##VIDEO ID:2O3zTT8uU9Q## ready to do you need to do a mic check or anything okay good all right uh good morning everybody my name is Monica Schmucker I'm the appointed special magistrate to hear today's code enforcement proceedings as provided for in Chapter 2 Article 5 of the fort Meers Beach Land Development code um and Florida Statutes chapter 162 I'm a licensed Florida attorney in good standing with the Florida bar I'm apreme I'm a Florida Supreme Court certified Circuit Court mediator and a qualified arbitrator and I'm qualified to serve as the appointed special magistrate for the town of Fort Meers Beach um at this time I'd ask that everybody would turn off their cell phones to make sure that they are or on silence to make sure they don't disturb today's hearings um so this is a quasi judicial hearing which means it's similar to a case in court however the rules of evidence do not apply the rules are less formal um you will everybody who's here to I don't know if there is anybody here but um anybody's here to present a case will be heard if there are any Witnesses are there any Witnesses here today besides the town okay um I'll swear you in in a minute but um the role my role today is to fairly and um I'm sorry is to hear the evidence apply the facts to the law and then um prepare an order at the end I know that we have three hearings we're going to be hearing them in order that they appear on the agenda unless there's any changes that you should notify me of no um cases so the cases will be heard in those order there are three and let me take a look at them okay all right so in all cases the town does have the burden of proof and will present its case first if the alleged violator is here then they will have an opportunity to speak present their case present any evidence if there's anybody here that will be speaking on behalf of anybody I do ask that they stand up and I will go ahead and swear you in will you be speaking yes okay anybody else going to be providing testimony no okay um can you raise your right hand do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth in today's proceedings thank you all right um at the conclusion of each case or within 15 days thereafter I will issue finings of fact based on what is presented here today conclusions of Law and I'll issue an order affording the appropriate relief will the town call its first um hearing let me see the name oh no I'm sorry give me one second the first thing we want to do is the the minutes right hang on so before we do that then do we want to approve the minutes or do we want to wait till the end do you have a a printed copy I don't you w need I thought make changes yeah we are going to make changes um so let's do that first and then you can present your first case give me a second let me pull these up so I reviewed the minut and and you just give me one sec I got to pull these up there are about four or five small changes and I'll go through them one by one I have to pull it back up here we go so sorry I'm having technical issues with these all right so if you go to page the second page there's a um yeah under code section LDC section 34323 illegal building uses and lots code officer dbat do you see that page all right you go down it's about halfway in that one two three fourth paragraph It's the large paragraph towards the end um it says the owner presented the same argument that his use was authorized under the County ordinance that were in effect at that time time I would change at that time to at the time that the Town Incorporated and adopted its code of ordinances so you saw that um two sentences later there's a typo it just says but she verified that the respondent filed the application and and that should be had made payment that's just a typo though the next paragraph it says uh the town attorney requested that and it says a sign prohibiting paid parking be installed um I believe that she requested for something more to be done to stop respondent from continuing to operate this parking lot um and ask for any appropriate relief for that next paragraph starts with the word no special sorry two paragraphs special magistrate it starts with that remember before okay so at the end the special magistrate explained that this case was a repeat of the previous finding which was adjudicated it said and and to allow respondent to continue to operate after it was found to be illegal and then excuse respondent or allow respondent to relitigate the issue after a failure to appeal would be concerning and I want to add that because the other attorney then respond you have her response there to that so I wanted to add that which was the it wouldn't be setting a precedent and sorry finally the last thing next page right before special magistrate it says it's the second sentence it says she noted that the respondent never appealed the town council's previous decision and that respondent has not submitted sufficient evidence to support its position that was her position and that's it did you get all that yes I did I'll make those changes and send them to you to sign okay um if there's no issues or questions then I'll approve them minutes as amended perfect and I apologize for prematurely calling you up but um I think we're good now so you may call your first case and let me get back to that window and I do apologize just so you know I I had the different computer so everything was a little bit messed up so sorry for the technical difficulties um and the first the first cases uh oh I'm sorry go go ahead I have go ahead what is the first case so I can pull it up it's going to be for 8,000 Lagoon Road okay so give me one second so that I could go back to that agenda thank you okay I'm back so it's case number 202 4453 yes ma'am perfect okay you may proceed good morning your honor my name is Officer bat I'm a code compliance officer with the town of Fort Meers Beach and have served in the capacity for a proximately eight months with 5 years prior experience elsewhere I've been sworn in and will provide testimony and documentation regarding this case our documentation is attached to the agenda's exhibits and we ask that all documents are accepted in evidence okay I I've reviewed all of the documents that were attached to the agenda and they may be admitted we bring before you Fort Myers Beach code enforcement case 2024 0453 the subject property is located 8,000 lagon Road exhibits a contain the documentation of the respondent open doors for you Investment LLC owns the real property that is subject of this case enforce code enforcement case included in exhibit a is a copy of the warranty deed a copy of the Lee County tax collector receipt a copy of Lee County Property Appraisers and a copy of the Florida Division of Corporations record showing last Americus notary and tax services as a registered agent for open doors foru invested Investments LLC the subject property is not currently homesteaded the current use of the property is for investment purposes it is owned residential single family and its future land use is low density moreover there is no evidence that the subject property is eligible for a homestead exemption in the Lee County tax collector records on May 16th 2024 code enforcement officer Randy soel observed open doors for U Investments LLC in the violation of the town of Fort Meers Beach code of ordinance specifically High veg V vegetation not mode and the appearance of abandoned maintenance at the subject property I have full access to all officer so's records true accurate and unaltered copies of the pictures taken on the date of first sight inspection have been marked as exhibit B and introduced into their record the photos show that throughout the property the grass exceeds the allowable 12 Ines in height through multiple photos um all photos available in the packet a notice of violation was issued on May 16th 2024 and sent by certified return receipt mail to the address of record specifically at 10350 City Center Boulevard number 203 penber Pines Florida 33025 posted to the sub posted at the subject property and at Town Hall located at 2731 Oak Street Fort Myers Beach Florida 33931 true and accurate true accurate and unaltered copies of these documents including a copy of section 2429 have been accepted into Exhibit C Open Door for you Investments LLC was given 30 days to come into compliance with the town of Fort Meers Beach ordinance which was on or before June 17th 2024 I performed a reinspection of the subject property on September 16th 2024 and the subject property remains in violation of the Town Fort Meers Beach ordinance there does not appear to be any progress made towards compliance at the subject property based on my reinspection of the subject property I prepared an Affidavit of non-compliance a true accurate and unaltered copy of which has been marked as exhibit D and accepted into the record as a result of the subject property owner failure to bring the subject property into compliance with Section 6-2 amendments section 302 D4 or point4 for weeds of the town code they are provided with a notice of code enforcement hearing for today hearing for today's hearing as established in Exhibit C section 6-2 amendments weed 302.4 weeds of the town code has been accepted in evidence e on September 17 2024 I mailed a copy of the notice of today's hearing by certified mail return receipt requested to the address in the Lee County Property Appraisers record and to the registered agent La Americus notary and tax services at 5290 Golden Gate Parkway Naples Florida 34116 these documents are attached as exhibit F your honor at this time I would like to ask permission to add in as exhibit g a photo of the notice of hearing posted on September 18th 2024 to the violation property located at 8000 Lagoon Road Fort Meers Beach Florida 33931 a photo of notice of hearing posted on September 18th 2024 to the town hall located 2731 Oak Street stre Fort Meers Beach Florida 33931 all certified receipts for the notice of hearing and a photo of the condition of the property at this time of reinspection on September 30th 2024 prior to today's hearing based on my sworn testimony and the evidence can I see them sure I'm sorry it's okay thank you do you have returns uh return seats yeah um I have not received at this okay sorry you may proceed go ahead based on my sworn testimony and the evidence that has been presented to you including the exhibits within the agenda packet on behalf of the town of Fort Myers Beach I request that an order be issued finding a violation of section 6-2 amendments section 302.4 weeds of the Fort Myers Beach town code including an order to correct the above listed violations and or imposition of an administrative fee of $250 to cover costs in bringing this matter before the special magistrate a fine not to exceed $250 for each day each violation continues past the date of compliance and for such other and further relief as in consistent is consistent with the powers of the special Magistrate to come into compliance with Section 6-2 amendments section 302.4 property owner will need to mow their lawn and maintain their property thank you thank you um have you received any notification about whether service was actually received um previously in the case I believe so have you been in Communications at all with respondent nobody's contacted me regard of anything and go back to the address on I'm just going to compare the address to the ownership I know the ownership is fairly recent so um I mean like it hasn't been decades so yeah give me one second so that I can compare this CU I've not seen that oh I will allow exhibit G to be admitted evidence thank you um okay right we don't have a respondent then again plus no okay um being that this is unopposed I do find that there's sufficient evidence to find a violation warranting $250 um fine for that violation per day as of the date that they did not bring into compliance which is hang on I have you want to tell me which is the day they were let me go to I have a lot of these exhibits open I apologize they were given until what day uh June 17th okay yeah I see May 16th was the day of the notice of violation so 30 days after that so as of June 17 2024 $250 fine per day and a $250 administrative fee will be imposed so I'll prepare do you have any proposed orders no okay then I'll prepare an order with those findings and submit that okay all right yes ma'am thank you thank you all right you may call your next case but please give me a moment again I I apologize I have these technical difficulties I have a different computer so I got to pull the stuff up but you may go ahead and call your first your second case which is what is the name of the respondent your second case the address is G be1 okay is it case number 20245 24 yes ma'am okay you may go ahead and proceed good morning your honor I'm officer bat a code compliance officer for the town of Fort Meers Beach I've been sworn in and will be providing testimony and documentation for the case 2024 0524 the property owner's attorney is requesting a continuance for this case to November 2024 as we have made contact through email and phone conversation the town is in agreement with the continuance as compliance is our ultimate goal and the additional time may allow us to achieve that goal please accept a copy of the email copy of the permit and note made on 101 2024 in the record to show efforts have been made towards compliance and Grant the continuance sure may see it please thank you I will admit is this being admitted as an exhibit yes ma'am okay and we this is exhibit G then okay all right I'll will admit this as exhibit G and I have no problem with a continuance um I don't suppose you have a proposed order of continuance no okay no problem I'll um I'll just issue an order for for continuance with no findings I yeah with no findings so I don't I mean this is already been attached as in the agenda so we can just attach this as a supplement to that but do you want it back no I have a copy okay all right thank you all right so your third case you may call 202 24666 yes good morning your honor I'm officer B A codee compliance officer for the town of Fort Meers Beach I've been sworn in and we'll be providing testimony and documentation for case number 2024 0666 the violation for the overgrowth of grass and weeds in excess of 12 in at 290 Pearl Street which came into compliance with LDC section 6111 adoption amendments Florida building code section 105.1 on September 30th 2024 as the over growth of grass and weeds was cut because the length of time it took for the property owner to come into compliance we would like to ask that you that you ask you for finding a violation and to impose an administration fee of $250 to cover cost and bringing this matter before the magistrate and will happily close the case upon full payment of adment phase I do have exhibit G which would be um Affidavit of compliance if you would accept that yes let me take a look thank you do we have a respondent or anybody here on the respondent's behalf again no okay okay I could accept this in evidence as exhibit G sorry you may you have you may proceed no that's done okay okay so I did review um all of the evidence that was attached um I will issue an order finding that um the respondent was in violation theyve now are compliance and I will impose no no fine but the $250 administrative fee I will impose thank you yes um one second so I'll issue I don't suppose you have a proposed order for that one no it's okay I will prepare the order then and you'll receive it within the next week or so um okay so that's it for what's on the agenda right give me minute okay all right that's it well then we're done for today