A Bexar County homeowner says a drainage easement next to his house has been chewing away at his yard and inching toward his foundation.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — Jose Gomez bought his home in February of 2022. Now, three years later he is watching his yard slowly erode thanks to an expanding dirt ditch on the home’s left side.
“I’ve lost about two feet of land in the last three years,” Gomez said. “I have about 5 feet to play with before it actually gets to my foundation.
When it rains, water runs though a culvert at the road and is directed towards the left side of his property. According to county plat records, there is supposed to be a “10 foot” drainage easement along the left border of his lot which is also shared with the next lot over.
It appears that no one is maintaining the easement and there are no concrete improvements to control the follow of water either. As a result, the easement turned into an overgrown dirt ditch that is expanding onto both properties.
“With the heavy rains this year it’s just gotten really, really bad,” Gomez said.
Gomez said had purchased the home from a builder three years ago just as they started creating the initial structure of the home. He had known there was culvert next to the road which was directing water to the left of the home but was told it wasn’t the builders responsibility. He said the builder knew that area was a “drainage easement” on the left border of the property but the builder believed the HOA would be responsible for it.
Gomez had already tried contacting his HOA, which is the Timberwood Park Owners Association, but the HOA told him the easement was Bexar County’s issue. Gomez then contacted Bexar County and was told to talk to the HOA. Gomez also asked the county if he could build something in the easement to protect his property but got a confusing answer.
“When I asked them, ‘can I just fix it myself?’ Over the phone they told me ‘No, because it’s an easement.'”
Gomez was stuck. So finally, he called KENS 5.
“I’ve seen what KENS 5 does and thought maybe you could look at my situation,” Gomez said. “The home that I have worked so hard to save for and have is now going to be in jeopardy,” Gomez said.
KENS then reached out to Bexar County Public works and to the Timberwood Park Owners Association to have them go on record about what is going on.
Bexar replied first and told KENS 5 they are not responsible for the easement. A Bexar Public Works spokeswoman told us the easement was, “A public dedication that was never accepted for maintenance by Bexar County; therefore, Bexar County is not responsible for maintenance. The homeowner should work with TPOA to determine maintenance needs.”
KENS 5 also contacted the Timberwood Park Owners Association (TPOA) multiple times. The TPOA Board of Directors eventually provided a response that said the area’s developer, Timberwood Development Company, could have obligated them to maintain the easement through various means but never did.
“The easement was noted on the plat as being public and then conveyed to Mr. Gomez, not the HOA,” the email states.
Of course, the easement is technically located on two different private lots within the HOA, not just Gomez’s lot, and there is a public necessity to maintain it.
TPOA said in the email that they would meet with Mr. Gomez about the issue and they would look into how much improvements to the easement would cost.
“We are willing to meet with Mr. Gomez. We do not know how much the repairs to the ditch may be. But if the expenses are over a certain amount, our governance procedures require communication to the community so that we are transparent and communicative to the 5,000+ residents that pay into the HOA’s assessment fund,” the TPOA board said.
Gomez said that meeting can’t come soon enough.
“We are very happy with our home and we want to be here.” Gomez said. “At this point, it’s kind of like, we have to come up with a plan now and not put it off anymore because after another year this will have detrimental issues on my home.”
KENS 5 did asked Bexar County to definitively state who should be responsible for the easement in the situation. A county spokesperson claimed the county was unable to do so.
“The process and details of changing the land should be coordinated between the property owner and the TPOA since it is a civil matter,” Bexar County Public Works said.
KENS 5 will be following up.
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