HOUSTON – A half-dozen people have filed a civil lawsuit claiming a company building a high rise along San Felipe between Kirby Drive and South Shepherd Drive is violating nuisance laws during construction, Local 2 Investigates has learned.
The lawsuit was filed Feb. 14 against 2229 San Felipe, LLC, according to Harris County online court records.
Ryan Bernard, who lives in the area, says dump trucks line up at about 6 a.m. most mornings and often have their engines idling.
"Once you wake up, it's like that all day long," Bernard said. He lives in a condo across the street from the building which is under construction. "What we are hearing from the house is just pounding into the ground like shaking. The whole building is shaking."
He wears noise-canceling headphones.
"It's seven days a week, Saturday and Sunday included," he said.
The civil suit asks a court to prohibit the construction at 2229 San Felipe high-rise office building. If the project goes forward, the suit asks for actual damages to include the loss in value of their respective properties.
The Houston Police Department said construction noise levels must not reach greater than 85 decibels. When Local 2 checked with the department recently, a spokeswoman said department didn't have a record of tickets being issued for noise ordnance violations.
Neighbors have objected to the project from the beginning saying a large office building doesn't fit their neighborhood or the small streets that surround it.
"Look at this little street. You are putting up a 17 story office building. Does that make any sense," Richard Cloutier said.
Neighbors said they have been told the construction will continue into 2015.
Local 2 contacted a representative of the building's legal counsel, but did not receive a phone call back.