City Brokers Peace Accord With Budget Lodge

The city of Austin and North Austin Budget Lodge owner Larry Hall have agreed to terms that would end the city's nuisance lawsuit against the motel, filed late last year in federal court as a means to abate criminal activity that the city says has plagued the site near the corner of I-35 and Rundberg.

Within the month, Hall must install digital cameras inside and outside the property (seven total, with footage kept for 30 days at a time and turned over to police upon request), the property must be fenced (at least six feet high), dusk-to-dawn lighting must be installed, pay phones must be removed, all customers must show valid identification, employees must undergo FBI criminal background checks, and rooms can no longer be let by the hour. Among the most specific requirements is that none of the rooms facing west or south – toward Middle Lane – may be rented until the motel is at capacity. Anyone asking for one of those more isolated rooms "should be met with suspicion and reported" to Austin police, reads the agreement.

The city, including APD, has long argued that the Budget Lodge is a lightning rod for criminal activity. According to a January press release, between Jan. 1, 2007 and Oct. 1, 2008, APD responded to 463 calls at the motel, including more than 100 that involved drug possession and selling, prostitution, and sexual assault or indecency with a child. A "number of the crimes in question" were committed by employees, police said. Motel owner Hall has balked at the allegations, filing a countersuit against the city and arguing that his motel is "family-owned" and provides "safe, clean, and secure lodging," according to a court document. The problem, Hall counters, is that the Rundberg Lane area has been a "ground zero for drug trafficking, prostitution and other criminal activity ... for at least 15 years." He claims his property had been unfairly targeted as a "cause of crime" in the area.

Nonetheless, Hall has signed the final judgment, signed July 22 by federal District Judge Sam Sparks. If he fails to comply with any of the provisions in the order, the property will be shut and sealed for one year; failure to comply can also be punished by fines from $1,000 to $10,000, jail time from 10 to 30 days, or both.