Anthony Gonzales, a Helotes resident of Iron Horse Canyon Stablewood subdivision, told the City Council during the public-comment period that a retaining wall he built in December 2023 was later deemed to require engineering approval and that the city’s review of his building permit has stalled.

Gonzales said a code compliance officer observed the wall during construction but did not inform him that walls over four feet require an engineered design. “I completed the wall believing I was in compliance,” Gonzales said. He told the council an engineer cannot now certify the wall because the engineer did not inspect the foundation at the time of construction. Gonzales said he submitted a building-permit application nearly two months ago and that the city policy indicates review should be completed within 30 days, but his application had not been processed because no engineer could retroactively approve the work.

The mayor and other council members responded by explaining that structural approval requires a licensed engineer and that the city cannot sign off on structural work without proper engineering certification. The mayor said staff would schedule a meeting with the city administrator and meet with Gonzales to “take a look at this and . . . try to find a path forward.” The mayor emphasized that building permits and engineering sign-offs are required to ensure public safety and to avoid city liability if a structure were later sold or failed.

Gonzales said his intent is not to challenge the code but to seek a fair resolution and to ask the council to review how compliance issues are communicated so other residents are not placed in the same position.

Bill Gray also spoke during citizens-to-be-heard, thanking the council and first responders and asking whether a veterans’ organization (“Post 309”) could relocate inside Helotes city limits; that request was presented as public comment only and no formal action was taken at the meeting.

Council staff did not provide a final resolution on Gonzales’s permit during the meeting; they said only that staff would meet with him and that the city administrator was “well versed” in the process. No timeline for a final decision was provided in the transcript.