someone was calling you on your phone a minute ago I assume uh we're we're ready to start I'll start reporting thank you very much I calling to order a code enforcement hearing of the City of Cape Canaveral today's date is April 23rd 2024 my name is Richard Geller and the uh city council appointed me to hear Code Enforcement cases per pursuant to article six of the city code in chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes uh we're going to have uh two matters on the agenda this evening both are Quasi judicial hearings um the second of which is known as a Massie hearing which I'll explain momentarily in both cases the burden of proof is on the city to show by a preponderance of the evidence that a code violation exists or with respect to the Massie hearing continues to exist um I will determine uh that based on the evidence presented to me this evening is it more likely than not um that a violation has occurred the alleged violator will have an opportunity to submit any rebuttal or exculpatory evidence including testimony at my discretion I may allow a member of the public with relevant personal knowledge to testify even if not called by either the city or the responding party anyone who uh would like to testify should sign the sign in shet where I'm indicating and upon request an alleged violator may ask relevant and material question questions of any City witness and likewise the city may ask relevant material questions of any Witnesses for the responding party I may exclude evidence that I deem to be uh irrelevant immaterial or unduly repetitious in determining the amount of any fine I will consider the gravity of the violation any actions that the Violator took to correct the violation uh any previous violations uh committed by The Violator as well under the city code and the Florida Statutes I'm authorized to assess and order the payment of a fine of of up to $250 per day per violation and up to $500 per day for a repeat violation and in cases where the violation is irreparable or irreversible a fine of up to $5,000 as well as the cost of any repairs made by the city in any case at the conclusion of the hearing I will issue findings of fact and conclusions of law based on the EV evidence of record and in order both here on the bench and in writing and I always Endeavor to do that uh the same week as the hearing uh the city will record a certified copy of any order that imposes a a fine and that order then constitutes a lean against the land where the violation occurs as well as upon any other real or personal property owned by The Violator uh any order that I issue may be appealed by any party to the Circuit Court for bravar County Florida within 30 days it is the responsibility of the appealing party to obtain a record of these proceedings for an appeal and an appeal is limited to the record presented to me uh the city's agenda packet um will be administratively accepted into evidence as City's exhibit 1 and its PowerPoint slides as City Exhibit 2 uh I have signed and approved the minutes from February 27 2024 which was the last time that we met and the next hearing date is May 28th uh 2024 and I would um ask at this point that anyone who expects to testify if you would um please be sworn in are you are you testify stand up please I do you swear that the testimony you're about to give shall be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you gu it yes sir thank you very much all right all right well let's uh start with uh the first case on the agenda case number 2023 d263 uh the address uh indicated on the agenda is 190 Cape Shore Circle Number 5B the property owners are indicated as John and Colleen Dunbar I don't see uh Mr or Mrs Dunbar here uh do we have we seen them at all in the building uh they're not going to be here okay all right well if you would just um state your name and who you are for the record uh Chris Robinson C code enforcement officer all right uh like I said this is in reference to 190 cap Shore Circle uh this is for uh installing a p patio without a permit okay uh the notice of violation was sent out on January 29th 2024 and return receipt on February 6th 202024 uh wait one second uh um you said it was sent out on I I thought I saw in the record that it was served on the 24th and then signed as received on the 26 did I get those double check the file here let's let's just double check that I had some different dates there um wait I see notice of hearing we notice of violation go January 29th was when the notice of violation was sent out okay and it was signed for on February 6th February 6 okay just just bear with me one second I could have sworn I saw a different date yeah January 29th that's correct yeah that is February 6 okay thank you okay the notice of hearing was sent out on March 18th 2024 return receipt March 19th 2024 that's that's consistent with what I have okay uh this is the property in question uh the uh green to the left is is the uh River okay 720 2023 during the patrol of the city I observed Pap Pros vehicles in front of the building further inspection revealed a new paper patio was being installed without a permit and was almost complete a contacted a resident in the unit and said they were just a tenant and asked them to have the owner reach out to me 101223 I've had no contact with the owner and no permit has applied for courtesy notice was sent has been sent to the owner on 10823 the courtesy letter was signed for as received 12424 there's still been no contact and no permit obtained the notice of violation was issued 2624 the notice of violation was signed for was received 2824 the owner came to City Hall and spoke with about the notice he received he explain he will get the permit taken care of just if you keep that slide on for a moment I just want to get some of those dates again oh here we go 2824 so and was that conference on the uh February 8th was that with you yes sir okay was that was that Mr or Mrs Dunbar who you Mr Mr okay okay all right you can uh move on to the next slide 31424 there has been no application for permit as of this date a notice of hearing has been sent as of today's date there has been no permit applied for however I did speak with Mr Dunbar today uh he is I guess there's some back and forth with him in P probes about who's going to P pull the permit uh I think we established today that he's going to go ahead and do it and then he being Mr Dunbar Mr Dunbar is going to go ahead and do it he doesn't seem to be getting through to paper Pro okay and then this is a photograph of them almost completed with the job okay and and just looking at the eyeballing it I it doesn't appear there's anything wrong with the job it's just they didn't pull the permit right uh yeah I mean looking at I don't think there's anything wrong the issue the biggest issue we have is because we're on a Barrier Island we want to check and make sure that there's the shedding of water is going to be correct okay and then um meaning that there's sufficient space between the papers for the water to percolate is that or that it's sloped so it rolls backwards and not back into the house okay be a definite health safety and Welfare purpose for that right uh there is no property representative here uh what's what's the city's recommendation on this uh we we we request until May 18th for him to comply with the notice of violation okay if you have nothing further I can let me let me issue my uh my findings here that um uh I find that the respondents own the subject property based on the evidence of record in the agenda packet that uh in uh in July 2023 P Pros installed new brick pavers on the patio the subject property at 190 capore Circle without obtaining the required building permit that uh officer Robinson spoke with the contractor and as well as with the responded about the required permit and as of today's date a building permit has not been obtained and because there's no permit there have been no inspections I find that construction work without a permit and inspections poses a danger to Public Health safety and Welfare um is there is there an issue with the business tax receipts is that still uh on the table no sir okay all right I find that the uh notice of hearing the notice of violation that all complied with uh the city code and Florida statutes for um uh the service uh I'm finding that there was a violation of the um Florida building code which is incorporated into the city code uh as at section 82 2-31 and find a uh a violation of of section 105.1 of the Florida building code requiring permits find a violation of section 110.14 building code requiring inspections uh we are not uh addressing the issue of of the uh local business tax receipt so I'm going to take that as not even presented to me I'm not going to rule on that uh and so uh we're going to have establish a compliance sorry compliance date of May 18 2024 to apply for and obtain the required building permit arrange for and have a final inspection of the brick papers do you want the the application in by the by the 18th I want everything done by the 18th okay that includes the final inspection then sir okay if the respondent fails to comply within um that time period um that I would address officer Robinson to schedule a compliance hearing before me and to duly notify the respondents um Mr Mrs Dunbar uh in accordance with law and they'll have one final opportunity to appear and present testimony and evidence as to whether they have corrected the violation or whether it continues and then I'll make a final determination at that compliance hearing also known as a Massi hearing whether respond has achieved complies and if not I will impose fines and upon a um finding that the subject property remains in violation without the required building permits and inspections I will issue a fine in an amount up to $250 per day per violation uh I um and then as indicated at the beginning of this hearing any fines which I may impose upon the U property will uh be a lean on the property in favor of the city and if it is non-homestead uh real estate uh I would um point out that it is is subject to foreclosure under Florida Statutes chapter 162.000 n uh in which case the city could obtain an award of its cost including reasonable attorneys fees so that's all I have for for the Dumar matter and then um let's move on to the second matter uh this is a compliance or a Massy hearing uh case number case number 2023-the address is 120 Jackson Avenue and um we have um R Shane Reynolds as trustee as property owner and I see Mr Reynolds is here today so um go ahead officer Robinson you can uh take it away yes sir said this is 120 Jackson Avenue it's a massive hearing it's follow up from a hearing that we had prior um the portion of the unsecured property that part had already been taken care of uh so we're here for the fire damage now okay um the magistrate orders were sent out May I just interrupt you for one second so so there my my amended order uh in late January it's January 24th there were certain dead there were two deadlines two sets of deadlines one was January 28th now was to box off the staircase and to fix that fenced area where some okay so that's all been taken care of that has been taken care of okay um okay so then what we're dealing with now are are the issues that we gave the deadline of March 8th 2024 correct correct got it okay I'll let should proceed uh so the M magistrate orders were sent out on 1213 23 um I have a signature on the card but there is no there's no date when it was delivered uh so I'd have to look up on the USPS site to see when that was delivered the magistrate whoevers that is is is it your testimony that that there was delivery yes sir I have the I have the card right here uh I can show that to you if you'd like uh if you just give me the but so there's no uh there's just no there's no date on it oh I see so we have a signature and no date okay I got it the deliver without a date okay uh notice of today's Massie hearing was sent out on March 18th 2024 and return receipt March 25th 2024 what about the amended uh uh order do we have this is the amended order right here I sent out okay the original uh we we never sent that one out okay hold on hold on one second I thought I did the amended order in January and I thought the dates you just gave me were December and take take your time this one right here is the amended findings of fact um this is what I sent to them okay and and and the date you sent was December 13 I signed it say yes sir December 13th okay one second here I signed the but I I sh that I signed I have a copy of the amended findings of fact that I signed on where did that go January 24th yeah January 25th is when I signed this right here um what is that you're indicating uh this is the amended order I signed it on January 25th okay what do you mean you signed it to mean putting in the mail received it given to me that I received it on January 25th 2024 and I just want to make sure that that it went to Mr Reynolds that's what I'm trying to establish yeah the cards that I have here are dated December 13th so okay I don't have I don't have anything I would have to go back through to see if I hand delivered it to him or not or we would have to ask him if I handed it Amed let me see if this is even an issue Mr Reynolds could could you come up to the microphone just let us know if this is an issue or not um just just introduce yourself for the record please Ral Shane Reynolds okay the trustee of the property thank you very much and then uh did you receive my amended order in that that's dated January 24th that had the two sets of deadlines to get things done I I didn't I couldn't find that I was looking around for it but didn't find it but but but was it delivered to you to okay it was delivered to you okay so so you're not there's there's no dispute that you got it you may not may not been able to find it before today but you You' got it at some point yeah I'm here today okay got this one too okay I I appreciate your honesty okay thank you sir actually I believe your honor this was I I met with Mr Reynolds uh to go over the uh the original uh information the uh the first deadline that we had for him to inbox in the staircase and we went out there and I handed him the amended copy at that time so I apologize I have my certified letters from or certified notification from the original one I don't think it's an issue because I I I um orally gave these these deadlines here uh at that at the hearing and then uh then he testified that he did receive it at some point so uh we're I think we're okay okay you got the when the notice you have those days uh yes to the best of my best of my ability okay and then again this is the property in question of the Jackson have uh the compliance hearing was deducted to see if the property was in compliance with the magistrate orders it was determined that the garage and storage room under the stairs are boarded up in compliance the staircase that determined needed deted more needed to be done to satisfy the city's concerns the proper are was given until January 28th to comply with the new orders on the 29th of January site inspection found the staircase has been enclosed with an 8ot wall and the department director Dave dicki as well as the city manager Todd Moy have agreed the wall is sufficient 31124 a site inspection revealed no work has been performed to repair the fire damaged room or roof no permits have been applied for at this time a massive hearing will be scheduled okay just if you just keep this um slide up so I can get this information all right you could you could proceed I got it and then on 31824 the notice of compliance hearing is generated and sent to the property owner okay uh here it is uh boarded up per year requirement um and and it look it looks good oh yeah that that portion of it is fine we were good to go with that yeah uh now there's been no activity with the fire Dan That was supposed to be done by March 8 so he was supposed to repair all damage caused by the fire on the subject property repair place the garage door so that is functional rebuild a new staircase in compliance with city code with secure guard rails install guard rails on the roof balcony outside the upstairs residence unit and continue to secure and prevent the property upstairs units and utility closet to be utilized by unauthorized persons uh nothing has been done there's been no permits pulled there's been no fire damage uh repaired or anything um the I have spoken to Mr Reynolds and he he'll be able to testify to that more okay uh the property is in the process of being sold to somebody else uh I spoke to that person uh I guess there's some competition and Mr Reynolds can probably clarify some competition between who's going to purchase the property uh between two parties uh one party has a closing date I believe it's in June uh if the other party doesn't match or or beat it or or whatever the circumstances are uh so that's where we're at with it so I think that might be why we are delayed on some things right now so well I I'll I'll hear from Mr Reynolds but it it seems to me that um if someone's willing to buy the property and I mean they're they're buying the issue you know they're correct okay all right um Mr Reynolds what what's what's going on say you well that's uh the lady that was here last time we had court I guess you remember she had a few uh problems with me and stuff like that she's one of the buyers and so one of the potential buyers the potential buyer and like I said I just don't have the money and stuff to to do any of the fire damage and stuff I had an investor and stuff that was going to do it but he backed out and so now I'm just trying to sell it for bare minimum because I don't want to get in trouble with you guys so okay you know I'm just going to sell it as is and uh Peg knows about that and also uh Vincent Ken uh the realator that was going to buy it okay so so who are the two potential buyers Vincent what is it Keenan Keenan he's a realtor around here okay and has the moon Hut the moon Hut is that is that a restaurant or a bar Moon Hut right here okay Vin it's right next door to the prop my property oh okay and and then the the lady who was here is the other potential buyer what was her name Peg shaller s c h a l l e r so who with with which of these two potential buyers do you have the closing dates set up right now with with Vincent okay and that's on June 18th or somewhere like that 8th 9th June 8th or 9th yeah and so and so if he does not close then it is your intention to then sell it to Peg is is that the deal if she matches the deal uh she gets to buy the property and stuff it's in a lease that I have with her oh okay so she just has and then can I ask what is the what's the um U price that you've contracted to 650 650,000 to sell the property and then that's with Mr Keenan if Miss schaer uh matches that than she she has I guess right a first refusal I guess that's it okay okay so now from the city point of view um and and and um do you know anything about Mr Keenan's plans or Miss schaer's plans with respect to what they would do once they once they would buy the property I spoke to Vincent Keenan okay I can't speak for Miss Cher and what her intentions are uh I would assume it would be the same as Mr Keenan is to is to Fig Mr Keenan said he was going to fix the property up uh maintain all current tenants uh and continue to rent it out I would assume Peg Sher would be now the owner and she would fix it up okay so from the I'm just thinking out loud here but from the city's point of view you don't want to necessarily do anything that's going to interfere with them getting the property um or but but but you do need well I spoke to Mr keen and advised them that there were likely still there' be a lean on the property okay so we're the city still wants to move forward with that okay um and then we can revisit that down the road if compliance is achieved okay uh Mr Reynolds anything else you'd like to add before you uh step down sir all right thank you so what is the recommendation of the city as far as um Bas on the testimony and evidence submitted at this hearing staff Respec request the magistrate find the respondents in violation of the magistrate orders and oppose a fine beginning March 8th 2024 in the amount of $200 for the first day and $150 every day thereafter until compliance is confirmed by the code officer okay so beginning March 8th and and the first day is how much again 200 $1 $200 and then uh after that 150 150 okay so let's let me let me just think about this for a moment so if if there's a mark so about three months of fines assuming it sells on on June 8th so this is just a very rough calculation so if if the property were to sell on June 8th were to clo the the contract were to close the fines would be somewhere around 13 ,500 at that point um and then so the new owner could then present himself or herself to me and ask for a recommendation of of some leniency on that or or or to strike it and then and would then go to the city council um they get they in compliance if they're yeah assuming yeah so that's exactly so assuming they make the the the fix the fixes then they can come ask for the the Forgiveness or the reduction of the fine um our contention is that this is a life safety issue yeah uh all parties agree that it's a life safety issue uh so we don't want to just let it go we want to kind of have the fire under some people's feet who purchase it that when they buy it they need to get on this as soon as possible it needs to be a priority right I I I I don't disagree with that um okay and when you spoke with Mr Keenan um he didn't he wasn't going to back away from the deal when he told him that there were going to be some fines issued and Ian his yeah he didn't he didn't give me that indication he thought he was going to buy it as an investment right um he was going to fix it up and it it'll then be worth a lot more than 650 assuming it he would fix it up and retain the current tenants because that's that makes him money right okay all right okay I just I just wanted to make sure that we weren't going to um destroy the deal doesn't sound like it I mean this is this is a in the big scheme of things you know let's say it takes 6 months to get done and let's say let's say that the fines are $25,000 if you know doubling a little less than doubling but I just calculated um that's that's that that that's minor compared to the 650 that that he's going to be spending to purchase the property okay then I'm I'm comfortable with with uh where we are then so all right well I'm going to um I'm going to issue an order uh imposing fines and a lean um and so my my job here today was determine whether the property um remains in violation um I find that property does remain in violation uh certain things I um I've heard um arguments I've heard evidence and testimony in accordance with Massie versus Charlotte County 842 Southern second 142 second DCA 2003 case I find that um I issued amended findings of fact conclusions of law order on January 24th 2024 and uh ordered uh uh Mr Reynolds to get the property into compliance with the city code by two different sets of deadlines the first uh January 28th 2024 was to uh secure the staircase with it being boxed out and uh that was accomplished as well as the uh the fixing of the fence issue there was a a gap and um I I heard no evidence that that's not been fixed um then the second set of deadline or the second set of issues to be corrected for a deadline was March 8th 2024 that was to repair all the fire damage caused by the fire the subject property find that was not done the garage door was to be repaired or replaced so it would be functional that was not done uh the staircase uh would be rebuilt uh was Secure guard rails in accordance with the city code that was not done guard rails on the roof balcony outside the upstairs residential units was not done and um and that there would be continued um uh prevention of occupancy of the upstairs units um that's that's really not an issue right at this moment um because that box still exists so I do find that the um service of the uh January 24th 2024 uh amended order was uh was served and delivered on Mr Reynolds um that um that the um notice of hearing was also appropriately uh delivered and Mr Reynolds um appeared here today uh to explain from his point of view um where things [Music] stood so I do find compliance with the um with the service requirements of the city code and the Florida Statutes I'm going to find a continued violations of section 108.1 of the um International property maintenance code that's when a structure is unsafe or unfit for human occupancy um violation of let's see here section 302 uh 32.1 of the um Property Maintenance uh code uh exterior property and premises shall be maintained in a clean safe and sanitary condition um I I don't find that that's the case with all the fire damage uh continued violation of safety welfare find a violation of 30411 unsafe conditions which requires any um anything uh any building determined to be unsafe to be repaired and replaced to be um in compliance with the international building code uh and the Florida building code um I find violations of 304.8 which is the protective uh treatment uh on the exterior surfaces of of a of a building um simply because the fire damage has not been fixed that violation continues to exist same with a 304.5 which governs exterior walls same with 304.77 [Music] point 10 finding violations of that with respect to the uh the balcony um 30412 uh continued violations because the uh the guard rails and handrails have not been installed as ordered the um continued violation of 30415 uh which governs exterior doors and the uh the garage door was um brought to my attention uh continued violation of 306.000 components of a structure and Equipment thereon shall be maintained in good repair structurally sound and in sanitary condition um I don't have evidence about equipment but but the structure itself um I find that to be continued violation uh I find continued violation of 306 1.1 uh which deals with unsafe conditions which includes uh fire damage Beyond Charing and inadequate support I find um continued violations of 3071 uh governing handrails and guard rails on flights of stairs simply because well we have a box but we don't have a a completed stairwell and so I'm finding um continued violations of my original order dated December 11 2023 as amended on January 24th uh I'm going to issue an an order imposing a fine in the sum of $200 uh for the first day uh March 8th 2024 which was the uh um the ordered compliance date and then $150 per day there um until the property is till the property is brought into compliance uh with with my order both orders uh for the record uh in in um setting the the fine I consider the gravity of the violations the uh the the the risk to public health safety uh and the fact that it continues to be a nuisance uh to the uh to the occupants um the other occupants of the property um I appreciate uh Mr Reynolds not having funds available to uh to correct the violation um but unfortunately we just haven't had um any correction and so um I I just don't uh have a a real mitigating set of facts here to to fix the on the part of fixing the the um the fire violations fire damage violations I don't there's no evidence of any prior um violations by Mr Reynolds I don't think this was uh intended on his part at all it's just the unfortunate circumstances of what we have um again any these these fines will be recorded uh it will become a lean on the uh on the city uh on the subject property and on any other uh real or personal property of of Mr Reynolds um and and there will be uh the authority of the city to foreclose on the property uh at least after at least three months has run from the date the orders recorded in the public records of Bard County Florida uh to stop the cruel of fines uh the respondant or whoever purchases the property has an obligation to advise the city uh code enforcement division that the property um has been repaired and to obtain uh all necessary uh inspections um and to apply for all necessary building permits I find that this is uh does not appear to be Homestead Property you live you live there I don't live there now because of the fire did before it's not it's not a Homestead Property it's commercial property correcte no there's no homestead exemption on it yeah I am um were you residing at the property not at the time of the fire not at the time of the fire okay or or after the fire obviously not so yeah doesn't I don't think it's I don't think it's your homestead do you claim homestead on on on another property no just I was told that it was hom from my father andu passed on to me and the TR uh you you might want to get with the Bard County property appraiser and and uh make sure that you uh claim whatever Homestead you're entitled to for wherever wherever you're you're living permanently if if you if you own where you're living um you should check into that can any sure you can come up yeah there there there can be a lean on Homestead um property however the the city uh would not foreclose on on Homestead and so um I think the ition here is this this property gets sold off within 3 months um they wouldn't even be able to to begin foreclosure proceedings for three months anyway um and so if if the if the seller Mr Keenan or or or or Miss schaer whoever it is um you know they they ought to they ought to hit the ground running uh and and get contractors out there right away and start getting this stuff fixed it would be my they would have the finances to do so uh what about those different things that I was told you know the different things that I put up that way nobody can get up to the burn area and have it all blocked off and stuff yeah there I I found compliance so uh I mean financially is there any way we can go into a little bit longer like from now the date today ones back to March the compliance deadline was March 8th yeah and so that's that's where I where where the fines are supposed to begin at the you know if if compliance is not done by the by the compliance deadline that's when the fin start start uh happening um the you know I I I I would um I I I would look upon favorably if if the new owner gets in there with you know right away and they hit the ground running and start getting this uh bring this property into compliance um they can they can come to me and ask for um a reduction or forgiveness um of the fines uh and and any lean that may have been recorded and I can make a recommendation to the to the city uh council at that point so that's that that that's their ability to do that yeah kind of scary I know I know it is it's just uh I had with v Vince and it would already been sold as we speak right now but on the Clause uh Mrs uh Peggy Schwarz she or Scher she gets uh due diligence so with in the contract we did the 90 days she's trying to push it even further than that so I don't know how long uh that she's wanting to push push it back a couple more months so that's what I'm kind of worried about and the can I can I say something real quick and the the city takes that into consideration when they come back for the reduction um it it's what we what we look at as a city is when somebody once they purchase the property not not the length of time it takes to purchase the property but once they do purchase the property it's the length of time they bring to to bring the property into compliance if they show good faith and they immediately start with the process and getting the permitting and stuff like that the city looks favorable on that and then we bring it in front of the magistrate and then we would tell ask the magistrate to that we would accept the reduction but I can't say anything thing for right now until I see you know they're what they're going to do once they purchase the property but that's the main thing we have to look at is they do have the option to come in and ask for that reduction or or relief of the whole lean yeah okay and I was I'm just finishing up um my order from the bench and I I'll get that all in writing uh this week again I don't recall anything else on the agenda anything anything else the city would like to present okay thank you everyone we'll call it adjourned thank you [Music]