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Minutes 07-24-03MI'NUTES OF THE CODE COMPLI'ANCE BOARD LI'EN REDUCTTON MEETI'NG HELD I'N COHHi'SSION CHAHBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORI~DA ON THURSDAY, 3ULY 24, 2003 Present Chris DeLiso, Chairman Michelle Costantino, Vice Chair Patti Hammer ]ames Miriana David Rafkin, Alternate Absent Bob Foot Enrico Rossi Kathy Cook, Alternate T. Call to Order David Tolces, Assistant City Attorney Scott Blasie, Code Administrator Chair DeLiso called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m. II. Approval of Minutes, .lune 26, 2003 Motion Ms. Hammer moved to accept the minutes of the June 26, 2003 meeting as submitted. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Costantino and carried unanimously. TII. Approval of Agenda Chair DeLiso asked Mr. Blasie if there were any additions, changes, or deletions from the Agenda and Mr. Blasie responded that there were not. 1¥. Swearing in of Witnesses and Introduction Mr. Blasie called the roll and presented the cases. The Recording Secretary administered the oath to all persons who would be testifying. V. Unfinished Business A. Lien Reductions Case #01-2763 Norma McCarter 413 S.W. 4th Street Mr. Blasie reported that the notice of violation had been issued on October 19, 2001 for violations of the Community Appearance Code. No one appeared at the January 16, Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida .luly 24, 2003 2002 Code Board meeting. The Board set a compliance date of March :[8, 2002 and a fine of $25 per day. The property came into compliance on .luly :[7, 2003. The accrued fine is $:[2,125.00 plus $730.:[5 in administrative costs. Mr. Blasie shared photographs with the Board. Norma McCarter, 413 S.W. 4m Street, Boynton Beach, stated that her granddaughter had been handling this for her since she had open-heart surgery and was still not well. When the notices came in, she was told that it was being handled but it apparently was not. Her granddaughter made appointments with the Code Compliance Department but then did not show up. l~n response to a query from Chair DeLiso, Ms. McCarter indicated that she was trying to refinance the house. f-totion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case Noi 0:[-2763, and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Sections 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Ms. Hammer moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case No. 01-2763, by virtue of this Board's Order of January 16, 2002, to no fine. Vice Chair Costantino seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Case #02-2016 Judith Symonds 412 N.E. 11m Avenue Mr. Blasie reported that the citation had been issued on August 6, 2002 for violations of the Community Appearance Code. No one appeared at the November 20, 2002 Code Board hearing. The Board set a compliance date of December 20, 2002 and a fine of $25 per day. The property came into compliance on April 5, 2003. The accrued fine is $2,625.00 plus applicable administrative costs. Mr. Blasie shared photographs of the property with the Board. Judith Symonds, 412 N.E. 11m Avenue, Boynton Beach, stated that she purchased the property on May 13, 2002 and turned the management of it over to a tenant, who stated that this was what he did for a living. Ms. Symonds was living in Massachusetts at the time and her tenant did not forward any of the City's notifications about the violations to her. The first time she became aware of the violations was when she applied to refinance the property. Mr. Blasie verified that the County records still show Ms. Symonds as living at this address. He advised her to have this changed as soon as possible. The Board advised Ms. Symonds that she would need to watch the property more closely in the future. I~l~tion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case No. 02-2016, and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Sections 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Ms. 2 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida 3uly 24, 2003 Hammer moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case No. 02-2016, by virtue of this Board's Order of November 20, 2002, to no fine. Vice Chair Costantino seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Case #99-939 Terry Bryant 301 Ocean Parkway Mr. Blasie reported that a citation was issued for Community Appearance Code violations on April 22, 1999. No one appeared at the 3uly 21, 1999 Code Board hearing. The Board set a compliance date of August 16, 1999 and a fine of $25 per day. The property came into compliance on October 5, 2000. The accrued fine is $10,375.00 plus $730.15 in administrative costs. Before and After photographs of the property were given to the Board. Mr. Blasie stated that while the property met Code at this time, it did not look very good. The other issue was an occupational license, which Mr. Bryant obtained. Mr. Blasie stated that the property had been inspected for a lien reduction in March of 2002 and the property was in compliance at that time. Terry Bryant, 915 39th Street, West Palm Beach 33407-4011, stated that he had received mail from the Code Department but that he had gotten the occupational license in 2000 after he made several Code-generated improvements to the property. ]~n relation to the condition of the grass, he stated that he had put down 8 pallets of sod at the time. After the property had passed the inspection in 2000, he had become iii and could not come in to the City for a lien reduction. Mr. Blasie told Mr. Bryant that he would have to visit the property more frequently since most of the problems were tenant-generated such as car parts in the driveway and so forth. I~lotion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case No. 99-939, and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Sections 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Vice Chair Costantino moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case No. 99-939, by virtue of this Board's Order of .luly 21, 1999, to $2,000 including administrative costs. Ms. Hammer seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Mr. Blasie advised Mr. Bryant that he could appeal this decision to the City Commission by calling him and letting him know that he wanted to do so. At this point in the Agenda, it was time to hear Ms. Rosalind Morton's two cases but she was not present. 3 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 24, 2003 Case #99-699 3ohnny Young, Ir. 211 N.E. 26m Avenue Mr. Blasie reported that a citation had been issued on April 8, 1999 for violations of the Community Appearance Code and parking of a recreational vehicle. No one appeared at the Code Board hearing on July 21, 1999. The Board set a compliance date of August 16, 1999 and a fine of $25 per day. The property came into compliance on July 25, 2001. Mr. Blasie noted that the compliance date shown in the agenda backup was incorrect and that it should read July 25, 2001. The accrued fine is $17,700.00 plus $730.15 in administrative costs. Mr. Blasie showed photographs of the property to the Board. 3ohnny Young, 3r., 211 N.E. 26th Avenue, Boynton Beach, stated that he had not received notification of the violations and only learned of them when he tried to refinance the property. Mr. Blasie verified that a certified letter had been returned unopened. He had cemented his three feet of yard so that he could park a recreational vehicle on pavement per Code. He hoped that the entire lien could be voided, in light of his personal financial situation. The Board agreed that the property looked good. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case No. 99-699, and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Sections 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, rvls. Hammer moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case No. 99-699, by virtue of this Board's Order of November 20, 2002, to no fine. Vice Chair Costantino seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Case #99-2187 Andre St. 3uste/Huddleston 925 Greenbriar Drive Mr. Blasie stated that Mr. Huddleston had owned the property when the citation was first issued on August 30, 1999 for an occupational license. No one appeared at the Code Board hearing on October 20, 1999. The Board set a compliance date of November 3, 1999 and a fine of $25 per day. The occupational license was obtained on February 13, 2001. The accrued fine is $11,675.00 plus $730.15 in administrative costs. The home on the property is used as an adult care facility. Andre St. 3uste, 925 Greenbriar Drive, Boynton Beach, stated that he had not been able to obtain the occupational license earlier due to a comment from the Fire Department that he had to have a fire alarm, which is quite expensive. He installed an alarm at the property instead of what was actually required, a smoke detector. The City of Boynton Beach would not issue an occupational license to Mr. St. Juste until he 4 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida July 24, 2003 got the fire alarm and this accounts for the delay in bringing the matter into compliance. After much discussion, it was determined that this misunderstanding had occurred because Mr. St..luste had not properly filled out the request for occupational license. The Occupational License Department assumed, apparently, that the house was a commercial facility housing several adults when actually only two adults resided in the house in addition to Mr. St..luste. He got the occupational license in spite of the fact that he did not have to have one, according to the State of Florida. The State of Florida requires an occupational license if there are three or more people occupying a rental property. Mr. St. _luste advised Mr. Blasie that he did not need a license for just two people; however, he obtained a State occupational license anyway. Mr. Blasie agreed, in part, with Mr. St..luste in that Mr. St..luste had applied for an occupational license on December 21, 1999, but after a fine was already accruing in the case. He reiterated that part of the problem was that the City did not know how many people were actually living at this address because Mr. St..luste did not fill out that part of the request for occupational license form. Once that issue was clarified, Mr. St. 3uste is correct and he did not need to have a fire alarm. Mr. Blasie verified that Mr. St. Juste had actually gone about 60 days without an occupational license until the fire issue was raised. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case No. 99-2187, and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Sections 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Mr. Rafkin moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case No. 99-2187, by virtue of this Board's Order of October 20, 1999, to $1,730.15 including administrative costs. Mr. Miriana seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Mr. St..luste did not believe that he should have to pay this because he wanted to get the license but could not because the City would not give it to him until he installed a fire alarm on the property. Mr. Blasie advised Mr. St..luste that he could request that the case be heard before the City Commission if he so desired. The Recording Secretary administered the oath to Ms. Rosalind Morton, who had arrived at the meeting. Case 98-1935 Rosalind Morton 2321 N.W. Ist Street Mr. Blasie stated that Ms. Morton had two cases before the Board but that she had only submitted $200, the amount that is required to hear one lien reduction case. The Code Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida .luly 24, 2003 stated that each additional case would be charged at a rate of $50 per case. Ms. Morton was desirous of settling the matter today and advised that she would bring the $50 to the City before the close of business. A 5-minute recess was declared to allow her. Tolces time to verify the Code in this matter. The meeting resumed and Mr. Tolces advised that the Board could elect to hear both cases, with the understanding that Ms. Morton had to honor her statement of paying the money by the close of business on the day of the meeting. Mr. Tolces reminded Ms. Morton that she was under oath and she agreed to do this. The Board agreed to hear the cases with that understanding. Mr. Tolces further advised Ms. Morton that if she failed to do this, the case would be brought forward at the Code Board the following month. Chair DeLiso /eft the meeting at 3:53 p.m. Rosalind Morton, 2321 N.W. 1st Street, Boynton Beach, stated that she had been cited for a fence violation and sod in the swale. She put down sod and believed that she had fixed the fence since she had propped it up with some wood so it would not sag. She was later told this was unacceptable since wood and metal cannot be mixed together per Code. The entire period covering this issue included a time of stress for Ms. Morton since her two sisters passed away and she was overcome by taking care of them in Ft. Lauderdale until they died. When she returned to Boynton Beach she became aware that there was a lien on the property. No mail had been forwarded to her from the tenants during her absence. At this point, she and her son put up a new fence and corrected the violations by moving debris from the sidewalk and the carport. She did not apply for a lien reduction because she did not have the $200 to do so. She put it out of her mind until she had to visit a mortgage company due to a late payment and they brought the lien to her attention. If she were able to get the lien sufficiently reduced or eliminated, she would be interested in refinancing the property. As it now stood, the City effectively owned it. She and her children are now living in the property. Ms. Morton responded to a question from Mr. Miriana about why she did not appear at the Code Board hearing, saying that she believed she had fixed the problem when she shored up the sagging fence. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case No. 98-1935, and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Sections 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Mr. Miriana moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case No. 98-1935, by virtue Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Board Boynton Beach, Florida .luly 24, 2003 of this Board's Order of September 16, 1998, to administrative costs only in the amount of $730.15. Mr. Rafkin seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Case #00-1414 Rosalind Morton 2321 N.W. Ist Street Mr. Blasie reported that the citation had been issued on .lune 7, 2000 for violations of the Community Appearance Code. No one appeared at the Code Board hearing on September 20, 2000. The Board set a compliance date of October 16, 2000 and a fine of $50 per day. The property came into compliance on August 9, 2001. The total accrued fine is $12,100.00 plus administrative costs of $730.15. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case No. 00-1414, and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Sections 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Mr. Rafkin moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case No. 00-1414, by virtue of this Board's Order of September 16, 1998, to $0.00 including administrative costs. Ms. Hammer seconded the motion that carried unanimously. Ms. Morton expressed her gratitude to the Board for their decision in her favor. V. New Business Vice Chair Costantino noted with regret that Ms. Dee Zibelli had tendered her resignation from the Code Compliance Board effective the date of this meeting, for reasons of health. She expressed the Board's warmest best wishes for Ms. Zibelli in the future and thanked her for her diligent service on the Board. The Board will miss her. V:~. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 4:07 p.m. Respectfully submitted Susan Collins Recording Secretary (072503) 7