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Minutes 05-18-22 MINUTES OF THE COMMUNITY STANDARDS SPECIAL MAGISTRATE CODE COMPLIANCE/LIEN REDUCTION HEARINGS HELD IN THE CITY HALL COMMISSION CHAMBERS, 100 E. OCEAN AVE. BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022, AT 9 A.M. PRESENT: Vestiguerne Pierre, Community Standards Supervisor Candace Stone, Director, Community Standards Tanya Guim, Administrative Supervisor Community Standards Dadena Francois, Community Standards Associate Hilary Zalman, Special Magistrate Jennifer Oh, Recording Secretary, Prototype, Inc. I. CALL TO ORDER Hilary Zalman, Community Standards Special Magistrate, called the Hearings to order at 9:03 a.m. and explained the Magistrate's role and procedures. Pursuant to Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, all orders are appealable only to the Circuit Court in Palm Beach County and not to the City Commission. Also, a fine will be imposed if the violation(s) are not corrected by the deadline. II. INTRODUCTION AND SWEARING IN OF WITNESSES Administrative Supervisor Guim administered an oath to all those intending to testify. III. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA- None. IV. NEW BUSINESS Lien Reduction Hearing Note: This case started at 10:52 a.m. Case No. 12-1180 Alcin Serge & Escarment Nerlie Property Address: 426 SW 8t" Avenue Property Violation(s): As stated below Supervisor Pierre presented this case. The Notice of Violation date was July 21, 2012. The Special Magistrate Hearing date was August 15, 2012, and no one appeared. A compliance date was set for August 25, 2012, or a fine of$200 per day. The Respondent complied on March 2, 2020. There are 2,745 days of noncompliance at $200 per day. The total fine is $549,634.12, including administrative fees of$384.12. Angela Berry, Authorized Agent, for the current owner, Red State LLC. Meeting Minutes Community Standards Special Magistrate Hearings Boynton Beach, Florida May 18, 2022 Ms. Zalman asked if this is currently an investment property with tenants. Ms. Berry indicated she is the Property owner for the company and stated there are no tenants. The property was acquired in March 2021.They brought the property into compliance. She took over in December and decided to go beyond with landscaping; there is approximately $15,000 to $20,000 set aside because it was necessary to beautify the block. Their first intention was to rent the property on a regular term, but during the process they decided to pursue a short-term rental. She believes the property was purchased for $70,000 and so far, they have spent $110,000 and have more money set aside. She had a recommendation from Adam Temple on the lien reduction up to 90% based on the purchase price of the property and not on the total lien, which would be a $63,000 reduction making the fine around $7,000. Ms. Zalman advised a spreadsheet of expenses put into the property was submitted as evidence; there is a renovation for $90,603.96 in addition to another $13,452 with an itemized list of everything purchased for the property. A letter from Adam Temple to the owner with a recommendation to the Special Magistrate to reduce the lien was read into the record. Supervisor Pierre indicated the City will honor the $7,000. Ms. Zalman clarified the City will honor the recommendation presented and she noted an Order would be sent via mail. DECISION Based on testimony and evidence, Ms. Zalman reduced the fine to $7,000, payable within 90 days, or the fine will revert to the original amount. This case concluded at 11:04 a.m. Lien Reduction Hearing Note: This case started at 10:42 a.m. Case No. 15-0924 Third Temple 2 LLC Property Address: 3016 East Palm Drive Property Violation(s): As stated below Supervisor Pierre presented this case. The Notice of Violation date was April 21, 2015. The Special Magistrate Hearing date was July 15, 2015, and no one appeared. A compliance date was set for August 14, 2015, or a fine of$150 per day. The Respondent complied on April 25, 2022. There are 2,445 days of noncompliance at $150 per day. The total fine is $367,384.12 including administrative fees of$384.12. Page 2 Meeting Minutes Community Standards Special Magistrate Hearings Boynton Beach, Florida May 18, 2022 Steven Grant, Esquire, was present on behalf of the new property owner, Levy Weiss. In response to Ms. Zalman, Attorney Grant believed Mr. Weiss became the new property owner early this year in January. He purchased the property with the violations, and they want to make sure actual Notice was given or that there was a posting on April 21, 2015, and an Affidavit of Noncompliance. Ms. Zalman indicated the City would have check the file. She asked if this is an investment property and what the purchase price was. Attorney Grant stated this is an investment property, but he did not recall what his client paid for the property. Once his client found out about the lien, they diligently worked to get this into compliance. There were some issues with Community Standards, as there was no checklist and Community Standards had to go to the property multiple times. He believes his client spent over $10,000. Benjamin Schwab, Listing Agent for the property, was present. They had to fix electrical, minor plumbing, a toilet, remove a wall and old appliances per the City. They also had to do new landscaping on the outside; plant new grass, trim bushes and trees, remove old fencing, pressure washing, replace two broken windows, fix the mailbox, and remove a bad structure off the roof. Ms. Zalman stated she would take into consideration the $10,000. Attorney Grant commented they hoped for a 1% multiplier. Ms. Zalman stated that was not going to happen for a commercial property. Mr. Schwab indicated the property is not commercial. When they took over, there were tenants. Ms. Zalman did not mean commercial, she meant used for commercial purposes. She questioned the current use of the property. Attorney Grant stated his client is trying to sell the property, which he owned for five at which time there was a tenant. Ms. Zalman understands the property was brought into compliance, so it is better than it was, which is a benefit to the City. Attorney Grant mentioned the fine of$150 per day and believed the violation was for not having a Landlord Business Tax Receipt. His client got the Landlord Business Tax Receipt just to close this out because the tenants were not improving the property. His client is looking to make a profit, so he requested whatever was comfortable, as the Page 3 Meeting Minutes Community Standards Special Magistrate Hearings Boynton Beach, Florida May 18, 2022 property cannot be sold with the lien. He believes the approximate sale value is around $200,000. Ms. Zalman commented the lien is much more than the sale value. For the City's benefit, the Respondent has brought the property into compliance so it can be in sold. Supervisor Pierre advised the City usually does 10% on residential property and 15% on commercial. Attorney Grant stated 10% would roughly be $30,000 and 15% would be $45,000. They are looking to be somewhere around $5,000, but they would be willing to go up to $10,000 within 30 days. Supervisor Pierre advised the City would accept $10,000. Ms. Zalman agreed. An Order will be sent via mail, and it will take a couple of weeks. The fine must be paid within 90 days. DECISION Based on testimony, Ms. Zalman reduced the fine to $10,000, payable within 90 days, or the fine will revert to the original amount. This case concluded at 10:51 a.m. Lien Reduction Hearing Note: This case started at 11:04 a.m. Case No. 17-1389 Manzi Kristyn Property Address: 2512 SW 13th Street Property Violation(s): As stated below Supervisor Pierre presented this case. The Notice of Violation date was January 17, 2018, and no one appeared. The Special Magistrate hearing was on February 2, 2018, or a fine of $100 per day. The Respondent complied on April 7, 2022. There are 1,497 days of noncompliance at $100 per day. The total fine is $150,334.12, including administrative fees in the amount of$384.12. Kristyn Manzi, owner, was present. Ms. Zalman asked if this a rental property. Page 4 Meeting Minutes Community Standards Special Magistrate Hearings Boynton Beach, Florida May 18, 2022 Ms. Manzi explained she moved from St. Pete Beach, bought the house, got engaged, went through a horrific divorce, and had to leave the house because she had to give her ex-husband half the appreciation for the three years when they were married during which time the value went up considerably. She had a realtor put the house on the market to get a renter and there was no Homeowner's Association. She did not know a permit existed and by time it caught up to her, she had no information until last year. She owns a medical clinic in Georgia and had to pay her staff for a year and never got PPE. By the time she found out about PPE she was almost bankrupt again. She is doing whatever she can to sell the house. Ms. Zalman questioned if there is currently a tenant at the house. Ms. Manzi stated there are no tenants; the house is empty. During the time the house was rented it was not a money maker, she had to pay taxes, insurance, pool maintenance, and landscaping, as well her ex-husband for half the appreciation; this was a big money loser. When she found out there were a couple of things on the inspection that needed to be done, she called several contractors and got it done very quickly. She had to do windows, screens, more landscaping, and remove pavers in the backyard, which were laid without a permit. Ms. Zalman questioned how much of her own money was spent to bring the property into compliance. Ms. Manzi advised she spent a little under $3,000. The first time she rented the house she had to take the tenants to court because they were not paying the rent. During the Hearing, no one told her she was out of compliance due to the permit. Ms. Zalman indicated she would take filing an eviction into consideration because that was time spent when the violations could not be brought into compliance. Supervisor Pierre advised the City could do 5% of the lien. Ms. Zalman stated if she takes into consideration the $3,000 spent, 5% would be $7,369.21. She preferred to go to 3%, which would be $4,421.52, which must be paid within 90 days. She stated the Order would be sent via mail. DECISION Based on testimony, Ms. Zalman reduced the fine to $4,421.52, payable within 90 days, or the fine will revert to the original amount. This case concluded at 11:13 a.m. Page 5 Meeting Minutes Community Standards Special Magistrate Hearings Boynton Beach, Florida May 18, 2022 Lien Reduction Hearing Case No. 21-1621 Caicedo Carlos Property Address: 1705 SW 16th Street Property Violation(s): As stated below Supervisor Pierre presented this case. The Notice of Violation date was June 28, 2021. The Special Magistrate Hearing was November 17, 2021, and no one appeared. A compliance date was set for December 17, 2021, or a fine of $75 per day. The Respondent complied on March 17, 2022. There are 89 days of noncompliance at $75 per day. The total fine is $7,059.12, including administrative fees of$384.12. Carlos Caicedo, owner, was present. Mr. Caicedo explained they tried to do a demolition of their home with no permits and later found out the process. They finally followed all the procedures to solve the situation, but it took time. The Architect originally hired said he could not do the work and they had to find someone else. He is 71 years old; he wants to keep the house and make it beautiful. Ms. Zalman questioned how much Mr. Caicedo spent to come into compliance. Mr. Caicedo stated he paid $4,000 to the Engineer and then paid other people who did not do the job. Supervisor Pierre advised the City would accept 5% of the lien. Ms. Zalman commented the City is recommending 5%, which is $352.96; however, to be consistent with other cases, she went to 3%, which is $211.77. An Order will be received via mail. DECISION Based on testimony, Ms. Zalman reduced the fine to $211.77, payable within 90 days, or the fine will revert to the original amount. This case concluded at 11:19 a.m. V. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Zalman concluded the hearing at 11:38 a.m. [Minutes by C. Guifarro, Prototype Inc.] Page 6