good afternoon everyone welcome to the city at madira beach code enforcement hearing my name is Bart Valdez and I'm the appointed special magistrate to hear today's cases I'm a practicing attorney and have been a member of the for to bar for over 20 years I've been appointed to this position in accord ordance and with the authority set forth in chapter 162 Florida Statutes it is my role to fairly and objectively review the matters presented as such I would like to advise you of certain matters related to today's proceedings today's matters will be heard in the order that they appear on the agenda every effort will be made to hear all persons having relevant evidence argument or comments to offer related to the specific case that is being heard if you wish to speak today it is necessary that you be sworn in by the City attorney in just a few moments in all cases since the city has the burden approv the city will present its case first the respondent or property owner then will be given the opportunity to refute the city's allegations formal Rules of Evidence do not apply to this proceeding however I will exert every effort to ensure that fundamental fairness is afforded to all parties after hearing all relevant evidence I will issue an order the order will be reduced to writing and you will be provided with a copy by mail therefore please make sure that we have your current address Additionally you are advised that I do not have the authority to Grant you a variance permit or special exception of any kind my role is solely to determine whether a city code has been violated and to provide you a reasonable time to correct the violation by whatever means is available to you please be advised that you may be subject to a fine and a lean may be recorded on your property if the violation is not corrected by the compliance deadline if you wish to present any information to me today it is necessary that you swear airm that you will tell the truth therefore at this time the City attorney will swear in all Witnesses anyone's going to speak if you could stand up raise your right hand be sworn under oath you swear that the testimony you're about to give today is going to be the truth the whole truth nothing but the truth I do okay thank you all right the first case on the agenda today is case number C- 24-23 for the property located at 480 129th Avenue East is the city ready to prepare or ready to proceed yes I am go ahead Mr ask first of all I'd uh like you to take judicial notice of pages three through five in the packet this is the findings of fact conclusions of Law and Order imposing fine that um you as a special magistrate entered in the month of January last month it was actually signed on February the 6th of 2024 um the first witness or the witness I'm going to call on this particular case is Deputy Snider um Deputy Snider have can you tell us what your job is what your occupation your responsibilities here at the city uh my name is Cory Snider a pels County Sheriff's deputy I provide community policing and code enforcement for the city of mad beach I've been in the city of mad beach since 2015 and in a code enforcement capacity since 2017 thank you are you familiar with this property that's located at 480 129th Avenue East yes I am okay and who's the owner of that property and how do you know that uh one Gabriel d uh candido uh through uh the penel County Property Appraisers and the uh penel County tax assessor uh information public information okay on this particular property is this a proactive case or is this as a result of a complaint uh this is from a complaint okay and what was the complaint that you received on this property um the this property was identified on a on a previous code case as two different properties having weekend uh Randle activity from a neighboring resident um both 441 and 80 129th Avenue East okay and did you go out to the property to inspect it to determine whether or not that there was actual violation of the short-term rental prohibition yes on um February 9th I went to 480 129th Avenue where I spoke to a David Allen who advised me he rented the property for two months from January 3rd through the end of February okay when you went out to the property did you happen to have your body camera video on yes I did okay and did you have that vide tape today yes I do okay can you go ahead and play that approximately how long is the uh of this particular video it's about a minute and a half okay B [Music] sorry to bother you I'm Deputy Snider um I work for the city's uh community policing and code enforcement have to do a real two-minute compliance check just do your thing uh just just from right here just here's my card just a couple questions um how long you running for uh we another two weeks we've been here since like uh January 2 so was a two month lease two okay two months do you remember how I got a wife she handles all that so checked in January uh second third second third you leaving um I can back it up here sir we did take yeah let me let me back it up here so we're I got a wife she handles all that right about there through it's the communication from the the computer to the sir I have a lease for two months we'll be the audience needs to see it too no let me try to back it up so we can fill in the blanks here um Lee two okay two months do you remember how much you paid for the two Monon period there I got a wife she handles all that so checked in January uh the end of the month end of the month okay so two months but we did take off for a few weeks down to Key West you we'll be we have we have a lease and um rough guess 2,000 a month three it's still playing on my yeah okay very good and then your name passing through here have a good day enjoy your stay C can you just show the in I can I can show it on the laptop itself I can I can do both if I disconnect the HDMI I can let it play uh so that I can do it both directions here I can do it once and I can do it again so both the audience and uh all right why don't we go ahead and do that so it stopped cutting out so show this special magistrate first and then the then the property owner put the microphone down in front of it we might so we're you we'll be we have we have a lease for two months we'll be in and out very good and then um rough guess 2,000 a month 3,000 a month uh that's that's not yeah okay very good and then your name my name's Dave David alen sir have a good day enjoy your stay it's warming up a little bit now so some a white car and then there's a black car there somebody else uh we have guest oh very good enjoy thank you sir appreciate it okay if you could turn it around do you need to see that you're you're saying yes you're saying no let's go ahead and turn it around and show it to him again okay sorry to bother you I'm Deputy Snider um I work for the city's uh community policing and code enforcement have to do a real two-minute compliance check just thing uh just just from right here just here's my card just a couple questions um are you the homeowner no are you renting yes uh how long are you renting for uh we another two weeks we've been here since like uh Jan AR 2 so was a two Monon lease two okay two months do you remember how much you paid for the two Monon period there I got a wife she handles all that so checked in January uh 2 third second third right about there through when are you leaving um the end of the month end of the month okay so two months but we did take off for a few weeks down to Key West okay and stuff we might taking a another trip so we're you know we'll be we have we have a lease for two months we'll be in and out very good and then um rough guess 2,000 a month 3,000 a month uh that's that's not yeah okay very good and then your name my name's Dave David Allen sir have a good day enjoy your stay it's warming up a little bit now so sure some a white car and then there's a black car there somebody else uh we have guests oh very good enjoy thank you sir appreciate it okay after this initial contact with the renter did you have a subsequent contact um with the renter uh actually as I drove away um it was a woman walking down the street I said you you don't happened to be uh Mr Allen's wife and then she I provided my card again with my phone number and um uh she was going to get back to me so that's actually captured on body camera also so I can play that if you if you'd like it's it was just a I gave my information and she could not give me the amount she was going to and I had a subsequent phone call from Mr Allen uh that happened the next day and that was captured on body camera okay why don't we go ahead and play the phone call the next day okay [Music] well this is a phone call you really don't need to show the video do you you just it's just it's a it's a transcript of my of my body of my cell phone which was captured on my body cam okay audio Maybe for 590 for I I still have it saved on my phone for some reason I'm having it having issues with it you want to play it off your phone then I I have it on my phone available okay um I mean this was a a cast screen a video capture of the call I don't know why it's not I why don't you play the voicemail for the special magistrate I apologize this was it was dated uh February 10th at 1118 a.m. I had a Miss call with a voicemail hello Deputy Cory um this is David Allen you had stopped by uh a rental house here at the address is 48012 9th East uh Avenue East uh you were asking my wife and myself about the how much we paid and it was $5,000 for two months starting uh at January 2nd through February uh so uh if you got any questions you can give me a call back 248 25523 thanks all right thank you I'd like to go through some of the do documents um that were created a result as a result of this investigation first of all what is the actual code violation that is being uh cited in this particular case this is uh medir Beach section 110-2 R2 violations okay and what does that provide um the R2 violation is States the R2 lowdensity multif family residential district provid Ides for low density multif family residential correlates with the residential medium RM category of the countywide plan and which does allow for a variety of dwelling types any use which is not specifically identified as a permitted use accessory use or special exception use is a prohibited use prohibited uses shall include but are not limited to short-term rentals of a housing unit as used in this division the term short-term rental shall mean any rental of a dwelling unit or or portion thereof for less than a 3-month period okay so starting back in the packet of information that has been uh provided in the agenda I'd like to start with uh page number six if you could take a look at that and it um we're going to go through these Page by page for you to explain what these documents are so page six I think I think it caught up so my my computer yeah just go ah and shut it off I I do have it available on video okay we're again back to page um six actually 6 through n if you can explain what those or 10 what those documents are page uh six is a screen capture of the penel County Property Appraisers uh website which shows uh the site address 481 29th Avenue East as owner as belonging to one Gabriel a decandido and Gabriel D candido trust okay and that's Pages uh six through 10 let's see seven is a continuation of it with the uh map view and other other information such as uh uh parcel number eight P H has some links to the uh tax appraisers let's see here sell date just miscellaneous information on the property appraisers website so that goes six through page 10 correct that's correct all right and starting at page 11 if you can explain that U page uh 11 is a uh screen capture of the panel's County tax collector showing that g one Gabriel decandido is the owner of 4801 129th Avenue East madir Beach Florida okay and that's Pages 11 and 12 of the packet that's correct okay did you issue a notice of violation in this case yes I did is that the notice of violation on page 13 yes it is okay and when was that issued this was mailed on February 9th 2024 and does that reflect the code section that you were reading from earlier today yes it does okay and um how was this particular notice of violation sent uh both certified and regular mail okay and is the next couple of pages reflect a photograph of the um letter that was sent on the 9th day of February yes it does okay did you receive the green card back I received one of them back yes let's see here 1667 yes I have it it was signed and I received it back okay I'll go ahead and take that we're going to Tender that into evidence okay and if you could turn to page 16 are these your notes reflecting your conversations with the renter yes it is what else does this reflect uh it shows uh the case notes it's the this is using the goov system it it starts from the type of uh issue it's a zoning issue who initiated it myself uh the dates uh the address the parcel number the owner on file his physical address and seminal and then the dates which I had inspected the property uh and identified a short-term rental violation uh sending out a letter the corresponding letter the contact by phone from Mr Allen and then the uh documentation of the mailing of the special magistrate paperwork okay so I PID if you could turn to page seven it's titled at the top special magistrate notice of hearing for today did you also send that by um Regular and certified mail to the property owner yes I did okay and what date did you send that uh this was on the 16th day of February 2024 okay and did you receive the Green Card back for that one I have not yet okay and did you uh issue an Affidavit of service uh as reflected on page 18 yes I did okay and what does that document provide uh this was that on uh the 16th of February 202 2024 I mailed a copy of the uh notice of hearing I mailed a copy of um the statement of violation and uh the uh notice of special magistrate hearing statement of violation and request for hearing let's see notice of hearing Affidavit of service statement of violation all three of those okay those are reflected on pages 18 and 19 that's correct all right and what about page 20 of the uh document or the agenda packet what does that reflect just another copy 20 is the notice of violation that was mailed out on the February 9th all right and then on pages um which I can't tell looks like Pages 21 and 22 the last several pages of photographs if you can explain what they are uh we've got several photographs here that okay so is this different than one I have no okay so we have uh just mail photographs of the mailings for the special magistrate paperwork okay both both sides uh and it's the of the certified copy that was mailed all right was the property also posted yes it was and is that the last photograph yes it is uh that is one of the last and then of the overall property from the street with the posting all right so the city is bringing this forward as a repeat violation is that correct yes it is okay and how many times has Mr Deacon Doo been found in violation of this short-term rental ordinance in Madera Beach uh this is the if after one for R2 violation one for one R1 violation this will be the third okay and this is for an R2 violation this is for this is will be the second R2 violation okay um today being February the 26 is the is the renter still in this property as of the date of my email or the voicemail they were still in there they were paid through the end of February okay all right all right I don't have any other questions for you at this time I would tender into evidence first of all asked again that you take judicial notice of the previous special magistrate order dated February the 6th in 10 into evidence Pages six through looks like 24 I think it is um and also note that the second page or the backside of the notice of hearing is on the deis as well as the second page of the statement of violation this was a two-sided document it didn't make it into the package I but I did provide it to you on the on the day ask that they be received into evidence all right Mr TR let me do a little housekeeping make sure I've got everything right I'll go ahead and accept and take Jud judicial notice of pages three four and five which were my prior order for the same respondent in regard to a different property in Mader Beach go ahead and accept into evidence as exhibit number one the portions of the agenda package which are PID Pages 16 through 24 6 excuse me 6 through 24 I'll go ahead and accept into evidence because this is the way it came in exhibit number two which is a return receipt for the certified mail it appears to be signed by Mr decandido I'll then accept into evidence as exhibit number three the special magistrate notice of hearing that is a two-page document dated February 16th 2024 and then as exhibit number four will be the special magistrate statement of violation request for hearing that was signed by uh Deputy Snider and I'd also moveed into evidence the um audio tape of the voicemail and also the video tape of the body camera all right I'll go ahead and accept in evidence both the video tape and the audio recording all right anything else with this witness before I turn to the respondent for any cross- examination no um Deputy Snider do you have any proposal in in what the city's looking for in the way of a fine here or a corrective action sir I think um my conversation with the city we're looking for $300 a day for daily fine and the compliance would be to cease short-term rentals correct that's correct but this being a repeat violation we're looking for the fine to start as of February 1st and run through February 29th even though that this renter would have been in for 59 days we're only asking for 29 days worth of violation because the case that was heard last month gave him until January 30th to bring in compliance so we don't think that it's fair uh to fine back to January 2 so we're only asking for February 1st through February 29th at $300 a day all right thank you Mr TR I'm going to give you of course a last chance before everything's done if you want to change that recommendation at all all right is anyone here on behalf of the homeowner the respondent all right who wants to come up you this is your opportunity to cross-examine Deputy Snider to ask him any questions so who would like to come up and do that Gabriel Deo I'm the home of bring the microphone down in front of you we can all hear you all right Mr decandido you may recall from the last time we had this hearing I'm going to give you a chance in just a few minutes to explain to me whatever you want to explain to me this portion of the hearing is just for you to ask Deputy Snyder questions based on his testimony do you have questions for Deputy Snyder yes go ahead sir what is the reason for asking the amount of rent that was paid it it's it has been the practice to identify what uh site was used to rent the property the dollar amount that was rented the length of time and then the dollar amount spent it it's it's our standard questions that we try to ask on every short-term rental investigation is that related to what we're talking about now I don't understand the question sir how is it related to uh the fact that uh there's been a violation of your uh your code code to in regard to short-term rental how how is the amount that it was paid related to the short-term rental I I think it's significant in these cases because someone could charge a lot of money and um be found in violation and still profit from the amount that they're charging so I think it's significant to identify how much someone is paying in these areas and for and for the length of time it's it's extremely significant in these cases in my opinion and then uh is it not true that in this town there are separate uh um separate uh I I have three different properties each one is a separate particular propert and has a different uh a different setup with the with the town in that I have to pay specifically each month or each year for each particular property because they are not considered to be together as you're indicating uh unit 441 and 480 are they are completely separate entities per the count town uh ordinance um question sir yes the question is do you not see that as that the three properties are separate so in this instance at the last hearing um you identified that you had a neighboring property up the street at 480 when we were discussing 441 129 but the properties are separate according to what why then is it that I pay separate uh fees to the town for each different property and they each have their own separate code number the code applies to the zoning District that the the houses are located in you pay a separate business tax for each location that you have a rental unit in the city but each one is dealt with separately they're not they're not related regardless of where they are in the town so if if they they are separate why is it that you're trying to join them together as a repeat violation when you were in F found in violation for 441 129th you acknowledged that you had another house within that same Zone this would be a repeat violation for the that you claimed you didn't know existed or I can't remember what your your your explanation was similar zone property same block you were made aware you were given a time to come into compliance for that zone does the the town uh then then why is it that the town charges separately for each individual property regardless of Zone I don't know what your question is charges what that that my uh my business tax which I pay on each property is separate the two are not together therefore they are considered what why do you not consider them to be separate as the town does from one to the other the the properties are separate but the violation is is a continuation of the practice from one address to the other in the same Zone how can a how can you join two violations when they're at separate entities does the zoning create contiguity sir I I understand what you're asking and I understand what Deputy Snyder is telling you so why don't you move on to your next line of questioning because it's getting repetitive and I I understand why you're asking those questions and I understand Deputy Snider's answers to those questions so why don't you move on I I will have further to say after uh all right go ahead testimony I have don't go far because I don't know if any Mr tras is calling anyone else so Mr tras any other Witnesses no Witnesses but I I I I have my real who I have engaged as far as this concerned to come next okay great I just give me one second um want to know if Mr tras has any other questions of Deputy Snyder based upon your cross-examination no questions I'll come back to you in a few minutes Mr tras okay uh Mr decandido uh this is your opportunity in the hearing for you to call any Witnesses for you to tell me anything you want to tell me so uh go ahead okay uh first of all I want to state that I am elderly retired and am not actively in business and that I've hired a realtor to take care of the properties for me and uh we all understand uh the business of real estate and uh I have brought her to explain the reasons for the presence of the uh current um tenant there um I am not the realer I am not I may be the homeowner but I am paying the taxes and am strictly U elderly and retired what more can I tell you um and then I'll have my realtor come by and explain uh the reasons uh for some of the events that have occurred here all right before you leave the stand Mr tras has a right to ask you questions based upon what you just told me Mr tras do you have any questions yes um Mr Deo if if my memory serves me right you have approximately 10 rental properties in pelis county is that correct it's true okay and um does does your realtor manage every one of those properties or do you manage some of them I have different realtors for different properties and a couple which are self-governing I take care of myself okay and so how many of them do you manage yourself well some of the properties don't even require management you just pay the taxes on them so it's a difficult question to answer you have 10 properties sir yes how many of them are you manag require management I understand okay and let's let's do it the opposite way then how many properties do you have a realtor management six or seven okay so is it fair to say then the other three or four are being managed by you a couple of them are vacant land so that's if you consider that management fine okay sirry um and how long have you been um well tell us how long you've owned these 10 properties in pelis County years except for the last two that we're dealing with now okay when you say years um you tell us how long 10 10 12 years okay so before the Realtors got involved then you were managing them on your own correct when I was more active and younger okay sir all right thank you do um with regard to this particular property at 480 129th Avenue East um you don't disagree that you rented that property for less than three months do you for this particular violation I disagree that uh that was my intent my intent was the opposite okay so let me just back up then so Mr Allen rented this property from you or your realtor on your behalf from January 2nd through February 29th correct correct okay well not really the question was whether he would extend it another month and as it turns out he decided not to extend another month but he paid you in advance for two months correct I don't know I leave that to the reor okay I'll ask her then on that um and you heard Mr Allen say that he paid $115,000 for those two months um do you know whether or not that figure is accurate No all right thank you all right Mr Duda let's hear from your realtor all right good afternoon ma'am before you start will you just give us your uh name and what company you work with Lisa Erikson angelan vulker and can you spell your last name for me please e r i c KS o n all right Miss Erikson what would you like to share with me about the violations that were're here on today okay so when we were here last month I believe it was on the 20 2nd of January I believe we were given two weeks at that time to remedy I don't have my notes in front of me but I think it was more than the end of the month because it was requiring quite a bit of maneuvering through Airbnb so we might want to count the days on which that was to take place however since that time we got into compliance got all the licenses um from the city issued got dpb licenses as requested and needed no problem uh we're set for inspections on on these two properties in particular on Thursday to make sure that everything is Kosher for uh the city as well as the fire department I spoke to them secondarily the people that we're referring to they they don't really pay in advance they actually had two separate reservations for two different months and they were going to extend they decided not to do that um at the time we were here in January they were legally here they were in that property and I cannot remove them without reason because they're they have paid at that point to Airbnb was it released to us no but they had paid and I could not evict them they were already in the house I would have to go through a legal eviction process to get them out however all the other cancellations are done those were taken care of and there was no other further activity in the other property as well as this one so I'm asking for I guess acknowledgement that that was legally not even possible to do to take them out but they are the last of the um non binding of the um the term limit there I guess is that best I could put that and they were um it's not to the 29th I have a copy of their dates that they were here it's to the 27th for their last reservation that they made so it's not till the 29th just FYI do you have that form you can show Mr tras whatever you're referring to airbnb's um reporting is horrible so it's it's kind of cloy but I'll show you what I printed out for you would you like to all I mean I can't pron out the they wouldn't let me pronoun a prior um completed booking but I have the booking now where I can show you they actually did two different bookings and they were going to add on this extra month so do you want to see what I have to show you that show it to Mr tras and then let me see if he objects to me looking at it first and we'll go from there okay February is January oh that's why we see it like that okay why they did it like that I don't really know but that's the way that they booked it so that they wanted two separate bookings maybe because they didn't want to pay the full boat in in total at one time because it does force that all right Miss Eric just so um make sure I'm following this correctly when the Allen family or Mr Allen or Mrs Allen originally booked it they booked it for 30 days approximately in January from looks like January 9th through the 31st in January is that right they they did it almost simultaneously because she was emailing me um their intent was to book the third month they didn't do that um why I don't know but if you add up those numbers that would come to like 15,000 for three months gotcha all I'm saying is it looks like for January they booked from January 9th to January 31st and then for February they booked from February 3rd to February 27th am I reading this correctly is there's probably some dates in between there that they booked inly I just pulled out the biggest months but they've been in there since January 2nd as he acknowledged okay do you want me to include these in the record of the proceeding or you me to hand these back to you I'd rather keep those okay then you can come get these but I understand them all right Miss Erikson what else would you like to tell me in regard to this code violation proceeding yeah so um I think I think I've stated the case that I I legally couldn't extract them but everything else is in compliance that you had asked for and um you know from a repeat offender I think that's I think that's pretty harsh because the Lily and drive thing was quite some time ago I don't know when that one was but that was some time ago this one over here that 441 we've remedied and this one is the last of that everything else is converting into three month or longer at this point so I'm asking for um I guess your assistance in this because we are definitely Co operating to remedy any issue that was relative to the the prior realtor where I had to spend hours and hours on on the phone with Airbnb cancelling everything which is done and this tenant was already there so I couldn't extract them all right thank you ma'am I don't go anywhere Mr tras you have cross-examination from Miss Ericson just a few uh questions so with regard to the two reservations for two separate months and you keep referring to them as two bookings um why is there a gap between January 31st and February 3rd they had a they had a small um Gap there that they booked interimly and I didn't pull that out but they did because he acknowledged he's been there since January so they've been there their intent was to stay there for three months why they did it the way they did it I don't really know did you have a reservation for the third month no they they said that they were going to book that because they booked one then they booked the next then they said we're going to book the next they never did the third okay so in so the bottom line is is he had one one reservation for January from January 9th I think is what your paperwork says through January 31st even though they were in the building already by January 2 or third correct okay and then the next one according to the paperwork that you have would have started on fe uh February the 3 three days after the compliance date or 10 days after the special magistrate during the last were let me finish my question I understand um but the booking paperwork provided that their term was from February 3rd to February 27 I can get you another of the middle portion I just did not bring that today because I know they were there and they acknowledge that they were there okay but the terms were for different periods of time that's what I'm trying to get to you you don't disagree then the last one was from February 3rd to February 27th correct per that booking yes but there was another booking okay because they've never left that property well there may have been interim bookings but each booking no they never left the property their items never left I I've got that but that's not what the paperwork provides correct well Airbnb is not not great because it doesn't show you a holistic view I'm showing you the main components that we're talking about for their quote unquote monthly bookings but there was no other person in there so the paperwork there also provides that for the month February booking it was $7,500 did I get that correct I was I don't know what it says what does it say there well you've got it in front of you ma'am okay you gave it back that's right no 5700 for the month of February M what were the other totals that were added to it I don't have that in front of me because that's a past you it's a past closed out booking okay well probably about the same okay so it would have been about 5700 for January and about 5700 for February correct yeah roughly okay so the 15,000 that um Mr Allen paid that included Airbnb charges and the like I have no idea okay um I have no clue uh because I'm seeing what what they paid and that could have been extra fees that Airbnb charges could have been cleaning fees are you responsible for receiving the income that's coming in if you're managing your property okay tell me how much money in income did Mr Deacon DEA receive from January and February I have no I mean I don't even know why that's Germaine in this conversation I don't have a clue as to why that would be Germain it's his property it's his income ma'am I asked you a question yes you're not going to answer the question I don't have those documents in front of me my accountant takes care of all of the income all the Pro seedings I mean we have 50 properties that we manage so would I wouldn't know exactly what he what income he had okay all right no other questions thank you all right Miss Ericson I don't have anything else anything else you want to tell me no all right uh Mr decandido is there anyone else you'd like to call or any other evidence you'd like to present to me today come on forward just got to get it on the record one way or the other I I just want to plead for uh some leniency on this given my age the fact that I'm not really uh uh renting or actively managing these properties any longer and that we have gone ahead and taken care of all the problems which we brought up on the previous hearing which were brought up on the previous hearing and I'm still uncertain as to what why the amount of rent is related uh to the length of stay of each of each tenant um I I do not see a problem with continuing with your uh request request your uh uh the the results of the previous hearing and would like to uh continue that if possible and I'm asking for leniency on the uh amount requested all right thank you sir you can have a seat art are there any members of the public that would like to provide comment and regard to case number C- 24-23 for the property at 480 129th Avenue East any members of the public all right seeing none we'll go ahead and close public comment uh Mr tras anything else you'd like to provide on this one nothing further all right uh based upon the evidence presented to me today including the body cam footage and the other evidence it does indeed indicate that the respondent here had a short-term rental as that term is defined under the city code from February 3rd through February 27th also in January but I understand the city is not asking for a fine for those days I I I'm not unsympathetic to the issue that this was a booking done through V rbo However the fact that it wasn't a three-month booking is what I'm presented with in other words whether or not that uh that rental specifically was a short-term rental even if you couldn't cancel it because of whatever contractual obligations you have with vbo the fact is that the Zoning for this property and of R2 only allows for rentals that are at least or does not allow for rental for less than a 3-month period and certainly this rental based upon the evidence presented to me is less than uh that time so I'm going to go ahead and impose a $250 a day fine from the 3rd of February through the 27th of February and I'm also going to enter an order that there uh the respondent shall cease all short-term rentals at this property in the order as well all right that concludes the hearing on that matter let's move on to 2022 uh 3526 for the property at 590 Normandy Road is a city ready to proceed yes we're ready to proceed go ahead Mr tras uh I just want to start first of all this is on the property that's located at 590 Normandy Road just want to start off with there's some information in your packet was dealing with a request for a continuance by the property owner miss Mr uh vest Garten uh but he is here in the audience today so we don't need to go over request that was the reason that it was in the packet um I'm going to go ahead and have uh Grace Mills be the city's witness and Grace you were swor in earlier correct I was correct okay and if you could please explain what your occupation is your job responsibilities here at the city I'm a code compliance officer for the city I deal with violations of code um bringing them back into ordinances and permitting for the building department okay are you familiar with this property at 590 Normandy Road I am okay who owns this property um Mr to vest Garden okay and um how do you know that I will scroll down one moment uh page 38 of the packet um shows the property appraiser um my first way of knowing is showing in the top left hand corner he is the ownership okay before we go through the rest of the pack I want to ask you is this particular case is this a proactive case or was this complaint driven this case was proactive okay and what is the what was the um violation that was found at this particular property for a shade structure Tiki structure was the violation okay and um the shade structure that you're referring to the actual code violation though is that they didn't obtain a building permit to construct is that correct correct it was done without a permit okay when did this first CA this case first originate in the city let me scroll down to that one moment um first documentation was September 133 2022 was our first courtesy notice all right well well that being September of 2022 we're now in February of 2024 before we go through the documents themselves what what's the reason for the delay in getting this case for the special magistrate um there was a few continuations that were requested um that were moved but prior to that I'm not sure okay and the request for continuance is was that by the property owner it was yes okay all right so let's start with going through the documents themselves you had mentioned earlier that you know that the property owner uh's name and address by way of the uh Property Appraiser's printouts is that Pages um 38- 42 correct yes let me back up 38 through 40 and then the tax collector is 41 and 42 that's correct yes okay um now you had mentioned that the case started in September of 2022 did you issue a courtesy notice of violation to the property owner at that time courtesy notice of violation was issued September 13th 2022 um by Laura okay and who is she in relation to the city she was a previous code compliance officer okay when this courtesy notice or courtesy notice of code violation was sent did it specifically reference a code section that the property owner was in violation of yes the ordinance that it violated was section 8652 of when required I can read all if needed um however it goes over um instances of when a permit is required within the city okay so the this shade structure Tiki Hut it does require a building permit in the city correct um if this was a tiki hut built by the um the seminal Indians would would it still be required to have a building permit um for the actual construction of it I'm I'm not sure okay but with regard to the setback issues it requires a permit correct correct thank you for bringing that up yes for setback requirements it would require the permitting process okay all right so on page 43 is is that the courtesy notice that was actually 43 and 44 courtesy notice that was sent to the property owner yes that's correct okay um if you could turn to page 45 and 46 and tell me what that is 45 and 46 um show the notice of code violation What was which was sent certified mail so it's our second letter that was sent to the property owner so what's the reason that another letter was sent um the second letter is sent certified mail to ensure that they are actually aware of the violation to get give them a chance to bring it into compliance did they bring it into compliance it has not been brought into compliance yet no all right so on on the next page um 47 can you tell us what that is that is that the green cards and letter that was sent yes 47 is the certified mail just showing front and back of how it was filled out to be sent um and page 48 shows it returned um the green card returned it was signed by somebody I couldn't tell you who but yes okay all right on page 49 of the packet there is a statement of violation request for hearing is that something that you created that's correct I created and mailed out okay and what was the date that you mail that to the property owner February 16th of 2024 did you send that by regular mail and certified mail I did correct okay and did you also issue an amended Affidavit of service that is in uh the p packet as Pages 51 and 52 I did that's correct on February 20th okay and when you filled out this amended Affidavit of service what what does it actually tell us it is actually telling you the dates um that on the 16th of February 2024 I sent the notice of hearing um certified and regular CL or excuse me certified and regular mail it also shows that I posted the property on the 16th of February with the document mentioned okay and did you issue a notice of hear ing on February 16th as well I did that's correct and is that set for today's hearing that is today yes okay and is that Pages 53 54 that's correct and the mailing is on pages uh 55 and 56 correct yes okay can you tell me what the photograph is on page 57 yes let me zoom out one moment um that is reflecting the property that was posted February 16 2024 so the camper is on the property where um Mr VES garton lives that's correct okay and can you turn to page 58 and explain to us what we're looking at on page 58 um 58 is showing that February 2nd 2024 the structure still at the property and has not been removed all right this is a big picture can you explain to the special magistrate what we're talking about in this Photograph um yes this Photograph uh shows the back of 590 Normandy where the boat is located that's the parcel that um is in question question and it's showing the unpermitted tiki hut that is still um up okay so is it possible for the property owner to obtain a building permit where the tiki hut is currently located currently with the setbacks and the zone that it is in um it's not possible okay so to bring the property into compliance what does the property owner need to do uh the structure would either have to be removed or um a permit process would have to be approved where it could be located on his property if possible okay how much time do you think it would take U what would be a reasonable period of time to allow the property owner to take down the tiki hut the city finds 30 days to be reasonable okay and if the property is not brought into compliance in that 30 days what is the city looking for fine wise uh the city's asking 200 a day fine wise is there any life safety issues with this Tiki Hut the way it currently exists I don't believe at the moment thank you um I have no other questions I would tender into evidence the documents that start on page 38 all the way through 58 ask that it be received all right we'll go ahead and accept into evidence uh the document or the agenda packet Pages 38 through 50 eight as exhibit number one all right is there anyone here on behalf of the property owner the respondent for 590 Normandy Road all right sir come on up Sir what is your name to vestgard all right Mr vest Garden as you saw in the previous hearing this is your opportunity to ask Miss Mills any questions about her testimony I'm going to give you a full and complete opportunity to call your own witnesses to tell me anything you want to tell me about this case in just a few minutes however this is your opportunity to ask her questions do you want to ask her any questions yes I do go ahead okay um first question I want to ask is um on the Code Compliance that was sent out for the hearing um and in this packet on page number 44 it states that my violation is work being done at the property without the required building permits yes I'm there what does that mean um it the one required it states that a permit needed to be required before putting the tiki up so what work was being done at the property when the um code enforcement showed up a tiki had being constructed I that TIY Hut is four years old five years old I'm sorry that tiut is 5 years old and you can look at the picture from the code compliance officer when she was there that all the tach on the roof is old and gray when they're built they're green and then over time the Palm leaves change color and you can to look at all the pictures she provided that they're not green so it was not constructed I believe that was when either it was found constructed or found built uh it was built and it was there in place but the the code violation that I've been cited with is work being done at the property Why without the required building permit and work work that was been done was the uh pavers I'm not sure what the question is so so um what I'm here for is the code violation which is the pavers which I've gotten a new permit for so I'm in compliance with the uh work that was being done when she showed up I'm not sure what the question is so uh if I complied with the code violation by getting a permit why would I be here at the hearing we are here for a tiki structure violation uh which is not part of the violation if you look at my um uh hearing agenda it says work being done if you look at the one my cast that's coming up next it clearly says a structure mine doesn't say anything about a structure I'm sorry about your tasks is that what the question was I I didn't quite hear the next next part of the hearing is for Mike he has a violation that stated on objection irrelevant um and Mr vard again I'm going to give you a full opportunity to share with me anything you want to share with me but do you have any other questions for M Mills oh yeah I got a lot of questions for it let's move on from this uh you said that the uh continuent was requested by me how many continuances did I request for this hearing I'm not aware uh did the city ever request any continuances I'm not aware uh you did say that uh a few a few continent this were done by the property owner yes and uh none by the city I did not say that in my statement now so the cities did the first continuance and that's when my attorney was ready for this and I was ready for this now my attorney is out of T out of town and I'm uh to cancel my trip so I'm not properly prepared for this I mentioned um multiple continuances as I have more than one yeah from the property owner so if if the tiki had this of question what uh code violation What part of the code is the violation of a seal built Chek for the seal built yeah I'm not aware of where it is in the code I could find it if you'd like yes please would how would you advise um when I read the code it says that a Florida tribe chih hot is exempt from a building permit and I appreciate that you can argue that to me yeah but this is again your op just ask question now my question is what code did I violate even if it was built from a seminal tribe or such it would still have to go through the permitting process to make sure that it's in the right setbacks since your property is on water um that things are built to standards it would still have to go through a pering process just to verify where it's put I understand what you're saying I understand zoning what document can you give me that states what you just said section 8652 of the city ordinances 86 8652 that's correct it's on the violation paperwork as well yeah that the I saw the violation paperwork that you're citing where there's a state in there that Florida semal tribe cheki Hut uh is part of that I could read out the ordinance if you like it doesn't specifically say that as if it wouldn't specifically say that you would need a permit for other things um covers the vast majority of it I can read it if you'd like yes please 8652 when required a person form or Corporation s not construct enlarge alter repair move demolish or change the occupancy of a building or structure or erect or construct a sign or install an alter fire extinguishing apparatus elevators engines steam boiler furnace incinerator or other heat producing apparatuses Plumbing mechanical or electrical equipment or any apparatuses the installation of which is regulated by the Land Development regulations or other sections of the code until a permit has been issued by the building official when the code of repair modification does not exceed $500 does not result in a structural change and does not require an inspection a permit need not be issued by the building official no permit is required for uncovered flat slabs of no greater than 50 square ft for work of strictly cosmetic nature painting wallpaper carpeting kitchen cabinets Etc or roof work less than $100 in value okay uh so it didn't mention anything about this owning permit needing to be done uh that section requires um refers to when a permit is required okay and then I want to read from section uh 9442 where it says building struct and Facilities exempt from Florida building code so since a chut is defined under this section that is exempt from a building uh permit why is that a violation it was done without a permit sir okay so one section 9442 states that a permit is not needed a permit's not needed for the actual design or um building of the actual Tiki Hut however we do require a permit to make sure that it's put in the right place for zoning okay they actually do go a step further and they say that uh what you need to do is got a flood plan development permit I'm not aware building permit I don't work in Planning and Zoning so I'm not aware of that no but that's that's what it states in here that you need a flood flood plan development permit but not a building permit I'm sorry what's the question so with that in mind uh why would I need a building permit section 8652 of the code ordinances okay um okay um in section section 110 427 uh again it says uh no permit required if I build something within that section one of them being a playground for kids would I need a permit you would have to ask uh the building department or the building official for that okay so apparently there are some questions here that the building department need to answer but they're not here you have the opportunity to ask this witness any any questions you want okay if a structure is not permanently attached to the ground is that considered a temporary permit or permanent where you need a permit I would advise asking the building department or planning and zoning department for that if you have any questions uh when um Code Compliance uh tres pass on into my backyard to find the alleged violation uh was that violation uh uh cited due to findings that's actually following the regulations or is it just by they believe it was violation um if any work's being done or suspected of a stop work order needing to be placed um they will go into the property to place that and get photos for the violation okay and the work being done was the brick paper so that's really what the citation is about oh the citation is about the tiki hut structure okay so um no further questions okay Mr tras any redirect no redirect thank you all right Mr trash do you have any other Witnesses you plan to call today no other witness today all right Mr vest Garden this is the opportunity in the hearing where you can call any of your own Witnesses you can provide any argument to me you can show me any documents you want to show me in defense of your case okay so now I just argue what I want to argue yeah that's correct so um for me the the biggest argument here is uh uh it's um semal built um chat and they have a federal law from 1990 where the federal government allowed the Native Americans of Florida tribe uh of seals to build cheki Huts wherever they wanted to in the C of Florida then the federal government later modified it to say that they want it outside of the flood plane and from what my research can gather is the flood planes of uh of this region is 5 feet and I believe that mad beach says is 8 feet and so if you're building a Chiki Hut outside of the flood plane you're following the federal federal um agreement with the Native Americans which is also in the building code and uh Florida building code and the penel building code and the city uh City M Bish Cod um the um flow plane you got to apply for a permit through the city and it it states uh to obtain a flood plane development permit uh or approval the applicant shall first file application in writing on a form f fished by the city and I can't find it on the website uh I can't find it anywhere I went downstairs to ask for it and they have no such thing as a Form application form for the flood plane so if you follow the munic code uh to build the Florida tribe chih hot you need to fill out the flood plane application which the city of mad beach does not have and then you can build a Chik hot um I built a chiky hot knowing that it was uh exempt from permits I do want to file the flood plane application as the munico states but I'm not able to in the city can't provide it to me um the other thing is this is a little side Stu but my daughter uses it for a three housee swing set and um Monkey Bar she's climbing around it swinging around when I saw the rule that a playground ground you can put up anywhere you want to even in the setback areas um this is not permanently attached to the ground is just sitting on top of the papers it's a temporary structure no Foundation um uh it's a playground for my daughter it's a a place for shaded play for children and um if you want to look at all the different rules that the city of mad beach has it will fit into several multiple brackets so what I'm asking for is um letting that chut stand as is instead of having to move it to another part of the property due to the um city code U section 110 427 stating that's that's allowable all right sir thank you Mr trash do you have questions for Mr vest Garden I have a few and I'd remind you sir you're under oath what Indian tribe built your tikki um seminal tribes of Florida okay and did you have a written agreement with the seminal tribes of Florida I have a certificate from the tribal member okay and when was it built uh about four years ago all right and um did you go to the city and obtain any building permits for that structure at all no okay did you obtain any permits from the city before you built that structure uh for the other parts of the area but not the not the tiki hut okay and under the tiki hut you have a built-in kitchen correct correct okay and in that built-in kitchen there's countertops correct correct okay Cabinetry no but correct yeah you have a um barbecue or a stove correct you have a refrigerator uh no okay what other what other amenities do you have underneath the Tikki Hut it's um countertop and a grill and um an oven and an oven yeah okay so you have electrical power out there to I do not I do run an extension core down there as as needed but I don't have power there okay and the the ovens then are they run by electricity Uh Wood I'm sorry wood fire wood firewood okay so you have a fire underneath that yeah Tiki Hut yeah okay and you have water service out there too don't you uh I I don't no oh you don't have a sink out there there's a sink but no water to it okay um have you I I know I asked you and I don't want to repeat the question I always ask you whether or not you received a permit did you actually come to the city and say I want to build this seminal tribe Tiki Hut um do I need any building permits I did not okay all right if you were to have to remove that structure the tiki hut how long would it take you to remove it if I have to remove it I would actually move it to another part of the property so I would have to get uh uh City approval to move it to the other part of the property outside of that setback okay how much time do you think that would take probably three months and what would be the reason that it would take three months to move it that time it takes a city to give me a uh permit so if the city um told you that they would not be issuing a permit how much time would it take you to remove the structure uh probably 45 days okay all right thank you I don't I don't have any other questions for you thank you all right Mr V Garden is there anything else you want to tell me any documents you want to give me any Witnesses you want to call um there are a couple of more things uh um this is uh Florida Florida House of Representatives they uh signed a house bill uh number 369 in uh April 14 2021 and that one is accomplishing some of the questions that Mr tras had regarding countertops and so forth It's actually spelled out in that house bill that you can have modern Furnitures you can have countertops all that stuff and then eat a tribal cheeky Hut so those questions have been lingering around for a while but the the governor sent the house buil to avoid all those questions so that's that's in a house bill the other thing is uh some friends of mine they had a a concrete bar with a tiki hut not a cheeky Hut but a tiki hut built uh actually sitting on the dock objection relevance what are you trying to tell me about I email from the city stating to them that you can keep your Tiki Hut on your dock as long as you put wheels on it so with that in mind I have wheels for mine I can put wheels on it and follow that same uh uh pathway that the city already emailed out to state that it's acceptable all right what else would you like to share with me that's it okay Mr tras any follow-up questions based upon that additional information Mr vest Garden provided no thank you all right sir do you have any other witnesses that you want to call uh I don't but do you want a copy of that email which email is that the one from Holden saying that put wheels on it it's okay no I'm okay I don't I don't think I need that right now but thank you okay thank all right at this point in the hearing we'll invite any members of the public who have any knowledge or directly affected by this code proceeding at 590 Normandy Drive any members of the public that want to come forward okay seeing none we'll go ahead and close public comment Mr TR can you address some of the legal points that Mr vestgard raised and specifically the code provisions and and why this particular structure that was built would require some kind of submission to the city first of all the the reference to the tiki hutter actually they refer to it in the statute as a cheeky Hut c i c k i uh e e Hut that is an exception the Florida building code that specifically provides that a building permit is not necessary for the construction of that seminal tribe build or muskegee Indian tribe built structures um he's obviously testified today and we have nothing to refute that it was built by the seml tribe but that only has to do with the construction of the structure itself it doesn't have anything to do with the location of the structure that's really what the issue is today um as for the house Bill 369 I'm not familiar with that but my questioning relative to the countertops and the stove and the barbecue grill and the sink was just to establish the fact that it's not a playground it is a place located underneath that structure that people will use for entertainment of some sort so I really can't answer the U the direction on H House Bill 369 but that's not work I was going with those questions as to section 110- 427 I don't have that in front of me so I don't know the answer to that question relative to flood plane requirement but flood plane approval is necessary or a review of it at least in every building permit application that the city processes and so um that obviously would be in addition to the setback um review that would be done by the planning department so hopefully I I've answered the questions relative to the the legal things that um was very good you don't normally have a prosade uh person speaking quoting the law but um but um and and just in summary also I'd like to say that um the city would uh request that you find the property in violation give Mr vcot in the 45 days necessary to remove the structure or obtain the appropriate building permit um or the wheel situation if that is appropriate I'm not sure um and should he fail to do that within 45 days that a $200 a day fine would be established um we were going to be requesting 30 days but he has said that he thinks it'll take 45 so I think that that is fair and appropriate so Mr trash to in order to get a permit it sounds like he needs to apply because this may be within a setback correct and it may also be within a flood plane correct and even though it's a simal tribe built cheeky Hut it would still require the city to review this structure so that it's not built within a flood plane or built within the setback correct if it's built if it's planned or presently built within the setback is this something where the owner would have to apply for variance after the fact variance or something like that or I'm not sure whether or not a variance would be appropriate but obviously that he has the right to file an application for you to consider and this is this is more to the timing aspect of all of this is if that if it would otherwise be permitted and I'm not asking you to P whether it would or would not if it would otherwise be permitted but he would have to go through a variance process that's it may result in him having to go through a variance process I guess what I'm saying that's an option I would think okay y all right thank you Mr tras okay based upon everything that I found Mr vestgard and that was a uh a pretty good legal argument I followed you all the way through on everything like that the city's position is not that you needed a building permit for the physical construction of the cheeky Hut itself it's that you needed to come in and apply so that the location of the cheeky where it was placed on your property is uh permitted by both the setbacks there are rear and sidey yard setbacks and there's also this flood plane requirement and so the corrective action in this case is one of two things either apply for an after Thea permit uh which you can apply just as you're applying for a building permit I assure you that uh the city is well aware that you are you may be coming in and doing this uh the question for the city is whether or not where you located The Cheeky Hut on the property is permitted by the code of ordinances it's not whether or not you can build it or need a permit for the building it's whether or not its location complies with the city code and so what I'm going to do is I'm going to give you 90 days to come into compliance so you've got time to talk with the city to apply what you need to apply if it is going to be in a setback I don't know whether the city staff would approve it being in that setback or not whether it's in the flood plane I don't know whether they'd approve that or not but there is another proceeding that you can come before me where you ask for a variance another words you ask for a deviation from either the setback requirements or the flood plane requirements again I I'm not considering that today as I said in my introduction I have no power as the code enforcement special magistrate to Grant you a building permit a variance or special exception of any kind but I know that may be available so I'm going to give you 90 days and then a $100 a day fine after that you can either uh remove it physically move it or apply for a building permit I'll also say this I retained jurisdiction of these so that if you get 60 days into this process or 45 days into this process and there's some issue that you're encountering you can ask the city to notice this and come before me I'm here basically every 30 days and if you need an extension of time because you don't feel that there's the appropriate application or something like that or you want to show up with your attorney and make an argument whatever you want to do I'm here every 30 days you just need to put the city on notice that you want to have something heard so it can be noticed to the public properly and I'll hear what you want me to hear okay all right sir that ends the hearing on 2022 d. 3526 we'll now move on to 2022 3537 for 544 John's Pass is City ready to proceed yes we are go ahead Mr dras so um the city is going to call Grace Mills on this case as well uh Grace if you could then again State your occupation your responsibilities here at the city Grace Mills code compliance officer I deal with violations um for codes bringing them into compliance and also permitting in the building department he are you familiar with the property at 5 44 John's Pass Avenue I am okay is this um a code case that was a proactive case or was this a complaint uh this was complaint driven okay and what was the complaint that the city received let me scroll to show on the screen so everyone can see see here um we received a code Complaint Form in October 14th of 2022 from a Michelle Helms and it was a complaint of an isore and view issues um building Tiki Hut okay and the the date of that complaint um that was October 14th of 2022 all right did did you go out and inspect this property or did someone else do that uh someone else has okay so let's go back to the beginning of the packet and gets a little bit more information about the property um this property at 544 John Pass Avenue is owned by whom U Michael J auton and you know that because of the print out from the Property Appraiser's office that's correct okay and and in the packet um if you could look at page 59 through 61 is that the print out that for this property yes those um multiple pages are the print out from the property appraiser of the property okay and did you also make a print out from the tax collector's office I did and what pages are those that is reflected on 62 through 63 and what do they reflect as to ownership um that shows the real estate account ownership of Michael J auton at the property address okay now we started out this conversation with a complaint from um a neighbor at 546 John's Pass Avenue that um complaint came in it's on a written form that the the city created that's correct those are our code complaint forms okay is this something that is online or someone actually have to come into the city hall to fill it out it's online and we also have them in the building department if people come in um they're readily available all right so when this complaint was filed does it was it received and acknowledged by somebody out the city um yes it was received October 14th 2022 the time reflecting is 8:49 a.m. by Lisa Sherman and who is she she Works in our planning and zoning department um at the time I believe she was at the front desk in her position all right um if you could turn to page 605 this Photograph who took this Photograph that photograph was from the neighbor at the 546 John's Pass Avenue of their view so this the the neighbor that complained provided this Photograph that's correct okay um and down below the photograph it has the word Deni app 7685 can you explain to us what that means that was an application to put the Tiki Hut in and I believe they had just tied the photo for the notes so it um was under the photograph but they did put an application in which is uh the 7685 okay when did someone from the city go out to the property to inspect it I'm not aware of that okay do you know whether or not a permit application was filed or uh filed with the city to obtain an approval to build the structure that is being built at 544 Johns Pass Avenue yes we did receive a building application for the said Tiki Hut okay if you could turn to page 66 in the packet is is this the building permit application you're referring to that is the front page of the permanent application here yes okay can you tell us what pages consists of this application it's going to start with 66 um a revision actually starts at 74 of the same application and it's going to go all the way down to 81 which is our final notes okay so let's go through this page by page then yes let me get back up so starting at page 66 um yeah page 66 so this application would have been submitted by the homeowner correct um either the homeowner or the contractor typically okay so is it does the is the homeowner listed there and is the contractor listed on this building permit application yes they're both listed okay down below at the very bottom of page 66 in the left hand corner it has a red stamp city of Madera Beach Planning and Zoning site review correct okay there is some handwriting in there can you explain what all that is um it looks on the left- hand side that it is marked as not acceptable by someone's initials um and the date that it was marked okay would that have been AL C Al carrier I believe so yes and who is he in relation to the city um he's contracted to do reviews of our permits um is he an engineer I believe so yes okay over to the right there is another stamp city of M Beach building department code review for Code Compliance and then off to the right it's got handwritten the word denied yes okay was the word denied written by someone by the on City staff it would have been in our department yes okay so this building permit it appears on page 67 to be for a description of work consisting of 12 by 12 leg set 14x14 roof set native Tiki structure that's correct okay was this first permit denied as a result of the size of the um structure being built that's correct okay if you could turn to page 74 then was there an attempt to amend the building permit application and make the structure smaller um yes this there was a revision request put in to actually revise the original 8 by14 blueprint um down to an 8 by10 to keep it into compliance okay and along with that um revision request it looks like the next page there is a survey of some sort you see that page 75 correct yes does that reflect where the structure is going to be located it does show in the rear of the yard um points of where it would be located those little blue boxes where the feet or the post would be uh correct yes okay and the next page 76 um the next page 76 is an in-person view um the blue circles there's actually blue tape there marking where the I believe the leg sets would be proposed to be and was this Photograph provided by the property owner um I am not aware of that okay so if we could turn to page 77 then yes what is this document referring telling us this is a revision that went with the original permit um so I believe there was a resubmittal to correct review comments and when was that done that was April 5th 2022 okay so the rest of the pages through page 80 are just continuation of either surveys or portions of the permit application correct that's correct all right if you could turn to page 81 then so what is this document um this is from our system that we use called munus it is a print out of the application text um that have been going on with the permit um and in this it reflects notes that we have sent either the property owner or or internal okay um in the middle of that page it looks like it's um May 16 2022 yes um can you read that section out loud AC denied permit on um let's see May 12th 2022 comments in plan review tab gave to BS 51622 for filing underneath that Christina thank you for submitting revised document ation in response to City comments dated April 26 2022 unfortunately I failed to recognize during the first review that the property is located on the water per our phone conversation this afternoon the permit will be denied pursuant of the following codes per city code of ordinances chapter 110 section 110- 472 parentheses 2 for Lots on the water in R1 single family residential zones accessory structures may be located inside or rear yards if the accessory structure is located in a sidey yard a minimum of 2 and 1/2t side setback must be provided the accessory structure is located in the rear yard the same rear setback as required for principal structures must be provided per city code of ordinances chapter 110 section 110- 1881 parentheses 2 the minimum rear yard setback for Waterfront Lots is 30 ft um it goes on to say BD emailed um C an email address would you like me to spell it out no that's not necessary um on 510 2022 as discussed codes pertaining to Tiki Huts do not exist reviewers are directed to apply to what fits best for category thus in this situation accessory structure rules apply if you have any questions please contact Jenny Rowan senior planner and our phone number okay so the permit obviously was denied according to those notes and May of 2022 correct why was there a courtesy notice of code violation issued on October 20th 2022 some five months later I can't speak for that okay when the courtesy notice of code violation was mailed it was mailed to the property owner correct that's correct and what was the cited code section that was in violation 8652 which is our one required it was also added um section 110 472 which is an R1 single family residential zone for the zone that the property's located in and the violation detail on that courtesy notice an accessory structure has been built at the property without the required building permits either the property owner and or licensed contractor will need to apply for an obtain and after the fact building permit to comply if a permit cannot be obtained the structure must be removed okay was the structure removed as a result of that letter um not as of yet no okay in the next couple of pages that that letter is obviously three pages long through uh page 84 in the packet did did these Property Owners even though the permit was denied go ahead and build the structure anyhow it was completed yes okay was there a notice of code violation issued in November of 2022 there was November 21st 2022 to the property address and owner same code violation 8652 um yes and the 110 472 for the R1 okay this letter says it's being it was signed by Frank to Santa CBO who is that that is our building official okay was this letter sent by regular and certified mail yes correct okay and does the packet reflect the um certified mail um yes page 88 you'll see the front and back of the certified mail well that's for Mr vas Garten that's for the prior case oh can you turn to page 89 I'm sorry yes um 89 reflects the certified mail that was sent out and it also was returned unclaimed okay now that was in 2022 when did you actually issue the notice of violation for today's hearing um February 16th 2024 okay did did you issue a statement of violation and request for hearing then I did yes is that on page 93 and 94 yes and um that cites that the property owner needs to get a building permit for that structure accessory structure that's correct and did you issue a notice of hearing for today's hearing I did and is that on pages 90 and 91 yes and did you send both a notice of hearing and that statement of violation to the property owner by regular and certified male I did correct and is that reflected in the Affidavit of services on page 95 and 96 of the packet it is okay and what is Page 97 and 98 Pages 97 and 98 are the front and back of certified mailing for the magistrate documents okay if you could turn to the next page which is a photograph can you explain what that is yes um that page is the property that was posted February 16th 2024 okay and it's the property where the blue Jeep is yes okay and then the last um document in the packet that is the most recent photo of um February 2nd 2024 and that reflects that the TIY is still standing um in the rear premises of the property okay so in this Photograph it's that obviously it's that Tiki Hut in the middle of the photograph correct correct yes okay and that looks significantly different than when the property was first cited correct correct okay in fact when the F property was first cited it was just the um wooden frame structure correct yes on page 65 of the packet correct okay all right I don't have so as of today this Photograph that we just discussed on February second this is the way the property looks as of February 2nd as of February 2nd that is how the property looks yes okay are you aware whether or not that the tiki hut has been removed not as um since February 2nd okay all right thank you I have no other questions for Grace I would tender into evidence documents uh Pages 59 through whatever that last page is can't read to be 100 except for page 89 or 88 which is a m mailing for the prior case that was inadvertently in the packet so 59 through 100 minus page 88 all right Mr trass go ahead and accept into evidence as exhibit number one the agenda packet Pages 59 through 100 after removing page 88 which was put in there inadvertent ly thank you Miss Mills I just want to make sure I've got a full understanding of the issue here the owner applied for a building permit and at the time staff was reviewing it the determination was made that it could not go where it was being proposed because it was deemed to be an accessory structure in the rear yard and therefore had to had to be set back at least 30 ft from the Waterfront that is correct all right okay is anyone here on behalf of the landowner respondent okay come on up all right what is your name hell hi Christina jeno all right and spell your first and last name for me please c h r i s t i n a last name g i o v n Co all right uh ma'am as you saw earlier this is your opportunity to ask Miss Mills questions based upon what she testified to you're going to have a full and complete opportunity in just a minute to tell me anything directly you want to tell me but this is your opportunity to ask her any questions you want to ask her okay um I'm going to kind of refer to some of my notes um so I we did as you showed us we applied for a permit um and then after we paid for engineered drawings and showed them everything where it was going to go um they I got the email that you put up that said oh I didn't realize you lived on the water well most people in midor Beach live on the water so that was a little frustrating because we had done what the due diligence that we thought we were supposed to do um so after we received that email obviously my first call was to the city to the planning department and say Hey you know the Reon the reason we did this was because there's 26 plus other tiis around which I have pictures of here question ma'am questions questions I'm sorry I'm um so I was told if nobody complains just build it so that's why we built it um so my question to you is over the last year I have been present for City commissioners meetings planning planning meetings I'm sure you can see a lot of the evidence showing that as you rightly just said there's it doesn't really address cheeky Huts in the code um specifically and trying to get the code of setback changed so what is how are you guys what are you guys doing to change those at this time unfortunately I'm not on the Board of Commissioners so I I I do not have any knowledge on that well it's would be great to have somebody here that is familiar because this is a code this is a code violation issue right like and setbacks are a huge thing most of our houses are 30 ft like at the you know there's nothing there's no shade structure that anyone can have on the water because right now the setbacks are unrealistic um so that's what I'm asking you is like are you guys working together to get those code viol those codes changed or what is happening with the city right now I would definitely probably reach out to the city and the Board of Commissioners to see where things are at for that or to the building department if You' like okay has anyone been on our property to view because you were saying that there hasn't been anybody has anyone come to our property to actually view the has anyone come to the your property yes I'm not aware okay that's all the questions I have for you I I have no redirect and I have no additional Witnesses all right thank you Mr tras Miss Mills I just want to make sure that it's in the record today your your opinion is that this and this I think is a actual Tiki Hut is properly considered an accessory structure under the applicable code yes and so because it's deemed an accessory structure the only way it could be approved is if the owner were to get a variance that would allow it to go into that 30 foot setb from the Waterfront correct cor that's a possibility okay but but it's your opinion in this code enforcement proceeding that it's in the rear yard as opposed to the side yard correct correct yes okay all righty um okay ma'am this is your opportunity to present to me any and all evidence that you'd like to present you can call other Witnesses you can tell me anything you want to tell me you can show me any documents you want to show me awesome um if you wouldn't mind I'm just going to look at my phone because I have a couple of things written down so take your time I'm going to start from the beginning so in 20 22 we explore the option of a native cheeky Hut after seeing more than 25 plus similar structures in our immediate Waterfront area after submitting all the paperwork that was requested of us we paid for an engineered drawings for the city that the city requested then after they realized we were on the water we were told that setback of 30 ft would not permit any kind of permanent structure um and so when we phoned the the u madir beach planning department we were told verbally obviously there's no evidence of that but we were told verbally um as as long as no one complains just build it and that is what we did in October of 2022 as The Cheeky Hut was being thatched our neighbor at 546 John's Pass Avenue got into a verbal confrontation with my husband about the tiki blocking her view subsequently came down and made a formal complaint as you showed um on the on your documents in 2023 we have participated in multiple Board of Commissioners meetings and planning Commissioners meetings to facilitate change for our community while which focused F on providing necessary um and much needed shade for our rear backyards often many of them are west facing we get really really strong Sun um in in the afternoons um I did a a change.org um campaign we had over 200 signatures from our immediate madira Beach Community um Mr TR you've been present for a lot of those meetings um so everyone was in agreement that 30 foot setbacks they sit right now for waterpr properties need to be addressed and re-evaluated so that's why we've it's now 2024 and we're still here um we haven't not been in compliance on purpose we've been trying to invoke change um not just for ourselves but for everybody in the community um Beyond it being Community concern for shade this is personal to me because I do have a disbility that is degenerative and prevents me from walking to the beach which is the whole reason we live here in madira Beach we've lived in our home for 11 years and over the past 12 months my quality of life has improved greatly after being able to enjoy our backyard under our cheeki we worked with Mayor John Jim rosc from the very beginning once we got um notices and the city manager Robin Gomez we came right down to his office we had those meetings with him they all you know agreed with us that we need to change those those codes um code violation relates to a permanent structure this is not permanent um we have this has removable brackets which I can show you and you can have this packet so it actually it makes it um a non-permanent um structure um similar to what was offered to um our other neighbor on Normandy with wheels um there there is an email that clearly states if you put it on Wheels we'll we'll reassess it um it it makes our cheeki non permanent our R cheeki is also a native structure we have the um the certificate um from the seminal tribe which I can submit to you as well um showing that it was a native built structure um there is no power we have no electrical it is just a shade structure um so we are open to having a conversation about how to make this work for for us okay I understand all of your arguments there any documents you'd like me to see if so please show them to Mr tras first okay for okay I'm going to um address a couple of these different things um obviously have no objection to this partial email it doesn't State the beginning of it unless it's on the other side hang on let me just check okay it the whole email is there I have no objection to the email coming in the evidence I have no objection to the Base Post information coming in or the wood base photographs coming in or the certificate coming in but I would object to the photographs of all these other cheeky Huts as being not relevant to our particular case all right M TR let me take a look for for all right ma'am I've reviewed everything that you've provided let me ask you about these pictures that Mr tras has objected to is it your contention that all of these pictures are of some kind of accessory structure in the backyard of properties in madira Beach correct and who took these photos I did and they're all within the city they're all within the city of Madera Beach correct all right ma'am do you want me to include all this in the record yes please okay what I'll do is first let me Mark as exhibit number two the email [Music] exchange I'm going to go ahead and Mark as exhibit number three this package that you you have submitted I'll overrule the objections of Mr tras and let this in but I'll note for the record that the city has no objection to the last three pages but I'm allowing in the first several Pages all everything up through the last three pages over the objection of the city all right ma'am what else would you like to tell me I just want to for on the record just to know that we have been working diligent ly to with the city to make sure that we can you know right now it's a very there's no like def def def definition of a cheeky there's it's included as an accessory structure and we need more definition and we need to taking FEMA guidelines into consideration which I know are important but we need to like really look at them and see if we can provide shade structure for those of us that live on the water that is less than 30 ft because it's not realistic and that's what we've been doing for the last 12 months so all right well thank you for your time I appreciate that uh all right is there anyone else you want to call ma'am as a witness for you go back to your chair anybody else you want to call thank you very much okay and for the record um Miss jinko said that they do not want to call any further Witnesses all right this is the point in the hearing where I will accept public comment are there any members of the public that would like to comment on case number 2022 3537 at 544 Johns Pass Avenue all right ma'am I think you came in late so we need to get you sworn in Mr TR can you go ahead and swear in the witness you swear the testimony about to give is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing about the truth yes all right thank you ma'am what is your full name Michelle Helms and ma'am just go ahead and give us your address for the record too 546 John's Pass Avenue go ahead and tell me what you'd like to share with me ma'am so I'm the one that put in the complaint um that was back around 8:00 8:30 in the morning on back on October of 22 I came down to City Hall requested to see somebody in reference to co- compliance they had me fill out the form and basically they were erecting this Taj Mahal next door um my problem is that as a as a as a person that went through remodeling we just had completed all of our remodeling through our house um um John's Pass we actually had a porch that was approved by the city through our Remodeling and everything and when it got done and set and we were all to the end of the point of actually getting our final the porch itself on the back was told that we had to bring it back in because it was not 30 ft from the backyard in so we actually had to remove the porch on our house so it was basically taken down because it wasn't 30 ft from the back level which I understand is not anybody else's problem but I understand the shade as Christina is saying but at the same point when I'm looking out and I know we're only supposed to look at our view out the back door you know having a raised deck 3 four feet because of her disability and they put in a pool and they raised it I have no problem with any of that but now you're putting another Deck with the structure that you see above and we no longer can even had the porch that was only a foot and a half a from 30 ft attached to our house so if we're going to allow this that's fine but if I came to the city and got everything approved for remodeling and you then at the end said sorry you can't do this it's it's not allowed it's 30 feet it was a Linda portal thing back then but here we are with a shade structure that is not allowed 30 ft from the back and it's clearly very very large and I would think a cheeky Hut would be smaller my daughter-in-law actually came down to the city about 3 years ago ago and applied for a cheeky Hut permit through Linda portal to get a variance to allow her to build one because she has skin cancer so we all have cancers we all have disabilities I get it she was denied they didn't call and then go oh well they said just build it don't worry about it if somebody comes by you'll have to remove it we don't we don't play that game if I'm gonna if I'm going to do something I'm going to do it properly or otherwise I'm not going to do it or I get told to take it down and I take it down here we are two years later and we're trying to change the law or trying to change the amendment or the the variances or whatever you all have out there to to apply this to something that they obviously just went ahead and built because somebody from the city said go ahead and do it well that doesn't normally come out right I mean I don't know what yall look at but for me you know I I just think if you're denied something in May or June or whatever time frame it was why would you turn around in October and build it anyways so to me I agree that if you do come up with a structure or a sizing or a height restriction from the base up if your base is down at everybody else's level or is your base three feet higher because you built a deck from that point up what are the requirements and if you're going to do it that's fine but I don't think that if you went ahead and built a structure because somebody said just go ahead and do it that it's okay that well we'll wait for you to change the the permit or the rules or other people did it so therefore if other people did it it's okay that I do it well that's not right I mean it would have been one thing build a smaller one put it on the other side do whatever but you know it's it's bigger than my bedroom if you look at it you know it's it's a very large facil you know what they built my thing is you didn't get approval to do it but you went ahead and did it because someone said go ahead and do it I don't know who in the city would give somebody that authorization over the phone but I'm sure you have you know recorded phone conversations but it doesn't make sense to me that would be appropriate it just took too long for the city to in my opinion to come up with what's going down I we have been here you all have didn't have actually postponed them a couple times they've been out of the city you know on vacation or whatever in the last couple years along with just like last month they were out of town I mean it just keep getting prolonged and I think that just is difficult for me when you know we responded very quickly when you all wanted ours to be removed okay thank you for your time ma'am I appreciate your comments I understand what you're saying all right Mr tras anything else and I just want to make sure maybe I didn't hear it you're welcome to recall Miss Mills if you think it's necessary what's the city looking for in the way of compliance timelines and everything like that on this I think it would be appro appropriate to have the same time frame as that you gave Mr vestgard it's the same issue and the same um daily fine it's again it's the same issue so I think the city would be satisfied with that all right Mr tras I want to give you an opportunity to respond legally to any of the arguments that were there and also I'll ask you the same question I asked Miss Mills in regard to the city's interpretation in the mun print out that's on page 81 is there anything you'd like to share with me legally is there anything you want to tell me I I I don't see specifically accessory structures listed I see accessory building is defined in section 82.2 and this certainly appears that a cheeky Hut would would meet that definition but is there any thing you want to tell me in a legal argument I I certainly see where the 30 foot setback would apply it seems to me this is in the rear yard but anything you want to make any kind of legal argument in regard to what either Miss Mills testified to or what's on page 81 I I don't have anything additional to add those are the citations to the code section that the planning department determined were and were appropriate it would be no different than Mr VES garton's situation you heard earlier today um it is an accessory structure it is in the setback it was done without a building permit and I want to give you an opportunity to to make a record I know I overruled your objection on the photographs I understand your objection to relevancy because they may have variances we don't know we don't know what code they were permitted under but is there any other anything you want to do for the record to set forth your objection Beyond just what you've already stated so I believe it's irrelevant it has nothing to do with this particular property those are separate properties they they could have have been approved prior to the code Provisions that were adopted relative to accessory structures therefore they could be grandfathered we don't have any specific measurements as to where they are in the backyard um and um you know in addition to that um we don't know whether or not variances were actually provided for those properties sometime in the past um so I and it may be that there was a permit for a particular structure and it was modified that we we we were not aware of all right thank you Mr TR I understand your objection I'm still going to overrule it allow it into the record all right based upon the evidence it's been provided there has been no permit it would appear a permit is required it also appear that this uh accessory structure was built into the rear setback I don't see any evidence of a variance that would allow it to be constructed where it was I'm going to go ahead and go along with what I did for the prior owner at 90 days and then $100 a day fine um Miss Ginko I'll say the same thing I said to your neighbor there if you know work with the city on this you can always come back and ask to be before me again if I don't have any idea what the city uh commission is going to do or not do if obviously if the ordinance changes or something like that or if there's some action then you can bring it before the city and asked to be asked to come in front of me again the same thing goes for the Cure whatever's been stated on the record here as to what you can do to cure this violation will apply if for whatever reason we get to that end of that 90 days or getting close to that 90 days I would encourage you to ask the city to set a hearing and come before me again but I'm going to go ahead and and rule the same way and I'll get an order out on that all right Mr tras is there anything else for me today nothing else other than we should have had the air conditioning on okay Mr TR thank you all right that concludes to today's hearings thank you