A Colorado Springs accountant, Antonio Villa, has avoided a return to jail for now. He has until July 31 to complete court-ordered demolition of additions he made to his house without permits or inspections.
He spent nearly a week in jail in January, and was fined $20,300, for contempt of court after he failed to comply with demolition ordered by a judge in May 2007, and for failing to even show up at court status hearings. The fine was the culmination of a $100 a day penalty the judge imposed to get Villa to comply.
Villa says he is being harassed for building additions to his home without getting permits or inspections.
But after avoiding jail on June 2, Villa said he will not risk returning. In the future, he will get all the necessary permits when he contemplates an addition.
Here is a look at his house from www.FlashEarth.com
Villa was ordered to remove the workshop, patio enclosure and office, as well as the large parking lot he built. Here is a view of the front of his house from Circle Drive. The office addition, built from plywood, is on the left.
They said he needed permits and used unsafe construction practices, such as using 4-by-4 posts in five-gallon buckets of cement as a foundation. They also say he illegally tapped a neighbor’s sewer for a bathroom he built.
There was no permit for the curb-cut on Winnepeg Drive or for the parking lot, which he built for customers of his accounting business, which the city said was not allowed in a home. The city said his additions violated “setback” rules — the amount of space a building must sit from a street or property line. Here are photos of his office and parking lot, deemed illegal by the city.
At a hearing June 2, Villa risked going back to jail if the additions were not torn down.
He started removing the office on May 28 in hopes of satisfying the judge. Here, a worker began demolition of the office that day.
By June 2, he had completed the removal of most of the additions. Here’s a photo of his yard, where they stood. In the second photo, his office is visible as well as steel walls of a building he intends to erect in his parking lot.
Villa said he is being harassed and discriminated against by the city and courts. He blames a contractor for bad advice about the need for permits and for poor construction of his additions.
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His addition looked better than the rest of the house!
Dear Bill,
I am not the general contractor that did this work, or advised him on any part of the construction of the additions as shown in photos.
Mr. Villa has contacted me for advise and consultation after the fact.
I met with Toni on two occasions in regard to his delima with Colorado Springs Planning. I have talked to Pam at City Planning in detail of the infractions against Mr. Villa. Pam was very informed of the complete construction details. Pam was most informative and very nice, she thought my in put to Mr. Villa might help.
I have held a A1 Building Contractors License from 1971. I have had Mr. Villa as my accountant for 40 years. I have never found any one so focused on his expertise, in those years, I watched him as a single father take in his daughters children after a sudden death of their mother, He raised them for many years, It was for this reason he enclosed the back patio. Through that time he worked the longest hours of anyone I know. I never knew him to be dishonest in any way. I know he could not afford my cost, to do business. and I never pressed him for any of the work.
I know he thought he was getting correct advise with who ever did the work for him. Mr. Villa is a trusting man and very consumed in making a living for he, and his Grandchildren. This was the time he enclosed the patio as a play room for them. I watched him do it for his family,(and at his age)! I have never seen anyone try so hard to care for his own. At times he looked so tired , and I have great compasion for Mr. Villa.
I believe he was misinformed by someone trying to make a fast buck.
I saw the plans that were drawn for the office, the plans called for a 42″ foundation. When I inspected the foundation it was only 18″ deep to the base, and there was Hem Fir, not Redwood placed on the foundation for the plate. It has now rotted as I would have expected. He showed me the plans where a 42″ high foundation was spectified.
I know he was very upset to learn that his contractor had only poured 18″ of concrete leaving the brick starting below grade. The mason contractor failed to water sheild the structure to under the brick, as to code. I am writing this letter as a personal Reference. My advise was to remove everything there, and build the room over with a permit pulled as a home owner, and I would be avalible for consultation to over see his subcontractors, at his request, and build a family room to replace his office and patio. I also told him to remove the sign, and take steps to do it right.
It is my impression, having know Mr. Villa for 40 Years, that he believed the room was built to his plans. I had to go in his crawl space and push a pencil under the concrete to prove to him he only had 18″of concrete foundation. I advised him to tear the structure down as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that his main income comes, in up to April 15Th. I have seen him work as long as it took to not lose one customer . I know he knows very little about building codes, but trusted who ever it was that did the work.
P.S. I think Mr. Villa is one of the most up and up people I have ever dealt with. I would hope the court would reconsider the fines that were imposed on this man. He is the biggest giver I have ever met, what goes around should come around. I Have never seen him to be upset with all he has given, in an effort to keep his family together.
Give him a break!
Man what is it with people and crappy yards around here?