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Minutes 12-19-11 MINUTES OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE BOARD LIEN REDUCTION MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011, AT 6:30 P.M. IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL 100. E. BOYNTON BEACH BLVD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Michele Costantino, Chair Shana Bridgeman, Assistant City Attorney Richard Yerzy, Vice Chair Diane Springer, City Representative Aimond Alexis Kathleen Carroll Gary Cole RoseMarie Yerzy ABSENT: Robert Foot Robert Bucella, Alternate I. Call to Order Chair Costantino called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. II. Approval of Agenda Motion Vice Chair Yerzy moved to approve the agenda. Mr. Cole seconded the motion that unanimously passed. III. Swearing in of Witnesses and Introduction Attorney Bridgeman administered the oath to those intending to testify. Ms. Springer reviewed the appeal procedure. Ms. Springer called the roll to determine who was present. IV. New Business A. Lien Reductions Case No. 09 -3442 Harbor Cay LLC 605 Lakeside Harbor Ms. Springer reviewed the details of the case and advised this and the next case were for the same property address. The property was cited October 29, 2009 for violations Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reductions Boynton Beach, FL December 19, 2011 pertaining to mowing, weeding, trimming and removal of trash and debris. The case was heard December 16, 2009. No one appeared and a compliance date was set for December 26, 2009 or incur $100 per day. Compliance was achieved October 13, 2011 for 655 days of non - compliance. Ms. Springer advised she had photographs. She further advised Mr. Denardo just purchased the property. He came to the office in October to discuss the liens and verify compliance. He had to pay approximately $500 in municipal liens before coming before the Board. She explained that the property was originally purchased by developers who were supposed to build townhomes. When the market crashed, they abandoned the property. The respondent stated the house that sits on the property was being refurbished and his intention was to put a military veteran in there, free of rent for a year. Joe Denardo, 1401 SE 10 Street, Suite 130, Pompano Beach, felt he was an innocent party concerning the liens. He verified the documentation presented by Ms. Springer. He advised that within one week he completed the improvements to the property and went beyond what was required. He distributed his own document and explained the contents to the Board. He indicated there was a document included that showed a contract with TD Bank, whereas TD Bank was to give them title to the property free of all liens and encumbrances. The closing date had to be extended 45 days. When the bank continued to neglect the property, Mr. Denardo stated he took the property anyway. Expenses for the improvements commencing since the date he acquired the property totaled approximately $25,000. He advised that being a combat veteran; it was decided to offer free rent for a year to a veteran. Mr. Alexis inquired if the Bank reduced the price of the house and Mr. Denardo confirmed they negotiated a lower price for the property based on the lien. Mr. Denardo also advised that after the year of free rent was completed, the veteran would be allowed to rent if he decided to do so. Ms. Springer advised Mr. Denardo to contact the Business Tax Receipt Department and inquire whether a Business Tax Receipt was required if he was not collecting rent. Mr. Denardo advised the Board that there would be ongoing maintenance performed on the property. He also owned the property in back so it would be important to maintain the front property. There was discussion by the Board and suggestions of taking the improved appearance of the property into consideration. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, 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, Vice Chair Yerzy moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of December 16, 2009 to an 2 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reductions Boynton Beach, FL December 19, 2011 amount of $1,634.12, including administrative costs. The motion was seconded by Ms. Carroll and unanimously passed. Case No. 10 -573 Harbor Cay LLC 605 Lakeside Harbor Ms. Springer reviewed the details of the case. The property was cited March 1, 2010 for violations pertaining to mowing and removing trash and debris. It was heard April 21, 2010 and no one appeared. The compliance date set by the Board was May 6, 2010 or incur a fine of $100 per day. Compliance date was October 13, 2011 for 524 days of non - compliance. Joe Denardo, of 1401 SE 10 Street, Suite 130, Pompano Beach. Vice Chair Yerzy inquired in order to expedite this matter, could Mr. Denardo attest that the testimony in this case would be the same as the first one. Mr. Denardo advised the situation and testimony were identical. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, 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, Vice Chair Yerzy moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of April 21, 2010 to an amount of $1,634.12 including administrative costs. Ms. Carroll seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Case No. 05 -512 Richardo R. Marchesini 916 S. Seacrest Blvd. Ms. Springer reviewed the case. The property was cited March 7, 2005, to repair or replace driveway and install sod in swale area. The case was heard May 18, 2005. No one appeared. A compliance date was set for June 17, 2005 or incur a fine of $25 per day. Compliance was documented on August 16, 2011, having 2,250 days of non- compliance. In July of 2011, Ms. Springer was asked to ensure the property came into compliance. On August 9, 2011, she received a call that the final inspection for the driveway was done and it passed. In addition, in order for this to come before the Lien Reduction Board, the Respondent had to repair or replace the soffits and soffit screens, repair or replace the fascia in the pool area, replace missing window screens and repair the sprinkler system. She provided photographs. Aubrey Ben Hama, 7000 West Palmetto Park Blvd, Suite 300, Boca Raton, advised he represented Wachovia Bank who was the current owner of the property. He advised that although the property had been in violation since 2005, the client took legal title of the property in April 2011. Since that time, Wachovia had spent over $30,000 to bring the property into compliance. There was a contract on the unit and that was ready to 3 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reductions Boynton Beach, FL December 19, 2011 close as soon as the lien issue was resolved. The contract price was for $75,000 by someone who would be living in the property. He was requesting the fines reflect the amount of time it took Wachovia to bring the property into compliance, which was a little more than three months, and the amount of money spent. Ms. Carroll inquired as to what the $30,000 covered as far as improvements and Mr. Ben Hama advised he did not have an item by item list. He further advised that Mr. Marchensini was the previous owner and was foreclosed on by Wachovia Bank. The Bank took legal title on April 15, 2011. He requested to reduce the lien to $3,000 and explained the figure was based on how long Wachovia owned the property and the amount of liens and calculated it on a pro rata basis. Ms. Springer advised the Board that the work performed was done between August 16, 2011 and September 8, 2011. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, 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, Vice Chair Yerzy moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of May 18, 2005 to an amount of $3,634.12 including administrative costs. Mr. Cole seconded the motion with discussion. Chair Costantino advised she would like the lien amount to be at least $5,000 plus administrative costs. Mr. Alexis advised he would like to see it go to $6,000 including administrative costs. There was discussion on the legality of the Bank entering the property before it took legal title. The motion failed 3 -3 (Mr. Alexis, Ms. Carroll, Ms. Yerzy dissenting). Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, 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, Mr. Alexis moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of May 18, 2005 to an amount of $6,000 including administrative costs. Ms. Carroll seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 -1 (Vice Chair Yerzy dissenting). Case No. 07 -350 Martin's BBQ, Inc. 399 Winchester Park Blvd. Ms. Springer reviewed the case. The property was cited February 6, 2007, to bring the property back to the original site plan on file with the City, mow, trim and weed property, remove junk, trash, debris and graffiti. The case was heard February 17, 2010. Jim 4 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reductions Boynton Beach, FL December 19, 2011 Klinker appeared. A compliance date was set for May 18, 2010 or incur a fine of $100 per day. Compliance was documented on September 6, 2011, having 475 days of non- compliance. The new owner, Best Vet, brought the property into compliance. Included in the backup Ms. Springer provided, were minutes that stated the representative from Martin's BBQ stated they had sales on the property. The hearings were tabled and the case was postponed for three years. She received a letter that accompanied the application, written by Mr. Blasie, indicating there was an agreement with the attorney that he would accept the date that the new plan was submitted and approved by the City, rather than bringing the property into compliance which was stated in the application. That would reduce the time to 184 days and $18,430, as opposed to $47,500. Jonathan Chane, 777 So. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, Attorney with Greenburg and Traurig, representing the former owner of Martin's BBQ. He requested a fine reduction on this property based on two points. First, his client had cooperated with the City since the inception of this matter. When he came before the Commission in February of 2010, he cooperated with the City and the only outstanding violation at that time was some graffiti and landscaping issues. The graffiti was taken care of shortly thereafter. The only issue left was the landscaping. He advised his client entered into a contract to sell the property. The new owner of the property, Best Vet, was submitting a new site plan to the property. The new site plan would completely change the landscaping of the property and they were performing extensive renovations. At that point, there were many discussions with the City, specifically Attorney Cherof, to discuss the landscaping issue and how it did not make sense to upgrade the landscaping if it was going to get torn out by the new owner as soon as the new construction began. In addition, when the site plan was approved, the property could not be brought into compliance because there was a new site plan that was not in effect when they were the owner of the property. Mr. Chane continued that because there was the outstanding site plan and no certificate of occupancy issued, until the construction by the new owner was completed, Wachovia could not close out the lien that was on the property at the time. He reiterated that Wachovia at all times maintained contact with the City on the issue. He felt the issue was out of their control, mainly the construction that was occurring by the new owner. The site plan approval was ongoing and out of the control of Wachovia because the property was sold. However, Wachovia agreed to remain on the hook for the lien that was on the property. The property has now been brought into compliance and a Certificate of Occupancy issued. Mr. Chane was proposing a reduction in the lien to an amount equal to administrative and hard costs, for a total of amount of $2,612.66. Chair Costantino expressed her concern that the notice of violation dated back to February 6, 2007. Between that time and the time the property was brought into compliance, the property and warnings had fallen on deaf ears. Mr. Chane responded there were several violations on the property that were brought into compliance. The only outstanding issue was the landscaping issue and there was ongoing contact with 5 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reductions Boynton Beach, FL December 19, 2011 the City at all times. He agreed the landscaping was not completed until the new owner installed it citing it would have been a waste of dollars to complete the landscaping only to have it removed by the new owner. Chair Costantino inquired as to the date of the contract of sale and although Mr. Chane did not have the contract, he advised the deed was recorded in October of 2010. Chair Costantino advised there was a notice of violation in 2007 but nothing was done until 2010. She further stated there was a contract in April of 2007, extended 60 days for a sale of the property in June of 2007. After that time, there was numerous contracts that had come and gone and she felt something should have been done back with the issue at that time. Mr. Chane advised real estate deals occur all the time and unfortunately for whatever reason fall through. He had no knowledge as to why these deals fell through, but advised the current deal was with a phenomenal owner. There was a new site plan approved for the new owner and in order to bring the property into compliance and get the Certificate of Occupancy, the new owner had to bring the landscaping up to the new site plan which was different than when Wachovia was the owner of the property. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, 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, Mr. Alexis moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of February 17, 2010 to an amount of $5,000 including administrative costs. Ms. Carroll seconded the motion with discussion. Chair Costantino requested that the amount not include costs, making the total $6,306.33. The motion was amended and unanimously passed. Case No. 10 -3505 Aurora Loan Services 3635 SE 2 Street Ms. Springer reviewed the case. The property was cited December 6, 2010, to remove or register a car and truck in the backyard. The case was heard February 16, 2011. No one appeared. A compliance date was set for February 26, 2011 or incur a fine of $50 per day. Compliance was documented on July 7, 2011, having 130 days of non- compliance. Ms. Springer provided pictures and advised the respondent had been before the board on many occasions and had taken run down properties and turned them into very nice properties. This was one of the properties. The vehicles were not there when he purchased the property. What was required of him to complete for lien reduction in addition to paying two water bills from two previous owners, was to install some new screening. Steven Patrucci, 2700 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite C103, Ft. Lauderdale advised Aurora Loan Services was not the owner of the property any longer. He advised the company buys properties and fixes them up to revitalize the community. There was a contract on the subject property. The sale price was $135,000. They purchased the 6 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reductions Boynton Beach, FL December 19, 2011 property for $62,000 and spent approximately $25,000 in repairs. Mr. Patrucci advised he also assists homebuyers in purchasing homes and helps with dosing costs. There were two water bills paid, which were the responsibility of Aurora Loan Services, for a total of $228 and the screens were repaired. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, 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. Carroll moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of February 16, 2011 to an amount of $1,634.12 including administrative costs. Mr. Cole seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Case No. 09 -3851 Diane Galen 2202 NE 3rd Street Ms. Springer reviewed the case. The property was cited December 9, 2009, to remove a split tree from the front yard. The case was heard January 20, 2010. No one appeared. A compliance date was set for February 4, 2010 or incur a fine of $250 per day. Compliance was documented on November 5, 2011, having 638 days of non- compliance. Ms. Springer advised the tree had to be taken down and compliance had been verified. They also had to replace missing door handles, broken windows, trim overgrowth, and prevent the washer from emptying into the ground. In addition, there was $1500 in outstanding water bills from the previous owner that had to be paid. She presented photographs to the Board. Peter Pistano, 1605 King Street, Jacksonville had no relationship with Ms. Galen as she was the previous property owner. He advised that as soon as he was notified that there was a violation, he immediately completed everything that was required. One of the difficulties involved was that someone was at the property with a dummy lease and he was basically at their mercy until they decided to leave. A new refrigerator and washer and dryer were put in and were taken. The property had been tremendously vandalized. There was a contract on the property for $31,000. The contract was for a family with two children. Mr. Pistano explained that what he does was similar to a neighborhood stabilization program whereby they buy the property and they assist in obtaining a mortgage through FHA The mortgage would include the property price plus the repairs. He explained he had done everything that was asked of him, including paying the extensive water and electric bills the squatters had created. They took possession of the property on August 11, 2011. He further advised the property was owned by Freedom Mortgage. His role was not as representative of the bank, he works with banks to liquidate the properties. He further advised that when the property was taken over, they were responsible for the violations. 7 Meeting Minutes Code Compliance Lien Reductions Boynton Beach, FL December 19, 2011 Chair Costantino advised she had issues with the tree and the fact it could have done property damage to other people's property. Even when the bank had possession, the bank made no effort to move quickly, even when there were squatters living there. Mr. Pistano replied with respect to the violation regarding the tree, he advised the senior inspector went to the property and determined the tree was not dead. The tree did not present any damage or threat to anyone. The tree was alive and the senior inspector requested the branches be trimmed. If it presented an issue to the neighborhood, they would have required it to be cut down. There was lengthy discussion on the issue of whether the tree was to be removed or whether the branches had to be trimmed. Mr. Aimond suggested that the issue be tabled until the regular Code Compliance meeting so that the officer responsible for complying could verify exactly what had to be done to comply. Ms. Springer advised the tree had been cut back and that a portion of it was still there. The pictures she provided were before pictures. She did not have an after picture but confirmed that if it was still an issue, Officer Lewis would not have complied the case. Chair Costantino requested a picture of what the tree looks like now and agreed to table the matter to the Code Compliance meeting. Motion Vice Chair Yerzy moved to table case 09 -3851 to December 21, 2011 at the Code Compliance meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Carroll and unanimously passed. Motion Vice Chair Yerzy moved to table case 10 -2994 to next month. The motion was seconded by Ms. Yerzy and unanimously passed. Adjournment Motion There being no further business to come before the Board, Ms. Carroll moved to adjourn. Mr. Alexis seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. _.''; (Lek, 00_ Ellie Caruso Recording Secretary 8