Loading...
Minutes 09-25-13 MINUTES OF THE CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2013, AT 6:30 P.., IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS CITY HALL, 100 E. BOYNTON BEACH BOULEVARD, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT: Michele Costantino, Chair Shana Bridgeman, Assistant City Attorney Gary Cole, First Vice Chair Diane Springer, Code Compliance Coordinator Alan Borrelli Kathleen Carroll RoseMarie Yerzy ABSENT: Carol Brenner . Call to Order Chair Costantino called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. A quorum was present. II. Approval of Agenda Motion Vice Chair Cole moved to approve the agenda. Ms. Yerzy seconded the motion that unanimously passed. III. Swearing in of Witnesses Attorney Bridgeman explained the procedures and administered an oath to all those intending to testify. Ms. Springer distributed a letter to the Respondents detailing the procedures and appeal to the City Commission. She explained it could take up to a month and a half before the matter is final. When needed, she could issue a letter detailing the Board's decision, pending City Commission review, if requested. IV. New Business Case No. 09 -3309 Mark McLeod 40 Desford Lane Ms. Springer presented the case. The notice of violation was October 14, 2009, regarding a Business Tax Receipt. The case was heard on November 18, 2009, and no one appeared. The date and fine set by the Board was December 18, 2009, or a fine of $100 per day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on August 5, 2013, having 1,325 days of non - compliance. MEETING MINUTES CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 The property was purchased on June 20, 2013. Ms. Springer was first contacted on June 21, 2013, to obtain information for lien reduction. The inspection revealed the house numbers needed to be replaced and there were outstanding water bills. The home was occupied at the time of purchase and the owner had to remove the tenants, which was why it took two months from the date of purchase to the date of compliance. The property was purchased for the owner's father. Staff confirmed the property was vacant on August 5, 2013. Nllesh Lakhlani, 11866 SW 44 Street, Davie, was the owner. He commented the fines are from the owner and he sought relief. The violations were corrected and the property was inspected. Chair Costantino inquired if he was aware the violations run with the property, not the owner. Mr. Lakhlani advised he first learned of the liens when he purchased the property from the bank. There were several expenses. The water bill was $315 which was not paid by the former tenant. There was an expense to remove the tenant and the cost of the repairs to the unit, which was severely damaged by the tenant and former owner. There were HOA liens of $12,600 which he was addressing. The FP &L bill was $515 and additional repairs were about $2,500. He had a copy of the receipts. Mr. Lakhlani understood from the Ordinance, the violation was in reference to the property owner not filing for a permit to rent. If that was correct, the violation did not pose a serious or imminent threat to the safety of others. Chair Costantino commented when an individual intends to rent property, a property inspection needs to be done for the safety and health of the tenant. Mr. Lakhlani understood the necessary paperwork should be filed. He pointed out he was not being disrespectful to it, but at this point, it was not an imminent danger. Vice Chair Cole inquired if the repairs would be made to rent to a tenant. Mr. Lakhlani responded his 71 -year old father would be moving into 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, Vice Chair Cole moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of November 18, 2009, to an amount of $3,634.12 including administrative costs. Ms. Carroll seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 2 MEETING MINUTES CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 Case No. 13 -71 BNW Trading, Inc. 1919 N. Seacrest Blvd. Rainbow City Food Stores Chair Costantino acknowledged the presence of Vice Chair Hay and welcomed him to the meeting. Ms. Springer presented the case. The notice of violation was dated January 14, 2013, and pertained to windows, broken lights, an inoperable, unregistered vehicle, outside cooking prohibited, sod bare areas, remove grill and repair dumpster enclosure. The case was heard on February 12, 2013, and Billy Warrayat appeared. The compliance date and fine set by the Board was April 6, 2013, or a fine of $250 per day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on July 18, 2013, having 93 days of non - compliance. The applicant paid the application fee of $250, a water bill of $2,378.24 and requested a meeting with the City Manager, Vice Chair Hay, the Police Chief, Sgt. Sheridan and Ms. Springer. The City Manager advised he could apply for a lien reduction and the City requested the Board reduce the fines to administrative fees, but the City Manager explained to the applicant the reduction was at the discretion of the Board. If he was unsatisfied with their decision, he could appear before the City Commission for a further reduction. The purpose of the meeting was for all to be on the same page as to compliance, what occurred on the property and that he complied at the time. Billy Warrayat, 1919 N. Seacrest Boulevard, requested a reduction from the lien. He commented he has been in the City since 1990 and never had a problem. There was one incident which escalated slowly. The violations were addressed and the City worked with him as much as possible. He anticipated they would communicate more frequently. He is active in the community and several churches and he assists the Police. He did not anticipate the situation would occur again. Mr. Warrayat explained when he attended the first hearing, there were two or three items outstanding. They had an issue with the sod on the side, which had to be redone. He contended school buses and City trucks drove on the sod, but. it was corrected. 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. Yerzy moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of February 20, 2013, to an amount of $730.15 including administrative costs. Mr. Borelli seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 3 MEETING MINUTES CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 Case No. 13 -369 Brian Keith & Michelle Bouie 351 NE 27 Avenue Ms. Springer presented the case. The notice of violation was March 3, 2013, which pertained to mowing and trimming the property and removing inoperable vehicles. The case was heard on April 17, 2013, and no one appeared. The compliance date and fine set by the Board was April 27, 2013, or $500 per day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on July 18, 2013, having 81 days of non - compliance. The application fee for lien reduction was paid and the water and taxes were up -to -date. She was contacted in July for a lien reduction inspection, but the violations were still not in compliance. An officer visited the premises on July 16, 2013, but unregistered vehicles remained. He reinspected on July 18, 2013, and complied the case then. The lien reduction inspection occurred on July 20, 2013, and the applicant needed to replace missing window screens, remove outside storage, repair the fence, reseed or sod the front lawn, repair the gutter on the west side and add a down -spout on the east side. All the repairs were completed on September 24, 2013. Michelle Bouie, 351 NE 27 Avenue, explained when she attended the first hearing, she came with all the titles and insurance for the vehicles. She spoke with the Code Officer handling her case who gave her 30 days. In the process she did have all the title and insurance on the vehicles. She did not attend the second hearing due to her son not informing her of the hearing, the death of her mother, and she was in the middle of a short sale /foreclosure. She had a closing date last month, but could not close which was why she was present. She spoke with her mortgage company and they will not pay for the lien, but they gave an extension for the short sale. Ms. Bouie lives at the residence and after the short sale would walk away. She had a copy of the contract they submitted to the bank and the buyer's information. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, and having been advised that the Respondents have 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 April 17, 2013, to an amount of $634.12 including administrative costs. The motion died for lack of a second. Motion Based on the testimony and evidence presented in the aforementioned case, and having been advised that the Respondents have 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 Cole moved that this Board reduce the fines instituted in the 4 MEETING MINUTES CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of April 17, 2013, to an amount of $1,634.12 including administrative costs. Ms. Yerzy seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Case No. 12 -699 Leigh DePuma 116 SE 3 rd Avenue Ms. Springer presented the case. The notice of violation was April 20, 2012, which pertained to a Business Tax Receipt, unlicensed and inoperable vehicles and sod. The case was heard on June 20, 2012„ and no one appeared. The compliance date and fine set by the Board was June 30, 2012, or a fine of $350 per day would be imposed thereafter. The violations were corrected on September 18, 2013, having 444 days of non - compliance. The application fee was paid as were outstanding water bills over $800. Ms. Springer was contacted on September 16, 2013 for a lien reduction inspection, but the property was not in compliance. An officer conducted a compliance and lien reduction inspection and complied the case contingent on another inspection. The property needed to be mowed, hedges and bougainvillea needed to be trimmed, screens installed on all the windows and the outside storage of construction material needed to be removed. The property was reinspected again this morning and all was corrected. The Respondent was present and an email he sent earlier in the day to Ms. Springer was included in the meeting backup. Doug Hauck, Snowstorm Property, Inc., 639 E. Ocean Avenue, Suite 406, explained they purchased the property at auction on April 26, 2013. The property was a nuisance to the area and it took until June 17, 2013, to obtain a Writ of Possession from the Sheriff. The tenants were running an auto repair shop at the premises. There were parts, grease and many cars and trucks. They never had access to the inside and they purchased the home on a whim. When they evicted the tenants, he had four other employees help remove the contents from the home. It took two U -haul loads to clear the items. The interior had sacks and sacks of trash and was a mess. There were snakes, rats and rodents, and cockroaches. The place looks great now and he had photographs. The planted Poinciana and coconut trees and rehabbed the inside. Chair Costantino commented the buyers took a risk and they should search the property because liens run with the property and not with the owner. Mr. Hauck understood and commented he went through this process once about seven or eight years ago. Vice Chair Cole requested viewing the photographs; however, the images were on Mr. Hauck's electronic device. Ms. Springer had before and after photographs she distributed to the Board. Mr. Hauck commented when the Save our Homes Act was instituted, it did not allow for speedy evictions during foreclosures, and he had to file three or four motions. The owner never responded to any of the court proceedings, but the tenants did; however, they did not have a lease. 5 MEETING MINUTES CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 Mr. Hauck explained the purchase price was approximately $71,712 after auction costs and about $31 K to rehab it. He commented the property was a wash, but the plan was to sell it. The average asking price of similar properties was $84K. There were five similar properties in the Forest Park area ranging from $57,000 to $102,000. If they cannot sell, they would consider renting it, and would apply for the Business Tax Receipt. Chair Costantino reviewed the timeline of events in the email. Mr. Hauck explained there were actually two violations on the property, one of which he was unaware of. One was a case from 2010. On June 12 a Cease and Desist Order was placed on the property which he thought may be for the auto repairs. Ms. Springer explained the fine for the Cease and Desist Order was not paid and they had to close the case because the cease and desist was placed against the bank. When there was another violation on the property, staff noticed it changed hands. The bank never actually owned the property and he purchased it on the courthouse steps. The property went from the original owner to Mr. Hauck. The lien was not valid so they released it. Mr. Borelli inquired how long it took to clean the property once he obtained it. Mr. Hauck explained they started the day they took possession. There were other items they were unaware of which they addressed right away once they learned of them. Ms. Springer explained the compliance date of September 18, 2013, was when staff verified the violations on the lien were corrected. The other items on the list were for lien reduction which complied this morning. There was further brief discussion how long it takes the Property Appraiser's Office to update their records and when the notices were sent. The notices were sent in 2012, and he purchased the property in 2013. It was noted it takes the Clerk of Court three weeks to a month to record the documents and then it goes to the Appraiser's Office. The certificate of title was recorded May 16, 2013. Ms. Carroll noted he rehabbed the property and it would be nice to have a new owner. Vice Chair Cole agreed and that he did a great job. Mr. Hauck commented he had to repair the sprinkler system twice. 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. Yerzy moved that this Board reduce the fine instituted in the aforementioned case by virtue of this Board's Order of June 20, 2012, to an amount of $3,134.12, including administrative costs. Vice Chair Cole seconded the motion. The vote failed 3 -2 (Mr. Borelli and Ms. Carroll dissenting.) 6 MEETING MINUTES CODE COMPLIANCE LIEN REDUCTION SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 SEPTEMBER 25, 2013 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 June 20, 2012, to an amount of $1,634.12, including administrative costs. Mr. Borelli seconded the motion that unanimously passed. Adjournment Motion There being no further business to discuss, Ms. Yerzy moved to adjourn. Ms. Carroll seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:11 a.m. f � 4 fl- lul M Catherine Cherry Minutes Specialist 900313 7