CROSS ROADS — One couple’s struggle to convert a former home into a business office has led to the discovery that another home-turned-office suite, owned in part by a former Town Council member, had no certificate of occupancy, according to documents obtained in an open records request.

Patty and Bryce McCallum opened The Real Estate Corridor this summer in a former residence on U.S. Highway 380. Their building is one of many homes that have been turned into commercial buildings in that area.

The couple had problems making the changes they needed to comply with the city’s commercial code. Some problems occurred because they were distracted in dealing with the aftermath of a fire that burned their other business, Accessory Superstore, in southern Denton, Patty McCallum said. Other problems they brought on themselves, Bryce McCallum said.

But the couple complained, both to city staff and to the Town Council in its regular meeting this month, that another converted property, 900 Potter Shop Road, received different treatment.

Town documents show the office suites at 900 Potter Shop Road, home to three small businesses, opened with a temporary certificate of occupancy and a temporary sign permit and never received a permanent certificate of occupancy.

A permanent certificate of occupancy shows that a building has been inspected and found compliant with local building codes, including federal accessibility requirements and fire and electrical codes.

According to state and local tax records, the two main buildings at 900 Potter Shop Road belong to Lucky Lizards LLC, whose officers are Wesley Moore, Carol Roberts, and David and Michelle Meek.

Michelle Meek, who served on the Town Council until May, said she was unaware that they didn’t have a certificate of occupancy for their building. They applied for temporary certificates when they bought the property so they could have the electricity they needed to complete their work. Once they were finished, they applied for final inspection and occupancy.

“We weren’t told about any additional work to be done, so we thought we were fine,” Meek said.

As a group, Lucky Lizards had fewer hurdles converting its property because it had already been zoned commercial when it was bought and needed only minor changes to the interior. Others who have converted homes in the area have gutted the interiors, Meek said.

“For us, this is temporary space,” Meek said. “We’re going to build to suit elsewhere on the property.”

During the same meeting when the McCallums complained, the town’s code enforcement officer mentioned the action plan to bring the 900 Potter Shop buildings into compliance. Cross Roads Mayor Harv Kitchens complimented the staff on the way the situation was being handled.

“We appreciate your approach to resolving this prior to it becoming a difficult situation,” Kitchens said.

In an interview after the meeting, Kitchens said there wasn’t preferential treatment for the property. With only one full-time and one part-time staff member, the matter of issuing the final certificate simply fell through the cracks.

Kitchens said this was not the town’s preferred way of handling either situation.

“As soon as we find out, we’re going to remedy any problems we have,” Kitchens said in the interview. “We’ve set up a tickler file so it doesn’t happen again.”

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .