Loading...
Minutes 02-24-05 MINUTES OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE BOARD LIEN REDUCTION MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2005 AT 3:00 P.M. Present Chris DeLiso, Chairman David Tolces, Assistant City Attorney Michele Costantino, Vice Chair Scott Blasie, Code Administrator Kathleen Carroll Kathy Cook Bob Foot Lisa Simshauser I. Call to Order Chairman DeLiso called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. II. Approval of Minutes There were no minutes due for approval. II1. Approval of Agenda Mr. Blasie verified that all the applicants were present with the exception of Rosa Anderson and Stewart Davis, Case # 04-1500. Motion Vice Chair Costantino moved to accept the agenda as amended. Mr. Foot seconded the motion that passed 6-0. IV. Swearing in of Witnesses and Introduction Assistant City Attorney Tolces administered the oath to all persons who would be testifying. V. New Business A. Lien Reductions Case #03-1146 Christmas Destine 2209 N.E. 2nd Street Mr. Blasie reported the case originated on April 10, 2003 for violations of the 2001 Florida Building Code. It came before the Board January 21, 2004 and no one appeared. The Board entered an Order to comply by January 31, 2004 or be fined $50 per day. Compliance was accomplished on January 24, 2005. Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reduction Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida February 24, 2005 The case was discovered through a Red Tag from the Building Department. An old building permit, #96-2517, was obtained to replace windows. The permit expired and became null and void and the windows were not replaced. On April 9 of 2003, Building Inspector Bud Gall forwarded the violation to Code Compliance. The windows had to be replaced because they did not meet the City's egress requirements. Mr. Blasie confirmed that Ms. Destine had purchased this property with no knowledge of the open permit violation. He also recalled that she had visited several City departments for assistance with this issue. .leanne Destine, 2209 N.E. 7th Street, Boynton Beach, appeared on behalf of her son, Christmas Destine. She explained that she had purchased the home for her son in his name. Subsequently, he had given her a quitclaim deed to the property, which was now in her name. Ms. Destine explained she had eventually replaced all the windows with the correct type, but it had taken a long time because she could not afford to do it all at once. When she became aware of the violation, Christmas Destine was asked to attend the meeting on .lanuary 21, 2004. She was unaware he had not come to the meeting. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in Case #03-1146 and having been advised that the Respondent has complied with all lien reduction procedures set forth in Section 2-84 through 2-89 of the City of Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances, Ms. Cook moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in Case #03-1146 by virtue of this Board's Order of January 21, 2004, to the amount of $922.21, including administrative costs. Mr. Foot seconded the motion that passed 5-1, Vice Chair Costantino dissenting. IYr. Blas/e explained the City's lien reduction procedures, including the appeal process. Case #02-845 3oseph A. & 3oceline 3ean 1790 N. Seacrest Blvd, Mr. Blasie reported this property had been cited on April 1, 2002 for not having grass in the yard. The case came before the Board on .Tune 19, 2002 and the Jeans did not appear. The Board entered an Order to comply by .~uly 19, 2002 or be fined $25 per day. Compliance was documented on August 20, 2004. Hr. Blasie had three photographs taken on the day of this meeting; one taken on June 14, 2002; and one taken on August 19, 2002. Mr. Blasie asked for and received confirmation from Nlr. Jean that the photographs were of Mr. Jean's house, and then he gave the photographs to the Board. Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reduction Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida February 24, 2005 3oseph Jean came to the podium to speak, stating that this was a rental property, and that the violation notice may have been delivered to the renter, but Mr..lean was unaware of it. Mr. Jean gave a Delray Beach address for the time period of the violation notice(s). Mr. Blasie stated he had a Property Appraiser's Office printout dated March 28, 2002 that showed Mr. Jean's mailing address as 1790 N. Seacrest Boulevard. He acknowledged that he and Mr. Jean had some conversations about the address issue. Mr. Blasie reported that the two violation notices that had been sent to 1790 N. Seacrest Boulevard had never been signed and returned to the City. To demonstrate service for purposes of the lien certification, the property was posted. The general consensus of the Board was that the records supported the fact that Mr. Jean had not received an effective notice. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in Case #02-845 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. Foot moved that this Board reduce the fine in Case #02-845 by virtue of this Board's Order of June 19, 2002 to an amount of $0.00, including administrative costs. Ms. Simshauser seconded the motion that passed 6-0. Since some/nd/vidua/s came to the meeting after the initial swearing in, Assistant City Attorney To/ces repeated the process for the benefit of the/atecomers. Case #98-3783 Percival & Hazel Rowe 240 N.E. 19th Avenue Mr. Blasie reported this property had originally been cited on October 29, 1998 for violations of the Community Appearance Code. Trash, debris, and unregistered motor vehicles formed the basis for the violation. The case came before the Board on January 20, 1999 and the Rowes did not appear. The Board issued an Order for compliance by February 15, 1999 or a fine of $25 per day. Compliance was documented on February 2, 2005. He had three photographs taken on the day of this meeting; four photographs taken on May 7, 1999, and two photographs taken on February 1, 2005. Mr. Blasie confirmed with the Respondents the pictures were of this property, and then showed the pictures to the Board. Priscilla Cheek, 240 N.E. 19th Avenue, Boynton Beach, came to the podium along with Percival Rowe. Ms. Cheek explained she was representing her mother, Hazel Rowe, who was bedridden and had been ill for many years. Ms. Cheek did not Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reduction Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida February 24, 2005 know there was a lien against her mother's house until Ns. Cheek tried to get a home improvement loan for the purpose of making the home handicap accessible for her mother. Her mother had asked Ns. Cheek's help to have the cars removed and they were removed, but not until about a month after the date on the citation. She mentioned the grey auto shown in one of the photographs shown by rvlr. Bias/e, saying that this had belonged to her mother's nephew. A few months before this meeting, the nephew purchased the car but went back to Seattle before obtaining a tag and registering the vehicle. When the Code Officer advised that it would have to be moved, Ns. Cheek sold it and it was gone by the next day. Chair DeL/so stated he was very familiar with the house. Over the 14 years that he had been on the Board, he had witnessed repeated violations on this property. He felt the property had been an eyesore for years and the neighborhood had suffered from the trash and debris on the property. Many notices had been issued to the property owners without improvement. Ns. Cheek stated she was selling her home in order to move in with her mother and take care of the home in the proper manner. She assured the Board that once she had done so, conditions would permanently improve. Chair DeL/so respected Ms. Cheek's intentions and applauded them; however, he felt the Board should address the years of neglect and the suffering of the neighbors and he could not support a lien reduction for that reason. Ms. Cook noted five years previously, Hr. Rowe had appeared before the Board, expressing distress that an $11K lien had been placed against this property. He was advised at the time the lien would continue to accrue until the property came into compliance. The Board felt the owners had known of and ignored the lien. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in Case #98-3783 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. Foot moved that this Board reduce the fine in Case #98-3783 by virtue of this Board's Order of January 20, 1999 to an amount of $3,500.00, including administrative costs. Ms. Cook seconded the motion. The Recording Secretary called the roll and the motion failed 3-3, Chair DeL/so, Vice Chair Costant/no, and I~ls. $imshauser dissenting. 4 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reduction Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida February 24, 2005 Ms. Cook felt if the property were cited again after the proposed reduction in fine, the Board could issue a fine of $5K per day, under the repeat offender regulations. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in Case #98-3783 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. Cook moved that this Board reduce the fine in Case #98-3783 by virtue of this Board's Order of.lanuary 20, 1999 to an amount of $5,000.00 including administrative costs. Mr. Foot seconded the motion that passed 5-1, Chair DeL/so dissenting. Case #02-1868 Church of God in Christ 340 N.E. 12th Avenue Mr. Blasie reported this property had been cited on 3uly 22, 2002 for violations of the 1997 Standard Building Codes, Section 105.6, requiring inspections. A representative of the Church appeared at the September 18, 2002 hearing. The Board established a compliance date of October 18, 2002, with a fine of $25 a day to be assessed if the property did not comply. Compliance was documented on July 11, 2003. Mr. Blasie explained an air conditioning contractor had pulled a permit, #99-0267, to install air conditioning at the church. The contractor finished the job, but did not call for inspection. At some point in time, the owners of the Church became aware that a fine had been levied against the property and they contacted Commissioner McCray. Mr. Blasie met with Commissioner McCray and City Manager Bressner, who all agreed that the fine should stop running. Mr. Blasie contacted the contractor who had installed the air conditioning and advised them they had to call for inspection. Eventually, the owners had to get another contractor to handle the inspection requirement. .lames Clark and Burnett Bell, deacons of the Church of God in Christ, appeared before the Board. Mr. Bell spoke of having to pay another contractor $1,000 to call for the required inspection. Mr. Foot believed that the City should try to recover its out-of-pocket costs. Motion Based on testimony and evidence presented in Case #02-1868 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 fine in Case #02-1868 by virtue of this 5 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reduction Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida February 24, 2005 Board's Order of September 18, 2002 to an amount of $0.00, including administrative costs. Iris. Cook seconded the motion that passed 5-1, ~lr. Foot dissenting. VZ. Adjournment Since there was no further business before the Board, the meeting was duly adjourned at 3:54 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (022505) 6