Code Enforcement Board - Regular Meeting

the other day.

Welcome to tonight's Miami Shores village code enforcement meeting presided by chair Hubert the board members present this evening are all volunteers Residents of Miami Shores village and your neighbors the board is charged with enforcing the code and are interested in compliance with the code Village staff is represented today by Mr. Michael Orda, Mr. Leopold Lewis, who will present all cases of violation hearings on behalf of the village. The village clerk is Ms. Emily Smith, who is responsible for ensuring that you are properly checked in and also to record today's proceedings. At this time, please ensure that you have checked in with Ms. Smith. My name is Jose Arango. I am the attorney representing the Village in today's hearing. I am present as counsel and am not prosecuting the cases this evening. I will briefly explain what will happen tonight so that you all understand how the hearing works. There are three different types of hearings that will be heard tonight. First hearing, penalty hearing, and a request for relief. the first hearing first hearing is for persons who have been issued a notice of violation and this is the first time you come on that notice for a violation an issue and the issue that will be addressed is is there a violation of the code on the on the property in question the chair will call each case by address. If it is your case, please come up to the podium and speak directly into the microphone in order for your testimony to be properly recorded. If you dispute the violation, the Chair will inquire whether you agree this is a violation on your property or should the Village present evidence to adjudicate the violation. If you do dispute the charge, the Village will then present its evidence, including any photographs of the violation, and provide testimony of the violation. If you have the right to cross-examine the Village Code officer about any testimony, the Board may also question you or the officer's testimony as well. You will then have the opportunity to present your case to the Board and present any relevant evidence. The Board will then adjudicate the case by majority vote and assign a deadline for compliance. Second type of hearing is a penalty hearing. This second type of hearing is for those who have already had their first hearing and given a date to cure the violation. The primary issue to be determined for the penalty hearing is whether you have met the deadline for compliance. If the violation has not been corrected by the deadline, the Board will impose a lien. If you testify that you cured the violation on time or if you wish to request more time, the Board may hear your testimony. The third type of hearing is the request for relief. This request for relief is for persons who have already been found in violation and have incurred fines and have cured the violation and are now seeking to settle the accrued fines with the board. This is not an appeal but a settlement negotiation. In this regard, the board will only vote on one proposal per applicant per meeting. As a result of this procedural rule, at some point during the hearing, the chair will ask you a final question. Is this your best and final offer? You can raise or lower the offer, but once the board votes on the number, that is the only number they will be considering. Everyone who is here today who will be speaking on a matter, please stand and raise your right hand to be sworn in. Do you swear that the testimony we'll give today is the truth and nothing but the truth?

I do.

Thank you.

All right. All right, Madam Clerk, would you call roll?

Board Member Buenaventura?

Present. Board Member Berryman? Present. Board Member Henn?

Present.

Board Member Pearl?

Here.

Board Member Rodriguez?

Present.

Chair Hubert?

Here. All right. Thank you for coming to this evening's Code Enforcement Board hearing. This Board is empowered to hear evidence in order to reach findings of fact and conclusions of law for the purpose of resolving cases that come before it. A finding of a violation in any case before us may lead to costs being assessed and a daily fine being levied for violations of the Village's Code of Ordinances. The Board is always interested in comments or statements that will help us make a determination in each case. And we are always interested in compliance rather than levying fines. If you have not already done so, please come forward and give your name to the clerk so that we may know you're here. If there is no objection, we will consider at one time all cases involving the same piece of property. All right. Madam Clerk, is anyone present for first hearing?

No, sir.

All right. All right. So at this time, the chair observes that there have been no appearance by anyone on behalf of the alleged violators in connection with case numbers 0426104, 0426165, 01269, 1025342, 1025351, Mr. Director, do the case files on all these matters contain affidavits attesting to the existence of the code violations alleged and demonstrating proper notice to the alleged violator of tonight's hearing?

They do, Mr. Chair.

All right. At this time, I will entertain a motion for summary adjudication.

Mr.

Chair, I move for summary adjudication of all such cases to include a finding of fact and conclusion of law that a violation exists as charged in the respective notice of violations issued therein and that in each such case the offending party shall correct the violation within the time period specified by staff in staff's recommendations for these hearings and immediately notify the code enforcement officer when the property is brought into compliance. In each such case, if the violation is not brought into compliance within such time period, the code enforcement officer may report this fact back to the board in accordance with the board's rules and regulations at which time a fine is hereby authorized to be automatically assessed against the violator in the respective daily amounts specified in staff's recommendations for tonight's hearing. Retroactive to the original compliance deadline, which will constitute a lien on the property of the violator further With respect to each such case costs in the amounts specified in staffs Recommendations for tonight's hearing are hereby assessed in order to recoup the villages expenses in prosecuting the violations to date All right second by rod would you call roll?

I

Board Member Buenconcejo?

Yes.

Board Member Berryman?

Yes.

Board Member Han?

Yes.

Board Member Per? Yes. Board Member Rodriguez? Yes. Chair Huber?

Yes. All right. Madam Clerk, is anyone present for second hearing?

No, sir. Moving right along.

Also on tonight's agenda is a matter of staff's request for orders imposing previously adjudicated fines as a penalty for lack of timely compliance with the board's prior orders. I will now call the penalty cases on the agenda. We have case 0124541, case 012630, case 022639, case 022647, case 0725188, case 0925312. Mr. Director, do the files in all these penalty cases contain an appropriate affidavit demonstrating in each such case the violations referenced in your request continue to exist subsequent to the date on which they were to have been corrected in accordance with the previous orders of this board and that to date no one has contacted code enforcement to advise that these violations have been corrected?

They do and they have not.

I will now entertain a motion to impose fines.

Mr. Chair, I move that in each case currently remaining on the penalty docket for tonight's hearing its respective violator be ordered to pay the daily fine previously adjudicated and authorized to be imposed against them by prior order of the Board. Retroactive from the day the violation was to have been corrected. That upon recording, the Board's order in this regard will constitute a lien on the property of the violator.

Do I have a second? Second. All right. Third. Madam Clerk, would you call roll?

Board Member Rodriguez?

Yes.

Board Member Pearl. Yes. Board Member Hine. Yes. Board Member Berryman. Yes. Board Member Buenconcejo. Yes. Chair Huber.

Yes. All right. Thank you very much. Madam Clerk, is anyone present for a request for relief?

Yes, sir. You have William Hunter, 9417 Northeast 9th Avenue. All right.

All right. If you would approach and state your name and address for the record.

William Hunter, 9417 Northeast 9th Avenue.

All right, and we are here for case 68-2021. The fine amount is $74,500. Mike, do we know what the case is? Work without permits. It's work without permits? Okay. All right. Please explain why we – let's see. I don't have an offer here. Oh, yeah, we do. We have an offer for $7,000. Please explain why we should accept your offer.

I was here March before you all. I believe that I had paid the $7,000, and I really believe I had so that when the house was being sold, when I came back in here – All of a sudden, I was blown away. I was totally, I believed that I had paid it, and then I realized that the house could not be sold. The date has been pushed off to the 12th of this month, and so now I am hoping that you will accept my $7,000 offer, and I don't know if you wish to hear more from me. I've made all the repairs. Everything is up to date on the house. And I just was totally mystified when I did come in here and was told that I'd never paid the $7,000. I was convinced that I had way back in March. So that's where all this stands right now. So I'm here before you to do whatever I need to do to write a check right now, do whatever you wish.

Yeah, we can't take checks that has to go to the clerk, and now there will be a couple days until they can accept it. What do we say now, Mike, the end of next week, until the clerk's ready to receive the payment?

I'll have to deal with that information.

Yeah, you have the new sheet? Yes, sir. Okay. All right. Does anyone have any questions or comments?

So this has been adjudicated for $7,000 already, right?

Yeah, we have the original order here.

He accidentally missed the payment deadline.

Yeah, which was 60 days.

I'm good with this.

Any discussion? All right, so we have a fine amount of $74,500. The amount offered is $7,000. Is that your best and final offer?

Yes, it is. And how long would you need to pay? Immediately, as soon as it's allowed.

30 days?

Tomorrow, whenever I can do it.

The earliest will be the end of next week.

Okay.

So 30 days. All right, do I have a motion?

Move to accept.

Second. Seconded by Mr. Perl. Madam Clerk, would you call roll?

Board Member Hand?

Yes.

Board Member Berryman?

Yes.

Board Member Buenconcejo?

Yes.

Board Member Pearl?

Yes.

Board Member Rodriguez? Yes. Chair Huber?

Yes. All right. Well, let's make sure that we get it taken care of this time. It will be. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Herr. All right. Madam Clerk, do we have anyone else present for a request for relief?

Yes, sir. You have Brian Finney.

Okay. Please approach and state your name and address for the record. Good evening.

Brian Finney, 9025 Northeast 4th Avenue, Miami Shores, Florida.

And that's your residence? Yes, sir. Okay. So we're here for case 101312030. The fine amount is $249,445. Mike, do we know what the case is?

It was a deteriorated portion of the front entrance of the house. It was more of a decorative part of the house. Okay. It wasn't structural.

Okay. All right. So the amount offered is $1,000. Please explain why we should accept your offer.

There was some miscommunication on my behalf. I had assumed very early in the process that the work that needed to be done was demolition. So I applied for a demolition permit and found out subsequently that demolition was not required. During the process, I was asked to bring back a sketch from an attorney so I could move forward on the demolition. during that research I'm not an attorney from an architect during that process the architect informed me that Brian this is a piece of decorative wood you do not need to tear down your porch I was surprised I assume a permit was never issued because I never went back with the architectural drawing which is my fault but I did NO PERMIT, I MEAN, NO PERMIT REQUIRED WORK. I HAVE TONIGHT WITH ME J.C. THE CONTRACTOR, HANDY MAN, WHO ACTUALLY DID THE WORK, PREPARED THE WORK FOR ME. I WENT BACK AND SEARCHED GOOGLE AND BASED ON WHAT I COULD FIND, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T DO EVERY DAY, THE WORK WAS DONE BETWEEN SOMETIME BETWEEN 2014 AND 2015. SO I DID THE RESEARCH ON THAT. AND AGAIN, I MEAN, I WAS STAFFED TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME. IT WAS CLEAR, BUT NOT TO to be dramatic about it, but during that period I went through six surgeries and I had insurance bills and medical bills coming in. So if they sent it, I can tell you that that was the stack that I was focused on at that point in time. I CAME TO THE CITY ORIGINALLY IN GOOD FAITH. I DIDN'T TRY TO SCIRT ANY REGULATIONS. I ASKED FOR A PERMIT BECAUSE I THOUGHT I NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE THAT THE CITY RAISED. SO I HUMBLY ASK, WELL, I HUMBLY ASK FOR YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF MY OFFER.

ALL RIGHT. YOU DIDN'T HAPPEN TO SCREEN CAP OR PRINT OUT THAT STREET VIEW, DID YOU, WITH THE FIX?

I have. My wife and my daughter looked at Google. I don't know what that is.

Okay. So we don't have a screenshot of it or anything? Okay. Do we have any questions or comments from the board?

No.

Is the property currently for sale, for refinance?

It's for refinance, not for sale. It's my home.

Okay. Refinance. Okay. And you live there? Yes, sir. Okay. All right. Anyone have any questions? Okay. Hearing none, the amount, fine amount is $249,445. The offer is $1,000. Is that your best and final offer?

For administrative expenses, since I used to work for government, I'd increase it to $3,000.

Okay. So $3,000 payable in how long would you need to pay? 30 days? All right. Let's say 60 days. All right. So we have an offer for $3,000 payable in 60 days. Do I have a motion? Yes. All right. I think you grabbed that one. You want to second it, Mr. Hunt?

Second.

All right. So, Madam Clerk, would you call roll?

Second.

Board Member Furr? I'm going to recuse myself for the same reasons that I did last month.

Okay. Just a minute. Abstain.

Abstain. Oh, okay. Abstain, recuse, abstain.

Abstain, not recuse.

Board Member Winconcejo?

No.

Board Member Berryman?

Yes.

Board Member Hahn?

Yes.

Board Member Rodriguez? Yes. Chair Huber?

Yes. All right. So the motion carries. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Like I said, you won't be able to get an estoppel letter until the end of next week, and she won't be able to accept payments until the end of next week. All right. All right. Has everyone had a chance to review the meeting minutes? Yes. All right. Do I have a motion? I move to approve. Rod moved to approve. Does somebody want a second? Second. All right. There we go. All right. All in favor say aye. All opposed say nay. Aye. The ayes have it. Motion carries. Do we have any other points of discussion? Not this month. Not this month. All right. You should tell people to read that thing. All right.

Do I have a motion to adjourn?

So moved. All right. Do I have a second? Second. All in favor say aye. All opposed say nay. Aye. All right. We are now adjourned.