Code Enforcement Board - Regular Meeting

Continue to stand if you are here to be sworn in because you're testifying.

Please stand and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give today is the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Thank you, you may have a seat.

And we have our interpreters, yes.

Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you would translate from English to Creole and Creole to English to the best of your ability? Thank you. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will translate from English to Spanish and Spanish to be English to the best of your ability? Thank you.

Buenas tardes. Yo soy el traductor de español. Para aquellos que necesiten ayuda, apárense, por favor, para juramentar. Thank you.

Roll call. Moshi Malka.

Present.

Ulysses Arias.

Present.

Mr. Juan Galan. Present. Mr. Analfo Ramos. I'm sorry. Reject that. Okay. Mr. Keon Williams. Present. Mr. Javier Rodriguez? Present. Thank you, we have a quorum. Thank you.

We're still having a little technical difficulties here, so if you can just bear with us, we'll get you guys out of the way. We don't have a long meeting ahead of us, so that's really good. All right, and what do we want to call first? Are we calling special appearances?

If you want to call up the extensions of time, that's more simple. That's fine, yeah. While we're trying to do this and get that up.

I think we can do that. Oh, yeah, please. I'm so sorry, I'm out of order.

We may have to do it.

I would like to welcome you to this meeting of the City of Miami Code Enforcement Board. The Code Enforcement Board is made up of seven regular members and two alternate members appointed by the City Commission who volunteer their time and services. The board is authorized by Florida law to hear and decide cases brought against those who have been cited for violations of various city ordinances but who have not corrected the alleged violations. Each case will be called upon when the property owner or representative has checked in and type of manner to be heard unless there are extenuating circumstances. The respondent whose property and or business is the alleged violator will be asked to plead guilty or not guilty. If the respondent pleads guilty, the board will give the respondent a date certain by which to correct the violation. If the violation is not corrected by that date, the board may impose a fine against the respondent or respondent's property of up to $250 per diem for a residential property and up to $1,000 per diem for a non-residential property for a first-time offender, and up to $500 per diem for a residential property, and up to $5,000 per diem for a non-residential or commercial property for a repeat offender. If the respondent pleads not guilty, the City of Miami, through the Assistant City Attorney, will present its case. After the City presents its case, the respondent will be permitted to present its defense. Both the city and the respondent will have an opportunity to present evidence and to examine and cross-examine witnesses. If the respondent is not present and the respondent's representative wishes to present the respondent's defense to the board, a signed and notarized power of attorney is required before the case will be heard. If there are any representatives present without a power of attorney, please immediately obtain one or contact the respondent so they... So they present their defense to the board. If you fail to do any of the above, the board will proceed to hear the case in absentia. This hearing is conducted in an informal manner. There are no formal rules of evidence. However, all discussion, presentations, and questions are limited to matters relating directly to the violation cited. After all of the evidence is presented, the board will determine by majority vote whether the respondent is guilty or not guilty. If the board finds the respondent guilty, the board will order the respondent to correct the violation by a date certain. If the violation is not corrected by that date, the board may impose a fine against the violator or owner of the property of up to $250 per diem for a residential property and up to $1,000 per diem for a non-residential property for a first-time offender and up to $500 per diem for a residential property and up to $5,000 per DM for a non-residential or commercial property for a repeat offender. The respondent may also be charged the cost of prosecution and up to $5,000 or $15,000 for specified code violations as a one-time fine for violations that are considered irreparable or irreversible in nature. It's the violator's responsibility to notify the city's code compliance department when the violation has been corrected. If the violation is not corrected by a required date, a lien shall be imposed without further hearing. The lien imposed will be a lien against decided property and against other real or personal property owned by the violator. If you have fines to pay, you need to email the city's finance department for a payoff total at finance at miamigov.com. In the subject field of your email, please write ARLEANS To pay applicable fines online, visit the following address. If you need to request an extension of time, you may do so online by visiting the following address. Miami.gov.com backslash services backslash solve dash a dash problem backslash request dash a dash hearing dash in dash code dash enforcement backslash request dash and dash an extension dash of dash time. dash hearing, dash four, dash code, dash enforcement, dash case. Obviously, you can get that information from us again if needed. Lastly, any orders entered by the board may be appealed to the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida within 30 days. This concludes my opening remarks, which are also captured on this evening's agenda, available online through the city's legislative hub. Now, the Spanish and Creole language, oh, no, okay. Then that's it.

Thank you. Thank you. And listen, ladies and gentlemen, we're trying to make this pretty quick for everyone. So when you hear your case called or your address called, come up, state your name, address, and then how much time do you need? For those of you that are here for extensions of time, just tell us how much time you need and what work you've already been doing. We'll verify it real quickly and we'll do our best to grant you the time that you're asking for. Okay. First case.

First case is add-on one.

This is an extension of time, right?

No, it's special appearance.

Can we do an extension of times real quick while we got this technical difficulties going on?

Oh, okay, okay, no problem.

All extension of times.

No problem. So the first case would be page 53, case number 00041878. Property address 4140 Northwest 17th Avenue, Page 53 in code check agenda.

Yes.

Yes. Good evening. You can put it down. Yeah.

Also, you helped me discover that I'm having a hearing problem. Okay.

Good evening.

Good evening. I'm Minervi Dickey. I'm the property owner of 4140 Northwest 17th Avenue. And I've been trying to make sure that this person doesn't hurt me for removing his stuff from the property. And he moved, and I don't know where to locate him at this point. And I didn't know whether that's something you can help me do. He said he was moving to Carl Gables, but he left... what's that big motor home thing on and an old trailer that has to be hitched to something and a beat up car.

Okay. Do you have anyone to assist you with removing those, those vehicles?

Not really. And I don't have money.

So maybe you might want to maybe potentially call a junkyard and have them come pick the vehicles up.

Say that again.

Maybe call a junkyard.

I didn't do it because I was concerned about the people's welfare with older persons, and they were sick. And I didn't know whether they needed the things that were in there.

Okay. How much time do you think to try to get this, you know, because it may be a while, but you may be able to get assistance with this. Yes.

I don't know how to estimate the time, a couple of months.

I have met with her recently and in the past. I'm helping her figure it out. Okay. I recommend 120. Okay.

So we're going to give you 120 days and the director is going to work with you on this process.

He said 140 days? 120. 120? And we're going to work with you on the back end, okay? Okay. Y'all know that I can't add multiple subjects in Dubai.

I got you.

I got it, I got it.

But we'll work with you on the back end, okay?

Thank you very much. I'll make a motion to give her 120.

Thank you for also helping me to get out and get me a thing before I get in the dark.

No worries. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Thank you very much, ma'am. You have 120 days, okay? Say it again. You have 120 days.

Thank you.

And the director's going to reach out to you, okay?

and I won't do my ugly cry in front of you. I'll wait until I get outside.

No need, okay? Get home safe, okay? Next case.

Okay, next case, page 31. Case number, page number 31. Case number 00095733. Property address 4085 Poinciana Avenue.

Good evening. Good evening. Chair, members of the board, Mickey Marrero, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard, attorney for property owner. We're asking for 120 days. We spoke to staff already. My client purchased this property with the violations. He knew what he was getting into. There's an existing tenant. He's waiting for that tenant to leave. They already have a demo permit process. He already has a contractor. Tenant should be out in about a month and a half. And then we've got to do the FPL cutoff, investors and all that stuff. So we need 120 days and we already have that process started.

The city recommends 120. We have met in the past. Thank you.

Make a motion for 120.

Second.

Second.

All those in favor. Aye. Thank you. Thank you. Next case.

He has the next case. Okay. It's page 42. I believe. Let me see. Hold on. Page 42, case number 00119815, property address 769, Northeast 74th Street. Page 42 in the code check agenda.

Good evening again, Mickey Marrero, 200 South Biscayne Boulevard. Also asking for 120 days. This is a tree cutting case. If he was actually on the property line, it was cut by my client's neighbor. That's part of the facts, unfortunately, but it's his problem now. He's got a master permit, and the tree mitigation is part of the sub-permit to the master. So it's going to take a year to complete the work on the master. But for now, we'll ask for 120 days. We can come back and update you on the progress. Understood.

The city recommends 120.

I make a motion for 120.

Second. All those in favor? Aye. Thank you.

He has one more case, which is page 18 in the city view agenda. Case number CE2021020165. Property address 600 Northwest 5th Street. Page 18 in the City View Agenda.

This is a, just so you're aware, this is a commercial property. The lien ran to $523,000. The minimum is $15,000. Great.

Good evening again. For one final time, Mickey Marrero, Burke, Alvarado, Fernandez, and Larkin, attorney for C Spice, the tenant here. So this relates to some work that was done without a permit. There's also some BTR and CU components to the violation. So our client is a tenant. Admittedly, they did the work without a permit. They immediately started working on it when they were cited. It was relatively minor work. But there was also the BTR and CU components. Unfortunately, they had a bit of a dispute with the landlord and were not able to get, even though they had done They got the permits for the work. This thing took a lot longer because the landlord didn't give them all the information needed for the licensing. And the reason there is a fine that grew to such a huge number, again, not the city's fault. The landlord did not give my client the notice of the hearing, and nobody came to a hearing. So my client did everything they could, and we're asking for $15,000, and we've discussed it with staff.

All right.

That's a big discount.

Very big discount.

Your client would not receive notice? So the notice went to the landlord. Usually they send it to both. They usually, but it didn't happen. And I've been working with them. They had actually met with Mr. Santos, the prior director, and working through the process. So they were working with the city from day one. but there's no way to undo a running fine here. So because of all the administrative issues with the landlord, they just couldn't stop it. They're finally in compliance, but really they resolved their issues very early. That's why we think it's 15,000 is appropriate. I think we've discussed it with staff and they agree.

And everything's in compliance as of today. This is a mitigation?

Yes.

As I said, the minimum is $15,000 for the commercial property.

Can I have a motion, please? Yeah, I move to reduce the fine to $15,000. I second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye. Thank you all. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you. Next case.

Next case is page 42, case number 00119815, property address 769 Northeast 74th Street, page 42 in the code check agenda. What was that, 769? 769, yes.

Didn't we just do that?

We just did that one.

I'm sorry?

We just did that one. That was his previous case.

We had four. That was one of them.

Oh, yes, that's right. The next case would be page 23. Page 23. In code check. Case number 000252246. Property address 1797 Northwest 21st Terrace. Page 23 in the code check agenda. Good evening.

Good evening. Hi, Mr. Chairman and board members. My name is Christina Cuervo with offices at 444 Brickell Avenue, Miami, Florida, 33131. I am the owner of the property, and we are requesting an extension of time. We have a permit, and we just need to call a final inspection.

How many days, how much time are you asking for?

120 days.

Thank you.

I'll make a motion for 120 The city no the city recommends 120 they are in the primary motion force make a motion for 120 a second all those in favor aye Thank you.

Thank you Next case page for code check agenda case number zero zero zero three six zero seven nine and Property address 2607 Northwest 29th Street, page four, code check agenda.

Good evening.

My name is Erling Albizua.

Okay. Property address and how much time does he need? So the address is 2607 Northwest 29th Street.

He has a permit that already submitted, so he's doing the inspection process. How much time is he asking for? The maximum amount of time.

Okay. The city recommends 120. They are also in the permit inspection phase.

Thank you. I'll take a motion for 120. Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Give him 120 days.

Okay.

That's for extra time there. Yeah.

Next case, page 35, case number 00111803, property address 4301 Northwest 4th Street, page 35.

Good evening.

State your name and address for the record. Mario Pons. On behalf of ownership.

Okay, thank you. And how much time are you looking for?

We're asking for a 120-day extension.

Okay, give me a second. The city recommends 120. They're in the permit correction phase. Thank you.

And he does have a valid power of attorney.

Thank you. Make a motion for 120. Second. All those in favor?

Aye. Thank you very much. And take the paper if you need to make an extension, okay?

As for extra after the 120.

Sorry?

As for more time after the 120.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. Have a good evening.

Next case, page 16, case number 00141920. Case number 29, I mean, property address 2978 Southwest 14th Street, page 16.

This is a, okay, got him. Good evening.

Good evening.

Thank you. Address is 2978 Southwest 14th Street.

Ask him how much time is he needing.

He's asking for 90 days. 90 days? The city recommends 120. He has two permits on file, one's in the corrections and one's approved.

Thank you. I'll motion for 120. Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

We're going to give them 120 days. Okay.

Next case, page 61, case number 00072646, property address 34 Northeast 11th Street.

Good evening. Good evening. Kevin Cruz, Greenspoon Martyr. Office is located at 600 Brickell Avenue here on behalf of the property owner, Park West Development, LLC. Okay. We're requesting a 90-day extension. We're very close to having the building permit closed out. Last component is electrical relocation, ironically. FPL has some sort of work moratorium due to the FIFA tournament. So the tournament's probably over at the end of July, given the August recess. I mean, give or take 90 days.

Okay. Give us a second here. The city recommends 120. We are in the permanent inspection phase.

Thank you.

I motion for 120.

Second. All those in favor?

Aye. 120. Thank you so much. You're more than welcome.

Have a great night. You too.

Next case, Paige. Page 45, case number 00127765, property address 3675 Southwest 9th Terrace. Page 45.

Good evening.

Good evening. We are the owners of 3675 Southwest 9th Terrace LLC.

Can you state a name for the record?

My name, Ricardo Aldama.

Thank you very much. It's a very nice blazer you got there.

Thank you. Okay. Finally, after three weeks of going back and forth with architects and contractors and this and that, the permit was finally pulled out today, and that is BD 26. You should have it there. Okay. Let me ask you a question. How much time are you requesting? I think I need 120 days.

Okay. Give us a second.

We decided to knock down The illegal part that we purchased the property like that. Hallelujah. Now we have to fix it.

Okay. We need that. Give us one second here. Let's check. The city recommends 120. They are in the pre-screening phase of the permit.

Okay. Motion for 120. Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Thank you. No problem. Take that paper. If you need an extension, yes. Got it. You're more than welcome. Have a good one, okay?

Next case, page 39, case number 00139995, property address 1116 Northwest 51st Terrace, page 39.

Good evening. Good evening, gentlemen and ladies. Carlos Rodriguez, owner, Bar Holdings, property address 1116 Northwest 51st Terrace. Thank you. Request 120 days. I already have permits pulled. We're in the inspection phase.

Gotcha. The city recommends 120. He is in the permit inspection phase.

Make a motion for 120. Second.

All those in favor? Aye.

Thank you, sir. Thank you. Take the paper if you need an extension of time, okay? Thank you.

Next case, page 57, case number 00112451. Property address 6105 Northwest 7th Avenue, page 57.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mr. Chair. Rachel Streifeld on behalf of the owners, Jennifer and Augustine Carbon. We are requesting 120 days. We have a parallel unsafe structures case. We got an appeal that we won. So now I'm waiting for the unsafe structures panel to schedule us. We would appreciate actually a recommendation or an urging from this board. to have the city schedule us before the unsafe structures panel at the soonest possible hearing. We would like to get a new order from unsafe structures so that we can move forward and resolve the issue quickly. So 120 days is the extension, and if you wanted to add an urging that the city schedule us for the soonest possible unsafe structures panel so we can resolve it, that'd be great.

The city's position would be this board doesn't have the authority to urge another departmental board to do anything.

And I think council knows that. Understood. Very quickly. But we could definitely help you with the extension. But it is correct.

There is an appeal. It came back. And I've already asked that it be reset. It's probably going to end up going in September. That's probably what's going to happen. Is there any way that it can go in July? We don't have hearings in August. We have a lot of hearings ahead of yours. So I don't know. I don't have the answer to the question, but... They're only doing two hearings a month instead of four because of budget cuts.

And unfortunately, our board doesn't have that power. So we can only grant you an extension of time. for the time that you may need, and you're more than welcome to come back again.

We would be very grateful for the extension of time, and we will follow up with the city through the appropriate channels to request the hearing.

The city didn't have any objection to the rest of what they're requesting.

I understand. And there's someone that's with you?

There's another attorney who doesn't have standing in this case who wants to speak to you about this case.

Yes. Yes.

Briefly.

Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. My name is Maria with offices at 150 West Flagler. We are in litigation right now with the property owners based on this case. Unfortunately, we understand the predicament. They have to go to unsafe structures, but the problem is that their building that was built without a permit encroaching upon our property so at this point we have a building that is on our property it's we have an affordable housing project which is the property that surrounds this property we're very concerned about the life safety issues that this Unpermitted structure is creating and we just hope that the city takes is you know extremely You know where this is an urgent matter that needs to be placed before unsafe structures as soon as possible so they can get over with the unsafe structures and move forward with the plans for demolition and of this unpermitted structure. So we ask again that if this can go forward in July, you know, it would really help everyone out. There is a case.

Again, this board doesn't have anything to do with the unsafe structure panel at all.

And I understand.

So asking them and putting that on them, I think, is unfair.

No, no, no, I'm not putting that on them.

The city is attempting to move forward. We are very well aware of the issue. We We will be requesting demolition, full demolition of all structures again at the next hearing, but it has to get set.

Again, I am not here to tell you what the city should do in terms of the next hearing. I just want to bring it up to this board. The urgency of this matter that we need to get this resolved, whether it's a partial demolition or a total demolition, not up to us, but it is affecting our property. Thank you so much.

Understood. Thank you. And we do have a recommendation from the city. And if I would say, it wasn't a recommendation.

We just didn't object. They've got the other thing going. So it is what it is.

It's extension of time. But what I will tell you is that, uh, the chairwoman, uh, commissioner King, she does listen to these meetings. So she probably heard you.

Okay. She's well aware of this case too. Very well.

It's in that district. So even more, there you go. Boom.

It's right across the street from her office.

Okay. So even more so.

Yeah. Okay. Good evening, Madam Chair, if you're listening. Hello.

I make a motion for 120. I second. All those in favor? Aye. Thank you.

Thank you all so much. You're more than welcome.

Okay. Next case, page 12. Case number 00044518, property address 1296 Northwest 39th Street, page 12.

And the people coming up do have a proper power of attorney, just letting you know, so go ahead to that far side.

Okay, thank you. Good evening.

Good evening. I'm Sharon Washington. This is Linda Washington. We're on behalf of our mother, Louise Washington, in regards to the violations for... Got you.

How much time are you needing? 120 days. 120 days? Okay.

Yeah, give us a second.

We'll check it for you real quick. I'm sure you're already doing it.

Yes, yes, yes.

The city recommends 120. They are in the pre-screen corrections phase of the permit.

Okay, gotcha. So we're going to make a motion, as you've seen before. We'll give you the time. There's a paper up there where you can take with you to request an additional extension of time should you start coming up on 100 plus days. Get ahead of it, okay?

I'll motion for 120. I do see here that it's non-homestead. Does your mom live there? Does Louis Washington live at the property? Maybe it's good if she applies for the homestead so she can have tax savings over there. Because I do see it's not registered here.

Yes. Do you understand? You don't have. Let me check. I'll check for you.

Sometimes that's not correct. So let's check.

We're just wondering, do you have the homestead exemption on the property? You'll save a lot of money if you do. So you don't have it on the property. Okay. So that's what the recommendation was. You should look into that. Okay. I have it here. Okay.

A motion for 120.

Okay. A second. And all those in favor? Aye. Aye. Yeah. We pay attention to the homestead exemption for residents that have that. Okay. It looks really good for you.

Do you know what it is?

Yeah. Okay. Okay?

Yeah.

Thank you. As a resident.

You can file for it online.

Okay. Yeah.

You're done? Thank you. Or at least start the process.

Okay.

You're done. Thank you.

Next case, page 49, case number 00139996, property address 5420 Southwest 7th Street, page 49. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Enrique Nunez requesting 120 days. Both permits that I'm working with, they are almost ready. One of them is probably approved tomorrow and the next one in the next week. And then it's just calling the inspections and finishing this. Okay, give us a second here.

The city recommends 120. They are both in the corrections phase. Thank you.

Motion for 120.

Second. All those in favor?

Aye. Thank you, sir. Take that paper up there if you need an extension of time. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Just in case. I could do this special appearance, though?

Do you want to do mitigations or special appearance? What's your... Mitigation. You want to do mitigations first. All right. Mitigations.

Next case page. Page 4 in City View Agenda, case number CE-201-900-9804, case property address 936, Northwest 6th Street. Page 4, City View Agenda.

This is a commercial property. The lien ran to $590,500. The minimum mitigation is $15,000. Okay. Mr.

Chair, board members, good evening. My name is Christopher Pinellas. Law office is located 98 Southeast 7th Street, City of Miami, Florida. Today, we're asking for the fines to be reduced down to $15,000. Unfortunately, this property was part of a management dispute. My client came into management of the property in January of this year. We quickly pulled a ZVL report, found the violations, quickly applied for the CU and BTR, and came into compliance as soon as we got into management of the property. So, therefore, we are asking for the full reduction here. I see this...

It was a CU and a BTR.

Yeah. Can I get a motion for... Yeah, I move to reduce the fine to $15,000.

I second.

All those in favor? Aye.

Thank you so much.

Have a good evening. You're more than welcome. Thank you.

Next case would be Add-on 3. It's not a part of your agenda. The case number is 00106573... The property address is 345 Southwest 36th Avenue. It's add-on three on your code check agenda.

Is the file here?

You can state your name and address for the record.

Adrian Garcia.

Okay.

And my address is 345 Southwest 36th Avenue. Okay. It's not my personal address, but that's the address we're talking about.

One moment before we start. Okay. What is the address of the property?

345 Southwest 36th Avenue. Wait, sorry.

Is this an add-on?

Yeah, add-on three, yes.

It's not in your agenda.

Yeah, you got to look in this paper. 345.

I'm trying to find the file.

It's a mitigation, hold on.

Yes, mitigation. Hold on one second. I'm not getting it, so.

One moment.

All right.

I didn't have access to .

The total lien ran to $108,750. The violation was for, get up here, fair to maintain a lot in a safe and clean condition, vacant, blighted, and unsecured structure, and fair to maintain the exterior. I believe it was a single family home?

Yes, it was, ma'am.

Okay. And it was not owner-occupied.

My mom owned the property.

But at the time it was cited, it was not owner-occupied, correct?

No, it was not occupied by me or anyone else. It was occupied by up to 24. And then I got the demolition order, and I went through with the demolition. I got the contractor, did everything. I had just inherited the house from my mom, who passed away. Gotcha.

So it wasn't occupied at the time, it's now a vacant lot, but they would still be eligible for the past previous immediate use would be as a unoccupied single family home, which would take it to a minimum of 10,000, but in a unanimous vote, you can take it down to as low as zero. Thank you. Just so that you know.

How long did your mom own the house?

My mom owned the house for about 15 years, but she didn't live in it either. The gentleman that lived in it, he didn't pay rent. He had an agreement with my mother that he was going to fix up the house, but he really didn't. And then when the notices that came, I never got them. He would hide them. He would just fix the house until they got to condemn. Then he came to me. and the house was going to be demolished. I just inherited the house. I had to spend a lot of money demolishing it, permits. After that, I had to pay some fines, and I finished out everything that was under compliance. I even had to sod the property after it was demolished. I had the electricity. It was cold.

Make a motion to bring it down to zero.

Second.

All those in favor?

Aye. Thank you so much.

Did I hear? No. Hold on, sir. It has to be unanimous.

Somebody said no. Plus, you can't leave anyway.

You need to get an order before you go.

It needs to be unanimous. There was a no. Can we do a take roll call?

Okay, roll call. Moshe Malka?

Yes.

Mr. Ulysses Edith? Yes. Juan Galan?

Yes.

Keon Williams?

Yes.

Mr. Javier Rodriguez?

No.

Motion passed. Motion fails. Sorry, motion fails.

Can I have another motion? I would move to reduce to 5,000.

I second that. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye.

No. I said no. Roll call.

So we got two nos. Mr. Moshi Malka? Yes. Mr. Ulysses Adias?

Yes.

Mr. Juan Galan?

No.

Mr. Keon Williams? No. Mr. Javier Rodriguez? Yes.

All right. Can we get another motion? That motion fails. Okay.

Mr. Moshi Malka?

No, we need a new motion.

I'll motion for $2,500. Reduce the fine to $2,500. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Motion for $2,500. Thank you. Thank you. Wait for your paper here, sir. Wait for your order.

Sometimes it's worth the wait.

Madam Attorney, you have a new Salesforce update that's going to take place.

Better hustle before my computer goes off again. Actually, it wasn't my fault before. Okay, next case. Allegedly.

Next case, page 112. Property address, sorry, case number 00102. 837. Property address 3499 Northwest 7th Avenue.

This is the code check agenda, page 112. And I already did the math. You're going to be so proud of me. The lien ran to $1,750. It's an industrial property. 20% of $1,750 is $350. So that would be the minimum. Ma'am, can you state your name and address for the record? Teresa Arias, 3499 Northwest 7th Avenue.

Do you live at the property?

I'm sorry?

No, it's an industrial.

Yeah, it's industrial. Okay. So the minimum would be $15,000. However, it's only $1,750, of which 20% is $350. All right.

Does $350 sound okay for you?

I move to reduce it to $350. Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Thank you.

Thank you. Wait for your order, okay?

Thank you. You're welcome. Less than a ticket.

Next case, page 65. This is a code check agenda. Case number 00101024. Property address 1761 West Flagler Street, page 65.

This person has a power of attorney. It is a commercial property. The lien ran to $123,250. The minimum is $15,000.

Good evening.

Hi, good evening. My name is Natalie and I'm here for 1761 West Flagler Street.

Okay. Why should we reduce this down?

So the property they inherited, I believe it was the BTR and the CU. The property owner, when he purchased it, he inherited it. We did everything to legalize it. We had to get a building permit to make, there was like build out in the property. We got a building permit. We did the plumbing. The electrical, the fire inspection, we did everything possible. I added a mop sink, I added a water fountain, everything to reach compliance. I passed every inspection and we try our best to do it as timely as possible. Right now, we have no violation and we're up to clear with everything.

Roughly, how much money would you say you spent on the entire project?

It was months of work, to tell you the truth. It was a bunch of permits that I had to do. I had to go to the city. We had inspectors several times. As you know, there's always fixes. Contractors, my contractor... left me and I had to deal with a project. I became project manager for the property. Thousands of dollars.

So you're here as the tenant on behalf of the owner?

No, I'm the power of attorney.

But you're the tenant of the property?

No, I'm his assistant. Okay.

I move to reduce it to $15,000. All right. So right now it stands at $123,250. So it's a discount.

We would really appreciate it.

Okay.

Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Wait for your paper, okay?

Next case, 7, page 7, City View Agenda, case number CE2020004225, property address 730 Northwest 17th Avenue, page 7 in the City View Agenda.

This is a single family home with homestead exemption. Okay. The lien ran to $477,750. Okay. Hold on. The minimum is $5,000 or it can go as low as zero with a unanimous vote. Our inspector contacted us with regards to this property. She did send an email. saying that one of the issues at the time was one of the elderly people, that they had a hard time. It took a while to get them through it. So they wanted you to take that into consideration when you determine what you want to do. But again, it is eligible to go as low as zero with a unanimous vote.

Okay.

And they did take care of the problem.

It just took a while.

Good evening. My name is Marcel Riera. I am the owner of the property. Okay.

My dad, Rafael Riera. Dad lives in the property. Sorry? I was saying dad lives at the property. Who lives at the property? He's there now. Gotcha. Gotcha. Thank you. That's all. Okay.

So the reason I'm here is to request a mitigation of the code enforcement fines. First, I'd like to start with saying that we do not deny the responsibility for the issues in the property. There was work that needed to be completed. From the beginning, we accepted that responsibility, and we worked continuously towards bringing the property to compliance, which we've done today. The property Everything has been finalized. What we asked the board to consider today is that the length of this case, it was not because of a result of neglect or avoidance. On the contrary, there were a series of extraordinary events that we had during the process that were beyond our control and we'd like to summarize and walk through the timeline with you, if that's okay. First, the property was cited in February of 2020 At the time, nearly after, we had COVID. And as you may know, with the pandemic, there were shutdown of businesses, disrupted government operations, and several delays. We also had significant financial hardship for our family. My dad lost his job. So with that, anyway, we continued supporting our household while I was attending college during that process. Despite those issues, we still moved forward. We got an architect. We got ASPIL certifications. We worked with getting engineering documents and preparing the permit applications. So the project was moving forward at the time. Later down the line, following the city instructions, we got in touch with a contractor to obtain all the permits and manage the project. After receiving the payment, the contractor just informed us that the project was, quote-unquote, too complex, and just walked out and never talked to us again. So, of course, took our money. That was a major setback, and we consulted the legal counsel as well, as we were advised by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, but basically it was unresolved. So that was one of the setbacks that we had. Rather than abandoning the project, what we did is we requested for permission to continue under the owner-builder process, which we did. We passed the required examinations, and the building department approved for that and allowed us to continue moving forward. The building permits were ultimately approved by February 2022, but we had more approvals that were needed by Sony and Public Works and Miami-Dade County, which created additional delays as well. I'd like to highlight as well that during this time we had significant medical hardships in our family. By April of 2022, my stepmother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments over several months to a year. Only weeks after, my father, which is here with me, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, requiring excessive treatment that resulted in substantial out-of-pocket costs.

Mr. Herrera, I don't want to cut you off, but I just would like to make a motion. I think you qualify to reduce it down to zero.

Second. And by the way, you see, I was just listening. Yeah, I wanted to give you an opportunity to speak, but... Yeah, you took the time to prepare statements, and so I wasn't going to interrupt, but I had already knew what my motion was going to be, and I was going to recommend it to my board members to do the same. So, but... Yeah, move to reduce it to zero. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Wait for your order over there. And I'm glad to see you're here, sir. Okay. So the little we can do, I'm glad we can do it, okay? Thank you.

Next case.

Next case, page 16.

The City View Agenda. Case number CE2021005010. Property address 753 Southwest 2nd Street, page 16.

This property is a duplex with homestead exemption. The lien ran to $222,450. The minimum is $5,000 or may go down to zero with a unanimous vote. Sir, can you repeat what I'm saying to her? The lien... ran to $222,450. This is a homestead-exempt duplex property. The minimum is $5,000. Or with a unanimous vote, the board can go as low as zero. Okay. So, okay, have her go ahead. State her name?

Yeah. Her name is Imar Fernandez.

OK. And can you ask her why she's here for mitigation?

There was a violation, but everything was taken care of. And everything is in compliance.

Does she have the means? I like him. Sorry? Actually, does she have the means to pay the violation?

This was for a rear structure in the back.

I think she has no idea.

Can you ask her who else lives in the property besides herself? It's a duplex. Can you ask her who else lives in the property besides herself? Is there anyone else that lives in the property? Does she rent the property?

Only her.

Okay.

And she constructed the rear?

They demolished the illegal rear structure.

They demolished it, okay.

They started doing the demolition in 2021.

She didn't make the build. It was like that. It was like that. She put it into compliance.

Right, so they demolished it, complied it, you don't call it in, it starts running and running and running until it pops up and you go, oh, I forgot to let code know that I finalized my demolition permit to call them out.

Can I have a motion for zero?

I'll make a motion to bring it down to zero. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Wait for your order.

Next case, page 93. Case number 00119594, property address 1711, Southwest 11th Street, page 93 in the code check agenda.

This is a T3 property. It does not have homestead exemption. The lien ran to $58,500. $800. This is incorrect, city attorney.

Page 93. Page 93. Yeah, just in our paper it says it's homestead exempt. No, it says it has it.

Yeah, in our paper it says they have homestead. And then it's also $58,800. Hold on, let me check. But you may have something different, so I'm going to confirm. And you can state your name and address for the record. Okay.

Good evening. My name is Marinela Rubichek and my husband, Christian Baton. We're both property owners of our single family home. And as said, we just, I mean, we earlier in the year, we realized we should have requested homestead. So did you just do it?

It's not in the system yet. That's why I'm asking, but you live there. We live there for three years. So it doesn't have homestead exemption, but they reside. So the minimum is $5,000 or with a unanimous vote, you can go down to zero. Okay. Okay.

So we're here because back in January of 2025, we started engaging a contractor to build a fence for our home. We live on 17th Avenue, and we've seen multiple car accidents and just people intruding into our house. As a result, we wanted to build a fence. initiated from good intention. We contracted this person who was committing to us that the permitting process was on track. He gave us his word. He showed us paperwork. He asked my husband for signatures, notarizing documents, proving that the document and permit was in place, which was just not true. Right around Jan 29th, we received, to our surprise, a notice of violation due to performing work without a permit. We also had our baby two days after this, so this was just very crazy. About a couple of months later, we received a notice to come here to present ourselves, and it was a genuine mistake. We missed the date. We were just having a baby, and the baby was eight weeks old. and immediately after we realized, we called Inspector Castillo. We talked to her, and she was extremely supportive throughout the process. We talked to the contractor. He engaged a permit runner. They ran through this process for months, getting nowhere, and then in August, we took over the process. We requested for access. We went to the city. We talked to a lot of people in every department.

Inspector Castillo did also email us on this one, letting us know that they worked very hard the entire time. The one mistake that happened was not requesting the extension of time. Otherwise, they did things as fast as they could.

Gotcha.

I would move to make a reduction to zero. I second.

All those in favor? Aye. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Congrats on the little one, you know. Thank you.

Next case, page 23, City View Agenda. Case number CE201701. Oh, sorry. Never mind. Ignore me. 7013573. Property address is 680 Northeast 53rd Street. Page 23, City View Agenda.

This is a homestead-exempt single-family home. The lien ran to $700,500. The minimum is $5,000. Or, by unanimous vote, you can go down to zero. Or.

Good evening.

No, that was it. There was no or after that.

Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the board. For the record, my name is Javier Fernandez. I'm counsel to the owner, Ms. Reese. This is a failure on her part to procure a defense permit in advance of completing the improvements She then worked with her contractor to try to remediate the situation. My understanding of the facts is that at one point they were trying to close out the permit, which they filed for, I believe, in 2020. And they believed they had an encroachment issue, went to their neighbor and couldn't resolve getting their consent. It turns out, after we looked at the plans, there was no encroachment issue and the permit could be closed out. Hence the reason such a long period of time between the violation and the permit being opened. given that it's a fairly minor violation.

It was a wood fence.

A wood fence. There you go. And given that it's their first violation, we certainly ask the board to consider reducing it to zero or by unanimous vote, maybe $2,500. I have a motion for zero.

Just a question. You said there was the violation and the encroachment issue. How long was that encroachment issue?

They believe there was an encroachment. I represent her husband under the matter. We kind of got engaged to look at the file when He brought it to me and said, can you help us get this resolved? And when we looked at the comments on ePlan, there was no encroachment comment referenced. They believed because the neighbor had objected to some of the work that they had built the fence across the property line. We looked at the survey with the fence placement. There was no issue. And the permit was able to be closed out fairly shortly thereafter. So, again, there is no encroachment. I wanted to just say that was one of the reasons that it took so long.

I second the motion that somebody brought up here.

There was no motion? I was asking to have a motion.

I'll make a motion to bring it down to zero.

Second.

All those in favor? Aye.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Next case is an add-on, and you guys don't have it on your agenda or in the books. Okay. It was not in the print. Okay, it's add-on four, case number 00113052, property address 170 Northeast 39th Street. It's a mitigation. Okay, good evening.

Hi, good evening. Can you state your name and address for the record?

My name is Clemente Cintron. Good evening. My name is Clemente Cintron. I'm here on behalf of the owner of Archive 79, LLC, Federico Bertelli. Okay. Hold on a second. The lien ran to $84,750. Okay. It's a commercial property. Okay.

So the minimum is $15,000, which is still less than 20%. Of the $84,750. I mean, 20% would have been $16,000.

Yeah, it would be $16,000 and change. $16,800. Yeah, okay. So we can reduce it down to $15,000. That's the lowest we can go.

Okay. Are you cool with that? Well, I'm on behalf of the owner. He's okay with that. I just wanted to represent him. He's ready to sell his property this Friday. Okay. So thank you for everyone that helped out with the city and getting into this mitigation hearing for today. As far as the lien and the fees, is that something that could be addressed? Can you pay the fees tomorrow and have a clear lien? Sure. Is that something that...

So when you pay it, the lady to your left, right there, and the other one behind her, they're the ones who open the invoice. You can get their information after they've called up the next case in between. Ask them for their information, and then they can issue the invoice for you so that you can go ahead and pay it online. It's not going to be available tonight, but they have to enter everything from here into the system so they can do an invoice for you, and then you'll be able to pay, I would suggest. that you pay by credit card and don't bring in a check, because the check is 10 to 14 days. It still takes a few days to clear, but once you have proof of payment, it usually goes in, it'll probably be through by early next week.

Can I get a motion for 15,000?

Yeah, move to reduce it to 15,000. Second.

All those in favor? Aye.

Thank you, have a great evening. You're more than welcome.

Next case is a special appearance. It's also an add-on. Okay. It should be on your agenda. It's code check. Add on one. Case number 00109135. Property address 1742 Northwest 42nd Street. Hold on. Add on one.

I'm going to pull up the documents.

His name is Emiliano Villafranca. Okay.

This is for what mitigation?

This is a special appearance. So I'm guessing that he is looking for a partial release. Okay. I'm pulling up the documents now. Do we have a copy of the request in here as well?

It's 1736 Northwest, 42nd Street. This one is apparently clear everything is good on this property, and they want to release so they can sell this property while they deal with the other one.

Okay, so he's the original violating owner.

Correct.

Have they pulled any permits? On... The property address that has the lien is 1742 Northwest 42nd Street.

Correct, exactly.

What is the address they want released?

I'm sorry, which one?

What's the address that they want the partial release for?

1736 Northwest 42nd Street. 1736 Northwest? 42nd Street.

42nd Street. Is this a duplex? No, it's a yard.

It's a lien. It's a vacant lot.

Do they have any permits? No. Where's your, explain him, the permit to comply the 2024 violation is only an applicant upload. Ask him what's going on.

This one has a process number and they're working with the city to

You haven't uploaded your plans. I'm showing you now, this is the empty lot.

That's right next door.

Right, you have a process number, but you have no plans.

They submitted all the documents.

No.

He's showing me a paper. Do you want me to show it? Yeah.

We're looking at it. He's looking at it online. Okay. 1742 Northwest 46th.

As additional original structure all done without permit.

And they're trying to sell the land and they're trying to sell an adjacent property.

It's 1736, which is the land.

And that's the one right next door. It's the empty lot next door.

They can't sell it because there's a lien. Well, because he's got a lien, so...

Right, well, it's in his name because he's the violating owner, so...

I don't know, can we grab him?

So, he's got... Is this the owner, or who's this guy? This is the owner? This is the owner. Okay. So if you look, you see you have new construction. I don't know what that means. Right. And then you have, from 2025, applicant waiting for applicant upload for accessory structures. You're building something there, but I...

He's... According to the... Project Docs, which is what would house those documents, they don't have anything on file. Right. They submitted something today. They submitted something today. But it's not reflecting yet.

It's not a new construction. He's telling me that he's putting an existing construction up to code or in compliance.

Oh. Previous. Yes. Yeah. It's all right.

There's an illegal unit. Is somebody still residing in that unit?

In which one?

Ask him, it had an illegal unit. Does he have somebody living in that other structure?

What is he saying? There's nobody there.

Can you ask him if the vacant lot is under contract? Or it's just for sale? Yes. Do they have a closing date?

When's the closing date?

July 21st. So he's selling the vacant lot so that he can get all the funding that he needs to bring everything into compliance on his current property. And so he's been in contact with the inspector.

So you need to come up and put your name on the record so we can hear you because it's not going to pick it up.

Got you. Trent Alvarado and I'm the realtor for Emiliano Villafranca. Yeah. So he's been in contact with the inspector. He's going through a situation at work right now where he hurt his knee. He has to go through surgery. He's about to retire. So the funding that he needs in order to bring everything into compliance. He doesn't have, basically. So that's the reason for the sale for the vacant land. He just didn't know that it had a cross-collateral lien. So as a result, that's why we're here. But he's going to use the funding in order to bring everything into compliance. And the inspector appointment that he has already scheduled, that the GC has contacted, is going to give him basically an outline of what he needs to get done in order to do that.

Is there already a fine imposed on the

Yes, so we've got a running fine because he didn't request an extension of time. So we've got a lien. So the city cannot agree to, as I said at the beginning, cannot agree to any partial releases because the city says the city may not release, provide any sort of partial release for a violating owner from any lien for any reason. You are the code board. You may do as you wish. So it's entirely up to you whether you want to grant a partial release or not. And unanimous vote is not required, just majority.

I mean, the only issue is kind of like he can't come into compliance if he doesn't sell the law, but he doesn't lean on the law.

He could just knock down the illegal back structure and return it to a single family home.

Is that the only violation there is?

That's not what he's doing.

Would it ever be able to get up to compliance?

Is that the only violation, the illegal unit?

It's the illegal structure, yes, in the back. That's his violation.

Would it be possible? Some illegal units you cannot bring into compliance ever.

I couldn't tell you. They've just sort of attached something to the back, but they haven't applied for a remodeling permit. They have applied for a new construction permit, which is not what you apply for if you're going to legalize a structure, right? So they're not, I mean, but they haven't uploaded any plans, so nobody could tell you what they're doing.

I mean, I think at best we should continue this until there's something in the file.

Yeah, maybe until we could see their actual file. Did you explain to him?

You know, this is, as you can see, this is what, it says accessory structure, storage laundry room. So it doesn't say that he's trying to turn it into a duplex anymore.

Did you explain to him what you just said?

Since it was... Okay, update. Since it was submitted, I see it was submitted, it hasn't been accepted, so I'm looking at, I'm going through what he has there. Since it was submitted at 2 p.m. today, two hours ago, three hours ago, a reviewer hasn't accepted it yet, but I can see what they submitted.

Yeah.

You can see or you cannot see?

I can.

You can?

Yeah, I'm going through it to see what it is.

Okay.

But again, it's new construction, which... Would not be the correct category for this. Right. Right. You would either have a demolition to knock down this. Hold on a second. This illegal back structure. Let me get back to where you can see it. The illegal back structure. Or you would have a repair remodel permit to attempt to legalize it.

Is it the little roof?

No, this, yeah, right in here.

I know it's a little dark. Where the door is. Yes.

That's the best picture I could find of it for you.

Just so I can explain it properly to them. What you're seeing on file is a new construction permit. instead of a remodeling, which is what it should be? Is that right? Yes. Well, I don't know.

Can you ask them what they're actually intending on doing? Like, are they trying to build something new?

Bring it up to compliance. They're trying to put an existing structure into compliance.

because the system is telling us that they applied for a new construction.

That's what I'm asking, and he says, no, that's not what they're doing.

Well, the thing is because it hasn't been reviewed yet.

Right, because they just did it today.

I think at best we should continue this until the documents are in the system and we can make an educated decision or an informed decision based on what's been submitted. I think they're kind of premature being here.

What is he saying? He's saying the structure is old? He's saying that these are pictures, updated pictures of what's there. So this portion, it's not there in that picture. Right.

Well, then he's now done more illegal work.

Yeah, because he didn't have a permit to demonstrate.

I mean, I don't know. If he knocked down the illegal back, then he's illegally knocked it down. Doing a new construction thing isn't going to help him. He's going to have to get a demolition permit for whatever was knocked down.

Sounds like he needs to get with the inspector. He's saying this is the one they're requesting permission for, but it's already done.

That's an empty lot.

No, this is the property that has the main lean-on. Correct. Yeah, we're looking at it right now.

Did they knock it down? He's moving his hand like this.

I don't know what this means.

Okay.

ask him if that unit exists and he put a fence and separated no the unit with the doors tell him if that's still there yeah so they demolish he says it's no longer there okay he doesn't have a demo permit to demolish anything so He has to get a demo permit before demolishing anything. Otherwise, he's still operating without a permit. That's what the problem is. So he has to get a demo permit before he can do anything.

If you want to reset this for the 8th of July so that they can bring in the proper paperwork, maybe the plans, so that you guys have a better idea. Yeah.

July 8th. And be in touch with your inspector to...

So the issue he's having is the monetary issue in order to... Right, but... So that's why he's here, in order for him to actually proceed with doing the correct...

Yes, sir, but he still has to properly explain what he's done to the property and what he's planning to do to it, because under the city code, he's not entitled to any partial release. If they give it to him, they have the choice to do that, but it's not allowed under the city code.

Yeah, but we're not going to give it because...

what he's already he's continuing to do things without the right permit so get the permit we'll we can do that then but we're not going to do it they'll see what the file they'll they'll be able to look at whatever's been uploaded by the 8th right he they just uploaded stuff today it's not the reviewers have i think they do 48 hours so 48 hours to review it right So we have to wait that 48 hours. Our next hearing of the board, the very next one, is July 8th. Do you want to reset it for that?

Yeah, I move to reset to July 8th. Second. All those in favor? Aye.

And maybe be in touch with the inspector to clarify everything that's wrong, what needs to be done, and how it should be presented as well in front of the board because they're the best people to guide you.

Correct. Understood. Thank you. Okay? Please tell me we don't have anything else.

We have one more thing, but this is really quick. What? Okay, it's actually for FDOT, so it's pretty simple. But I don't see it here in this special... Where's the file? 1497. Maybe they put it in the wrong one. The 1497 Northwest 27th Avenue. Where's that file?

Not there.

Maybe it's in EOTs. All right, I'll just call this up. This is a request for a partial release from the Florida Department of Transportation. They are the non-violating. party for 1497 Northwest 27th Avenue from case number 00110146. The property owner and violator is Grand Auto Central LLC. They still own that property. They have not brought it into compliance. FDOT in doing FDOT things.

Grand Central here?

Huh?

Wasn't they here?

Yeah, they were on the other island.