Despite an early mistake on the part of West Lake Hills staff allowing a resident to bring a pre-existing structure into the city limits, the Board of Adjustments voted last week to prevent Ray McMackin from moving the 1930s bungalow onto his Yaupon Valley Road property.

“Our staff screwed up and told the McMackins they could do something, and they went off and had it moved,” Mayor Dave Claunch said. “I felt that we had an obligation to work with the McMackins to mitigate the impact our mistake had on them.”

He arranged for them to store it behind the Chase Bank building at 3811 Bee Cave Road while they went through the variance process. About a dozen residents wrote city officials asking them not to grant this variance for a variety of reasons, the main one being that it could damage trees as they moved it along Westlake Drive and Yaupon Valley Road.

McMackin told council that the main reason he wanted to use the long-leaf pine structure was for environmental reasons, to reuse a sturdy, existing edifice instead of building a new addition on his home. Several residents had voiced concerns about the aluminum siding on the house, which McMackin agreed, was an eyesore.

“It looked like a completely different house when it was on the ground on site,” said Sarah Dwyer, who was advocating for the house with McMackin, assuring board members that it would be renovated on site. “It’s going to really fit into the property well and I think it’s going to up the value instead of take it down.”

Dwyer and McMackin said they had taken PVC pipe that was the height and width of the house and walked it down Yaupon Valley Road to ensure that no trees would be impacted, saying they only found two spots where branches might be in the way.

The mayor had previously asked McMackin to create a full-size mock structure and drive it down the road, videotaping it to prove to board members that it would not have that impact, which they failed to do in lieu of the PVC pipe test.

“For me to be able to vote for this, I’ve got to have proof, and I’m not convinced,” Claunch said.

The other board members in attendance, with Cindy Probst absent, echoed his sentiments, adding that there was no hardship existing that would merit a variance. But because the city had initially allowed the structure in erroneously, board member Spencer Stevens suggested several ideas to make it up to the McMackins.

“I believe the McMackins were definitely done wrong,” he said. “I would like to see the city refund your variance application money, see that the city not pursue any fines for the septic system violations or fines for demolishing the carport (that had been torn down to make room for the structure.) I would also like to see it waive permitting fees for a septic system filed within in next 30 days and construction on house within 18 months.”

Board members in attendance agreed unanimously.