Code Enforcement Board - Special Meeting

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Call the 05/06/2026 Special Magistrate Hearing to order. The first item is case number CEBD24Dash00524 Mildred h Neary. Has anyone registered to speak?

Yes. The respondent is present.

Mister Neary is present. Okay. Alright, then I'd ask the city to present their case.

Yes, your honor. Thank you. On this one, just again briefly in the background on it, the probate case for this property has completed. There are, if I recall, about 16 owners on it. Michael Neri is here, he's the son of the deceased.

We've been trying to the city's been trying to work with him in order to get a permit either to repair it, demolish it, what have you that's basically to bring it into co compliance. But he's having difficulties with the permitting department. So we're requesting a thirty day continuous to the June 3 hearing so that we can co enforcement can meet with permitting that we can appropriately give Mr. Nir guidance to get this all resolved and hopefully he doesn't even have to come back to the June meeting. That's our goal so it doesn't even have to come back.

Okay. Nir anything you want to say? I appreciate you coming back for all these hearings. I know it's an inconvenience for you to have to do that and it's taken a while, but hopefully we'll get this resolved. So, based on the request of the city then we'll continue this hearing for thirty days to the June at ten a. M. Thank you. All right. The next matter is a citation appeal number VPD26Dash000625NellyO'Brien. I believe miss O'Brien has signed up to speak to her, correct?

Yes. She is here.

Okay. Then I'd ask the city to present its case. Okay.

Good morning. 100 For the record, Kimberly Brown, Certified Code Enforcement Officer for the City Of Venice. We're here to talk about

the parking citation 206074.

The location will be Centennial Park in the handicap spaces. On 03/1826 approximately fifteen twenty three hours, I conducted a parking enforcement inspection of the address and observed quarter were plaque or display. The During the investigation, I took photos of the property on 03/18. These photos fairly and accurately represent the depiction of what I observed.

Turn over.

There you go. You

can see the vehicle clearly in the parking space, the plate that I just stated. And that is

to the the icapped space along the

other South parking area with no placard of displayed. And I would like to offer the photographs into evidence as city composite exhibit one. On March 18, Ms. O'Brien paid fees to contest the parking citation. Miss O'Brien emailed photographs that she took for of her current handicap placard on the same day as my citation.

I would like to offer those email and photographs into city composite exhibit two. On the same day, near the end of shift, I emailed miss O'Brien O'Brien explaining the citation and asking for a conversation about the citation. On the March 19, I called miss O'Brien and explained because she contested the citation. She was reading the envelope and I think misunderstood. And immediately upon finding the citation, she came here to City Hall to pay fees to contest because she thought that's what she had to do.

Okay. Before the magistrate and requested dismissal of the citation and the return of contested funds. I further explained that the magistrate has the option to either dismiss the citation or impose the fine for not displaying her pack placard. On 04/06/2026, a UPS certified courtesy letter and notice of hearing was mailed to Ms. O'Brien stating the hearing date is scheduled for today May 6 at 10AM at City Hall. This concludes my testimony.

Thank you. Ms. O'Brien do you have any questions of the officer? Well, first, where do you want her to be? You'll have a chance to speak but first do you have any questions of the officer?

Oh I'm sorry, no.

Okay. Can I ask counsel can you read the statute to me please? Or do you have a copy of it I can read?

So specifically for the city for the city code your honor, this is 70 dash 31 subsection seven, which is handicap, which incorporates the Florida state statute, for handicap parking, is because you'll notice on our on the fee schedule everything is $25 except this one, which has a max fine of $2.50, it comes from this from the state statute. It is, and this is 316.1955 subsection one. It is unlawful for any person to stop, stand, park, stand or park a vehicle within or obstruct any specially designated or marked parking spaces provided in accordance with 553.5041 unless the vehicle displays a disabled parking permit issued under 3 161958 or 3 20848 or a license plate issued under 3284.2, 320.0843 or 320.0845.

Okay. So it's not enough just to have the placard, it has to be displayed? Correct. Okay. All right. Miss O'Brien, based on my question, do you have any questions?

No.

Okay. What would you like to say?

First of all, Officer Brown has been very kind and very accessible and I appreciate that very much. The pictures that she referenced are of the placard which had fallen. It's very hard to get it on my rearview mirror. It just doesn't fit carefully or it doesn't fit well but it was on, I put it on. I had put a box into the car and I am assuming that that hit the placard, don't know. But it was on the car, it was down, the picture shows that it was next to actually where the ticket had fallen in through the window. So it was right on the dashboard. She's correct that it wasn't hanging.

Okay.

When I got

to the car. I did not see that picture. Can you put that picture up? Which one? The one that was submitted by Ms. O'Brien.

Yes.

Okay. Sorry. Thank you.

Her placard is current.

Okay.

But it was I couldn't see it unfortunately.

Okay. Ms. O'Brien is there anything else you'd like to say?

Just one more thing which is that I appreciate and I told Officer Brown this, the care that's taken because it is awful when somebody takes a space that somebody handicapped needs. So I understand what happened and I appreciate it.

Okay. And I assume officer Brown that had she not filed the appeal right away but had shown you this photograph you would have taken that into consideration?

Had I yeah. Actually actually, your honor, I and we don't have to, but I like to walk around and try to see what I can see inside because if I see it because, you know, people do that. They forget forget or it falls down. And if I can see it, fine. I could not see it. And where miss O'Brien said she had it, there were probably other items obscuring it. So I walked around twice trying to find it.

Okay. Counsel, do you have any questions of Ms. O'Brien?

No, your honor. And just at least for the city's stance on this one, if you're fine for while we're going forward with it, we would not be seeking any additional finage up to the $250 We would we were basically just forfeiting the $25 appeal fee and then it'd just be

a zero fine. That's what we're requesting. Okay. Anything else anyone wants to present? Alright. Based on the sworn testimony and evidence presented, I find that respondent did not violate Section seventy-three 17 of the City Code of Ordinances and that the citation is dismissed. The $25 appeal filing fee shall be refunded.

Thank you.

All right. That concludes the hearings for today. Our next special magistrate hearing is on 06/03/2026 at 10:00AM, and we are adjourned. Thank you.