San Benito residents on Tuesday voiced their concerns about an ordinance that they say is halting construction work on their homes.

San Benito resident Inez Jimenez says she wants to remodel her home, but is unable to start any of the work.

"I've had a really hard time for the last two or three months," Jimenez said. "My projects come to a complete halt. They've asked me to tear down a carport."

Jimenez says she was also ordered by the city to stop construction on a storage shed and a pergola. She was originally issued a permit by the city inspector, but after construction began, Jimenez was told that the permit was issued in error by city administration.

Jimenez and other San Benito residents believe City Manager Manuel De La Rosa is not allowing them to improve their property by enforcing a city code that applies to homes that were built prior to 1995.

But the city says that’s not the case.

"While there are those who may wish to argue that these ordinances were not enforced in the past, they have been enforced for years,” said a city spokesperson. “It's just with more and more subdivisions being developed, they are being looked at more frequently now."

After an executive session on Tuesday, the city manager and city attorney attempted to pass a new ordinance that would give the city manager the authority to handle all platting and subdivision ordinances on his own without the foresight of the city commission.

The city commission denied the motion in a 3-2 vote.

De La Rosa declined to comment at the meeting.