Code Enforcement Board - Special Meeting

Good morning, everyone. We'll call to order today's Code Enforcement Special Magistrate Hearing. The first item on the list is CESW 26-00101 Hawks Run Development LLC. Has anyone signed up to speak?

We do not have the respondent present.

Okay.

Mr. Lewis? Yes. This is a second return hearing in regards to compliance and issuing an order. code officer Mike Halpin is here with an update for your honor and we'll also have the city engineering speak as well to this matter.

Alright.

Good morning, Your Honor. For the record, Mike Halton, City of Venice, Code Enforcement. I'm standing in for David Lipker, who is the primary officer on this case. You had issued an administrative order on July 1st, given until August 1st of this year, to clean up the water retention ponds at the Hawks Run development. I went out earlier this morning, and they are still in noncompliance of your order. Noncompliance paperwork was filed, sent out to them by email, certified mail, and regular mail. So they have been notified that they're noncompliant. I have three pictures I could show you that I took this morning. This is just one of them. You can see that the area is still filled with cattails. This is the second area. And this is the third area. And these are all the pictures I took this morning. I'd like to enter them into evidence.

So admitted.

At this point, I have nothing further. I just would like to ask that Your Honor fine them in violation and start the fine of $250 per day from August 1st.

Very well.

And just a few follow-up questions. So the city has attempted to communicate with the property owners in this matter, correct? That's correct. And we've heard nothing from them? There has been no reply. Okay. And this is not the first time that Hawks Run has been fined by the magistrate as well, correct? That's correct. I believe this is actually the third? This would be the third time, yes. Okay. I have nothing further for the city, but I do have city engineering, just to kind of, if your honor wants to hear more in regards to. It's your case. Okay. And then I'll just, Kevin? Kevin, if you could please introduce yourself to the court.

Good morning, your honor. Good morning. Kevin Barrett, city inspector, Stonewater. Okay.

And sir, you've had an opportunity, you previously testified at the first hearing for this matter, correct?

Yes.

Okay. And you inspected that property at that time, correct? I did. Okay. And has there been any change to the city's previous testimony? Has there been any change since that? Nothing. Okay. And since nothing has changed since the violation came into, was ordered, What are the consequences and ramifications of this not being cleaned out?

The higher overgrowth, less water flow to the retention area. My opinion, if it was done earlier, it would have been a lot easier to do.

So they say in this is going to affect stormwater retention of it is going to back up into the HOA or the COA area. The condo Association excuse me yes, OK is going to back out and up public roads. Very well could yes, OK so this is causing a rainwater concern by not being remediated yes, OK and it's also going more difficult because that we've had rain lately to actually remediate this issue than it was. That is correct. Okay. I have nothing further.

All right. Thank you. Why are we not treating them as a repeat violator in terms of the fine?

They have not been fined for this specific violation. Since this is particular to stormwater issues, as opposed to unlawful accumulation. So we can only get them for repeats if it was the same violation.

You said there were three prior?

Yes, the previous one, just to at least show you that they're not, they have had run-ins with the court before, but we can't get them for a repeat violator status. Otherwise, we'd be asking for that.

Okay, very well. All right, I'll close the hearing. Based on the sworn testimony and evidence presented, I find that respondent has not brought the property into compliance as previously ordered on July one, 2026 for the violation of section 62 dash one and section 74 dash two 97 of the city code of ordinances. The fine is hereby imposed in the amount of $250 per day beginning August one, 2026 and terminating on the day the property is found to be in compliance by the code enforcement officer in determining the amount of the fine. I have considered the gravity of the violation, any actions taken by the violator to correct the violation and any previous violations committed by the violator. A certified copy of this order shall be recorded in the public records of Sarasota County, Florida, and thereafter shall constitute a lien against the subject property and upon any other real or personal property owned by the respondent. And I'd like to comment that if it were possible, I would impose a $500 fine because I know this is not the first or second or third time that there's been an issue with Hawks Run Development. Thank you, Your Honor. All right, that brings us to the second matter. New business, CEBD 26-00131, Scott Tyler Good. Is there anyone here on behalf of the respondent?

Yes, the respondent is present.

Okay, and has he signed?

Yes, I have a speaker card.

All right, then I would ask the city to present its case. Thank you. Right, for now, you can come up front. And then if you're going to speak, we'll ask you to go up there when it's your turn.

Good morning, Your Honor.

Good morning.

Okay, my name is Jose Luna. I'm employed by the City of Venice as a community resource officer assigned to the Venice Police Department. My experience and qualifications are on file with the City of Venice Human Resource Department. This case occurred occurred at 42 Pine Road, which is located within the city limits. The owner on record is the city of Venice, and it's known as the Municipal Home Park. The contractor on scene was Scott Tyler Good. He resides at 4045 South Mark Drive, Sarasota. May 29th, at approximately 9.30 in the morning, I responded to 42 Pine Road on a complaint. regarding working working being conducted at 42 Pine Road. While the bullying permit was still in review status. I conducted an inspection on on said date of the address and above and observed that drive-by been screwed and to the studs and and also been taped. Scott go had already been cited for working without a permit at the same location on April 22nd 2026 at the same property. He was advised that he needed to apply for a permit and could not continue any work until the permit was approved. The stop or work order label was affixed to the property at this time. On May 29th, Mr. Good was subsequently cited for construction without a permit second offense, which is a violation of City Community Code 88-2.2.1, and it's considered a Class III with a penalty of $2,000. During the inspection on May 29th, I took photos of the work being done at 42 Pine Road. These photos are fairly inaccurate, represent the unpermitted work I observed. And I have a power point that shows you the work that was conducted. We've got to stop work order that was placed on April 22nd 2026. When I went there on the 29th which is I seen this this is the sheet rock that's been placed behind an Illinois area. You see it's been hung, it's been taped, and the other two pictures predicts, it shows the same work being conducted, which is the next picture. You actually see the work being conducted on there. They had the plywood on the top there. Not the plywood, I'm sorry, drywall. This is also a corner they were working on where it's been hung and taped. and ready for finishing and the permit was still under review. It wasn't, you know, approved yet, you know, when his work was conducted.

Great. The photos will be admitted into evidence.

Another picture showing the same.

So after Luna again just to clarify so Mister good was previously cited for contract construction contract with the construction without a permit on 4.22 of this year, yes, OK and was that fine paid. Yes, OK and it was at the same property, yes, OK and then subsequently on 5.29 of this year Mister good was at the same property do construction without a permit.

uh yes did you have any communication with mr good on uh 529. um yes i did what was that communication uh the communication was that you know you can actually got cited actually that's the only communication i had with them at the time at that date when you cited him yes did he uh did what did you tell him when you when you cited him on 529. i i advise them that the permits are still under review they're not um as the you know the permit hasn't been approved yet And that you know that no work could be done until the in the permits are approved.

No further questions at this time.

Thank you. Mister good. You have an opportunity at this point to ask Mister officer loon any questions that you may have before you present your own testimony do you have any questions of his off of officer Luna. Well so you have you don't have any questions. All right, if you don't have any questions, then I'd ask Officer Luna to step down. Please step up there, and you can present any testimony you wish to present.

Actually, Your Honor, I was just going to call Derek Applegate. Oh, I'm sorry. It's okay.

Okay. Hold on just a second, Mr. Goode. Okay.

Sir, could you please state your name for the record?

Good morning, Derrick Applegate.

And what is your role with the city of Venice?

I am the building official for the building department.

Okay, and have you had an opportunity to look at these photos? I have. Okay, and... Would this work have required an approved building permit in order to occur? That is correct. What's the work that would have made it required to get a permit?

It appears that he's enclosing a non-habitable space and covering it to habitable space with the insulation board.

Okay, so that work would not have been able to be completed until, conducted until a permit was approved by the city of Venice? Correct. Okay, nothing further at this time.

So the issue is not the installation of the drywall per se, but the enclosure of something that was previously not enclosed? or maybe they're one in the same.

I would consider them one in the same, Your Honor. Working without a permit is a standalone violation, and then enclosing in a space that is going from a non-habitable to a habitable would require not only the building department, but planning and zoning to make sure that we don't violate any of the land use laws.

Okay, thank you. Is there anything else? No, Your Honor. Mr. Gooder, do you have any questions of Mr. Applegate? All right so then would you please come up and present your testimony. State your name please.

My name is Scott good. Yes, we were cited for starting that job there without a permit I won't lie about that and disclose that. We weren't trying to hide the job either, because it's on a main road, like if you drive out here on Venice Ave, you would see me working there, so we weren't trying to hide it. I was waiting for engineer, which was behind, so we could hand it in. We got cited there, which was the police, it was a nasty nightmare because of an HOA guy that didn't know his rules or regulations on how to respond. The code enforcement came, very polite, handled the thing really nice, gave me a citation, which wasn't mine, it's actually the homeowner's, and everybody left. And then Jose calls me a few weeks later and he says on the phone, he goes, how's the permit coming? And I said, the permit is, the building department is ready, but not the zoning. I'm waiting on zoning. He goes, okay. I said, I got a problem though. I said, the drywall you saw hung, they didn't tell you what was behind it. It was all open, all open attic space and wall space into the living area of the lady's trailer. and rats were getting in there, and birds, and a raccoon was sighted, and I said, can I cover that up? And he says, yeah, you can cover that up to keep the birds and stuff from getting in there. So I, off of his permission, waiting on the permit to be issued, I went and covered it up. I used drywall. I covered it all up so no animal or anything could get in there. It was good. HOA guy shows up. Start screaming and yelling threatening me calls the cops again and calls code enforcement and code enforcement tells HLA guy that we never got permission to do that we did. My business isn't with the HOA guy. My business is with the homeowner, and their business is with the homeowner, not me. He doesn't sign my check or nothing, so that's what I'm saying. He doesn't have the right to call the cops, have me arrested, do all this. Jose shows up with his guy he rides with, his partner, good people, goes in there, looks at all the work, and says, hey, you covered it up. Looks nice. Comes back out. He said, I don't have a problem. He calls his boss. His boss says it's a second offense, you need to cite him, and tells Jose why didn't he use plastic or a tarp. His boss has no opinion on what I can use or couldn't use, and nobody gave me a list of materials that I could use or couldn't use to cover all those holes up from the animals getting into her home. Now, that's when I said, you give me a fine because you gave me permission? He says, I got to do what I got to do because it's my boss. I didn't argue with him. He's not the problem. His boss was the problem. So I'm sitting in here today with the $2000 fine the permit was issued the next day after that happened and we resumed work a few days later on the rest of the project and it is finished I just need to call in for inspection but that's the permission I got to cover it up nobody told me what product I could use or not use. And that's why I'm upset because I did have permission because he called me on the phone and he said Because they communicate with us. They're the only code enforcement department in the state of Florida that will communicate with you on getting your permit or getting your information to solve your problem. Most of them just keep slapping fines on you. And that's where I'm at. That's why I'm not mad at anybody. It's just there's a communication between him and his boss to what product I should have used or shouldn't have used. I use drywall I use the moisture barrier drywall so that until I got a chance to cover that room up any rain or any water any major moisture got in there it wasn't going to ruin the drywall. Did you screw the drywall into the property. We put a 2 by 4 studs behind a week you don't want to take screws and screw it into the trailer And I have to say because insurance reasons it becomes a nightmare on what can be attached and what can't be attached to you use nails. We use 80% of that job screws and some nails OK this is an aluminum. So did you put you put up dry you put a drywall correct, you know use the screws and they were all to the requires permit correct. There was already a permit waiting on it.

Did you have an approved permit?

No, and I don't need a permit for that, and I don't know why the building official said that, because the state law, each county, municipality, and city forces the law the way they want to force it, which is good.

Do you disagree with the building official for the City of Venice?

Yes, because it was going to get inspected anyways. When the apartment was issued so that's why we put the drywall up instead of a tarp I'm still would have had to put 2 by 4 is and everything in there for the tarp to hold it to keep it from blowing around everywhere.

You said when the permit is issued correct. Yes, so the permit was not issued yet. It was issued the next day. But not the day were you working on it.

No, but I have permission from was going to force on my question was the permit issued.

No was not as you get to be working without a permit.

On the drywall only. That required a permit? Not necessarily.

Did the city require a permit? Not necessarily. Did the city require a permit? Not necessarily. Did the building official say you needed a permit for that work?

Because he's the building official, he's gonna say what he knows. And we're the contractors and we're gonna say what we know.

I got nothing further at this time for this witness, Your Honor.

Okay, Mr. Good, is there anything that you'd like to add after Attorney Lewis has asked you some questions? Mr. Lewis? He's the answer. Hi, Mr. Lewis.

Well, you can ask me anything you want, so I'm not disobeyed about anybody here. I just know that I have permission to do something, and I did it.

All right.

Thank you. You may step down.

I'll call Officer Luna as rebuttal, Your Honor.

I was hoping you would.

Officer Luna. Did you give Mister good permission to install drywall no, I didn't do you remember any conversations you had with Mister.

That was not that day that was maybe a week or 2 prior to that we do a follow-up. I say you can cover it up in the elements from rain stuff like that we just pretty much as far plastic or something to keep from the rain for coming in there and he was complaining about squirrels or something Yeah, you can cover it up and not permanent coverage like you know carpet plastic that's it until the to the permit is issued.

But you never told me he could in. I want to make sure my timeline is correct on this one.

So you told them that you could you told Mister good that you he could cover the materials up not with the fund up on the elements with to cover what up from the elements of the work that he stayed with complaining about that of water getting in there vermin you know squirrels getting in there. I said you can you not covered up permanently not to throw that drywall but just you know carpet up or something until permits ready and you when was that. I'm not sure it was one of my follow-ups, so it was probably about a week or two prior to that.

Was it a week or two prior to that? Prior to that, yeah. No, when you say prior to that, prior to you citing the... On May 29th, yes. Okay, so a week or two prior to you issuing the citation. Yes. Hold on, let me finish the question first. You advised Mr. Goode that he could cover up from the elements, correct? Yes. The area that was open?

Yes.

When you told him that he could cover it up, did you tell him, did you specify what he could, what that was?

I didn't specify it, but pretty much, you know, if you cover something up with plastic, you know, until the permit is ready.

Did you ever tell him that he could install drywall?

No, I never did that.

Did you ever tell him that he could use nails and screws to install drywall?

No.

Okay. Nothing further?

I do have some questions. Mr. Good testified that the two of you had a conversation at the time or around the time that you were going to cite him and and that you you said you're only doing it because your boss told you to do that is that correct.

Know what happened was I I'm not a bit of building official I can't say what is permanent not permitted. So what happened was my supervisor. The pictures that I took I sent it I sent it to my supervisor. And then he did what he had to do and he got back to me said cite him. I guess he made his. He talked to the building official and he's the one but I didn't talk to the building official. My boss, my supervisor contacted the building official and then my supervisor told me, once he seen the pictures, he said yes to cite them. That's not permitted.

Who from the city would have the authority to authorize Mr. Good to put drywall up before he had a permit?

Building official.

not you no i'm not going i'm only quote of course but okay i have no other questions okay nothing further your honor do you have any questions of of officer luna mr good yes okay go ahead and ask them hold on uh do you have to come up here hold on please sir hold on stay right here

He's accurate on what he said, and like the lawyer, you're the lawyer? Yes. Asking the questions, but nobody gave me permission to use drywall, tarp, plastic, wood, vinyl, aluminum to put the product up to cover the holes and the essentials for the animals in the rain getting in. Nobody gave me what specific item I used. I used the item best thought for the room itself. He did his job. He gave me permission to do it. okay but nobody gave me permission on which product to use why didn't you ask i mean after 25 years in this business you pretty much know what you're going to use and why would i ask mr jose who works for the code enforcement what product i can and can't use to cover up that so why didn't you contact mr applegate and ask him uh to get a hold of a building official during the day to have him pick up the phone it's not going to happen He's a very busy man and he runs a good, his assistant runs a good show too here in Venice. And they got quick to him because they have access because they are code enforcement. He could have come over to the job while we were working there. He could have left whatever he was doing and met us there and said what he gave his opinion on what he think is right or wrong. Nobody showed up but the police trying to put me in jail. And Mr. Jose and his team were there and they were good people. I'm not going to argue with that. I won't even make a complaint on that. I'm making the complaint that I have permission to cover everything up. I didn't get permission of what product to use, if that's what you want me to say. Okay.

Thank you. Mr. Lewis, any questions?

Yeah. Sir, how long have you been a contractor? 25, 27 years.

And you did apply for a permit for this position? Yes.

What did you apply for a permit for? A glass room.

So to put the room in?

Well, there was one there before.

Basically to put this room in, to enclose this room? Yes.

Yes, back the way it was.

So you knew you had to get a permit?

Yes.

You knew that you had to get a permit to enclose this room? Yes. You also knew that you didn't have a permit yet? Yes. And you enclosed the room? To a degree. You enclosed the room, didn't you? Two walls, yes. That's enclosing the room?

No. Enclosing the room is completely finished. That's enclosure.

But you put up walls to enclose the room, correct?

Yes, started on that.

So... You have experience, you knew you had to enclose the room, you knew you needed to get a permit to enclose the room. You also knew you didn't have a permit, and then you still started to enclose the room. But based on your experience, why would you think that, well, code enforcement told me I can secure it from the elements. That means I can enclose the room.

No, we didn't enclose it. It was still open when we put the drywall up.

but you were doing the work with the process, the work to enclose the room.

Yeah, that's irrelevant where we're going here. I get the point. The permit is no permit. We took our $1,500 fine for that. The secondary issue was animals and varmints and things were getting in there. We needed to stop that. I asked for permission to do that. He gave it to me. I did that with a product. Doesn't matter the product, I did it with a product. Still under the violation that I have to pay, still waiting on the permit to be issued, I solved the problem with their permission. I didn't go to him because I didn't know I'd gone that far up the chain. But his assistant did come to the job site the first time when the police were there. them, them, and everybody else in the dentist was there. And he told me, he said, Scotty, get the permit, get the work done, and move on. Those were his exact words. And we did. We were waiting on the engineer to finish the engineering for that job. And the city of Venice is quick on permits. There's no 30, 60, 90 days in Sarasota County. So we knew, and I had a permit ready within five days waiting on zoning, because the zoning department in this particular park has no zoning, and we have to draw the zoning and the individual feet from trailer to trailer to make sure that they were allowed the room that got destroyed by the hurricane to go back. And that's all we were waiting on for zoning. But the building department had already issued the permit waiting on zoning. All right, thank you, Mr. Good.

All right, I'm going to close this hearing. Before I give you my decision, Mr. Good, I don't know why you didn't ask the right question, but in my view, there should have been a follow-up question to officer Luna, which is what can I cover it up with? And you didn't answer, ask that question. The second thing that bothers me about this is you'd already been fined once before. If I were in your shoes, I would have been careful not to get fined again. I would have asked the right questions. And so that's the reason why I'm going to enter the following order. Based on the sworn testimony and evidence presented, I find that respondent violated section 88-2.2.1 of the city code of ordinances. Respondents shall forfeit the appeal fee, filing fee of $25. Respondent is assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $2,000 and a contested fee of $500 plus the recording fee if not paid within 10 days. All right, this hearing is concluded. Our next hearing is, since we have nothing else on the agenda, our next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at 10 a.m. And unless there's any further business, this hearing is adjourned.

Nothing further?

Amanda? Thank you, everyone.