Initially, the residents of the Cul-de-Sac diploma in West Lake Hills, in Texas, did not know who had moved to the home of 6,900 square feet and six bedrooms next to it.
So the construction workers arrived to erect a 16 -foot chain fence around the 6 million dollar property, which is one of the four houses on the leaf road. They also installed an external camera. Subsequently, a fleet of cars – many of which Teslas – began to park on the street. Three times a day, a change of turn reported the safety staff who went home. Once, the driver of a passing car shouted late at night who was looking for a party at “and's House”.
Nobody liked the confusion, traffic or opening and closing of the gate activated by the keyboard for workers and cars at all hours. So even when they learned through word of mouth that their new neighbor was Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, who did not prevent some of them from grousing to the city of West Lake Hills on his home.
Since then, the complaints have intensified in a turmoil for the ordinances, permits and exceptions of the city known as Variaze, to the point that the issue of Mr. Musk's house has landed in a controversial meeting of the Zonization and planning commission last month. The debate is directed next to a West Lake Hills municipal council session, scheduled for May 14th.
“The transport of service employees in other houses, leaving their cars in our quiet streets, transporting the linen back and forth towards other houses must stop,” wrote Paul Hemer, a neighbor and the main denunciation. The letter was also signed by the occupants of the other two houses on the street.
In recent months, Mr. Musk, 53 years old, has made his way through Washington, violating long -standing traditions and hacker away what he believed to be useless federal bureaucracy. But in his courtyard outside Austin, the technological billionaire has been bogged down in a labyrinth of local regulations and bureaucracy. Nobody, apparently, is rich enough to escape neighbors.
The tycoons including Mark Zuckerberg have sometimes hit the limits of their wealth and disagreement for their luxury homes. The same goes for Mr. Musk, who is so far losing against the municipal bureaucracy in West Lake Hills. He and his employees did not get the permits for a metal gate and the fence built around the property, making the chain structure higher than 10 feet than allowed, showed the local registers. In total, the construction violated six ordinances of the city. After some neighbors protested, Mr. Musk's team tried to obtain retroactive authorization for projects.
But Jim Pledger, one of the six commissioners of the subdivision commission in areas and planning of West Lake Hills, said that he and his colleagues unanimously voted last month against the recommendation of the home owner – was careful not to appoint Mr. Musk – had variations for projects. If an exception was made, Pledger said: “We would urge people to break the rules”.
Unless the city council has not agreed with that decision, Musk faces the prospect of breaking down the fence and gate or changing them to respect the rules of the city.
Mr. Musk did not return requests for comment. A manager of the house connected to the property refused to comment.
The story of Mr. Musk in Texas is relatively recent. The technological magnate, which supervises six companies, has moved most of its commercial operations in the state from California starting from 2021. He has built factories for his company of electric vehicles, Tesla, his missile company, Spacex and his tunneling company, the boring company, around Austin and near Bastrop.
Mr. Musk also moved to Austin. Initially he wanted to build houses for himself and his children (he has at least 13) on hundreds of acri that he bought there. After the plan fell, he looked at other properties.
In 2022, Mr. Musk bought West Lake Hills' house through a limited responsibility company, which takes its name from the road where the property is located. The house is located in the middle of a residential neighborhood at the bottom of about two acres of land inclined by a narrow public road, making safety demanding.
“The castles should be built on hills, right?” Anne Yeakel said, a longtime resident of West Lake Hills who lives around the corner. “These were sophisticated buyers and if security was the main directive, this was not the home for this.”
Mr. Musk and his staff did not show up to the neighbors. Few residents saw him there. But the word was traveling fast in the 3,400 community and soon everyone knew he had moved.
“It's a common knowledge here,” said Mrs. Yeakel.
The home was one of the three that Mr. Musk has purchased in the area in the last three years to create a complex for his children and mothers. At some point, Claire Boucher, known as the musician Grimes, lived with Mr. Musk and their three children at home. Shivon Zilis, a brain technology manager who has four children with Mr. Musk, lives about 10 minutes on foot. Mr. Musk also purchased another Tuscan residence about a year ago.
The neighbors soon became frustrated by the constant tube at home. They saw people who came and were a source of guns, while the security team was in swelling together with Mr. Musk's security concerns. Although Texas have permissive laws for weapons, the activity has distinguished itself.
“I call that post Fort Knox,” said Hemer, a retired real estate agent who lives on the other side of the road and is president of the nearby association of the owners of houses.
The house was quieter in the days when Mr. Musk was not in the city, said the neighbors, especially in recent months, when he lived mainly in Washington to recommend President Trump. Now the residents are preparing for the return of Mr. Musk, after saying that he would spend less time in the capital.
Some neighbors have particularly annoyed themselves for the enormous fence in front of the residence, as well as the gigantic metal door to the other end of the property, which seems to act as an entrance of the employees.
Mr. Hemmer, who has long owned a Tesla, became so frustrated with his neighbor who started to fly a drone on the house to check the violations of the city and holds a video camera trained on the property all day. Last year, he complained with the West Lake Hills officials on the fence of Mr. Musk, on traffic and how he thought the owner managed a security activity from the property.
Mr. Musk's security team also contacted the West Lake Hills police department for Mr. Hemer, according to the registers of the city. A security officer accused Mr. Hemmer last year of standing bare on the street, according to the registers.
Mr. Hemmer denied being naked and said he was on his property wearing black underwear. Another night, he said, he was taking his dog completely dressed and stopped when he suddenly needed to urinate, that Mr. Musk's camera captured.
“The cameras took me,” said Hemmer. “It is frightening that they have guys sitting and looking at me pee.”
After repeated grievances by Mr. Hemmer, West Lake Hills officials discovered that Mr. Musk had violated the ordinances of the city with the fence and gate. Last month, the Zonization and Planning Commission discussed whether to grant him variances for projects.
Before the meeting, Tisha Ritta, an expert of authors of employment authors for the limited liability company of Musk, wrote a letter to the planning commission asking for relief from the rules of the city.
“As a high -profile public official, the resident of the property faces the ongoing security threats, making imperative proactive security measures,” he wrote, according to a copy of the letter. Mrs. Ritta did not respond to the commentary requests.
Mr. Hemmer and other residents wrote their letter to the planning commission, I amounted to their neighbor for facilitating the “bad behavior on our little Cult-De-Sac quiet”.
For a while, Mr. Musk appeared ready to win the battle of the neighborhood. Planning and zoning officials recommended that “variance of difficulties” is granted to its property, which would allow them to maintain the fence and other projects with only small changes to the property, according to the city's documents.
But during the planning meeting, the commissioners refused Mr. Musk the variance. When they asked the Ritta Mrs., she blamed a former house director for not having obtained the permits for construction.
“I just met the owner of the property last year and unfortunately they were under the guidance of the property manager,” he said, according to a meeting of the meeting.
Mr. Hemer also spoke during the meeting to say that he doubted that the owner of the house had been missed.
“If you follow him in the news, he is always guilty of building things and then asking for permission later,” he said.
A commissioner, who was not identified in the registration, said he could not believe that the staff of West Lake Hills recommended the owner of the house to receive exceptions.
“I am amazed by the staff who are giving any type of suggestion that we bend according to those who are wondering,” he said.
The decision of the Planning Commission does not end the process. At the next meeting of the West Lake Hills City Council, members must decide whether to stick to the recommendations of the commissioners on the home of Mr. Musk.
If the city council votes against him, Mr. Musk could sue the city. And if this does not work – and given its record track in the candidates to support – there is always the next local elections.
Kirsten Noyes Research contribution.