the years in Buda due to the difficult process.
However, Sparks said the city recently recognized the difficulty small businesses have in trying to begin. Specifically, the overly complex nature of the website.
It was enough to draw the attention of city council member Eileen Altmiller, who directed staff to fix it.
Sparks said one solution could be a kit for small businesses that addresses where small business owners should begin the process, what they need and to whom they need to speak at the city.
In addition, Buda plans to revamp its website for easier accessibility.
“We got info out [on the website],” Sparks said. “Now (we’ll) organize it, to make a tailor-made path for citizens who want to open a small business.”
Making information easier to access and understand is key for Alcala. Ensuring information is consistent is the end goal for Henry.
“We were told we could use the road, then we couldn’t; we’ve gone back and forth,” Henry said. “It’s beyond ridiculous. We are suffering; my livelihood is suffering.”
