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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017 02 28 Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting MinutesCITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 28, 2017 CALL TO ORDER The Regular Meeting of Tuesday, February 28, 2017 of the Code Enforcement Board was called to Order by Chairperson Matthew Criswell at 5:30 p.m., in the Commission Chambers of the Municipal Building (City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434, Winter Springs, Florida 32708. Roll Call: Chairperson Matthew Criswell, present Vice - Chairperson Gregg Roero, present Board Member Carole Giltz, present Board Member Maurice Kaprow, present Board Member Bill Poe, present Board Member Dennis Robinson, present Board Member Suzanne Walker, present Senior City Attorney Jennifer Nix, present, Assistant to the City Clerk Antonia Della Donna, present A moment of silence was held followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Code Officer Rich McLaren, Code Enforcement Division, Police Department indicated that PUBLIC HEARINGS — NEW CASES 11501" would not be heard as the property came into Compliance earlier that day. Brief comments followed. Assistant to the City Clerk Antonia Della Donna swore in those who would be providing Testimony during tonight's Meeting. INFORMATIONAL AGENDA INFORMATIONAL 100. Not Used CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 2 OF 10 CONSENT AGENDA CONSENT 200. Office of the City Clerk The Office of the City Clerk Requests The Code Enforcement Board Review And Approve The January 24, 2017 Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting Minutes. REFERRING TO THE MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 24, 2017 REGULAR MEETING, "RECOMMEND APPROVAL AS CIRCULATED, MISTER CHAIR." MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER POE. SECONDED BY VICE - CHAIRPERSON ROERO. DISCUSSION. VOTE: BOARD MEMBER ROBINSON: AYE VICE - CHAIRPERSON ROERO: AYE BOARD MEMBER WALKER: AYE BOARD MEMBER KAPROW: AYE BOARD MEMBER GILTZ: AYE CHAIRPERSON CRISWELL: AYE BOARD MEMBER POE: AYE MOTION CARRIED. PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA - CONTINUED CASES PUBLIC HEARINGS - CONTINUED CASES 300. Not Used PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA - REPEAT CASES PUBLIC HEARINGS - REPEAT CASES 400. Not Used CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 3 OF 10 PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA - NEW CASES PUBLIC HEARINGS - NEW CASES 500. Code Enforcement Division — Police Department CASE #2017CE000213 Daniel L. Edminston And Stephen M. Boush 204 Wade Street Winter Springs, Florida 32708 City Code: 20 -434. - Authorized Commercial Vehicles In Residential Areas. City Code: 20 -439. - Parking Areas On Residential Lots; Design Requirements. City Code: 20 -452. - Home Occupations Or Home Offices. Inspector: Code Officer Rich McLaren Code Officer McLaren presented the Case information and testified, "February 1St, 2017, observed a box truck style vehicle and a work van with a ladder rack affixed to the roof of the vehicle parked to the left side of the residence in an area not designated for parking. A written warning issued to the residence on this date, and Notice of Code Violation was sent and posted at residence on February 5th, 2017 after condition was not corrected, which was returned unclaimed. After receiving Notices, the resident started to park both vehicles to the rear of the house; both vehicles have identical striping and lettering of a commercial business and at times have been observed to have the doors open as to appear to be restocking them for work being performed in them. The property and City Hall posted for Code Board on February 14th, [2017]; no contact, until this evening, has been made with the resident or owner of the property. The property has been noticed in the past for Violations and has corrected it." Photographs were presented from "WS -1" with further comments. Concluding his presentation, Code Officer McLaren stated, "I recommend the property be — found in Violation of City Code and given until March 13 lb of 2017 to come into Compliance. If not, a hundred fifty dollar ($150.00) a day Fine be applied." Mr. Louis Ayala, 204 Wade Street, Winter Springs, Florida: indicated that he lived at the property, offered brief information related to the company for which worked, mentioned the convenience of storing his company vehicle at his home rather than the warehouse, and noted that the vehicle would only be there during evening hours. Next, Mr. Ayala stated, "I apologize for the inconvenience of the situation that got me to be here." With additional comments, Mr. Ayala stated, "We're fixing that situation; I got one (1) of the vehicles — is leaving, just going to be one (1) vehicle." CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 4 OF 10 Chairperson Criswell commented on the important of the Code of Ordinances in relation to keeping the City clean, safe, and pleasant looking, and then pointed out the irrelevance of the time of day and stated, "You're not allowed to park there." Mr. Ayala commented on the company for which he worked including their services and vehicles. Related to parking the vehicle, Mr. Ayala stated, "So I try to park it as far as I can, so I can hide it." Brief comments followed. Speaking to Code Officer McLaren, Board Member Carole Giltz stated, "There is nowhere on his property, whether it's front, back, or side — or in front of the house, that he can park this vehicle, is that correct ?" Code Officer McLaren stated, "As per the Code, as it's written, you're allowed one (1) commercial vehicle per residential dwelling as long as it falls under certain parameters." Code Officer McLaren noted, "It can't be over eight feet (8') in height, and it can't weigh more ten thousand pounds." Further remarks. Board Member Suzanne Walker suggested asking the company to provide Mr. Ayala with a different vehicle to fit within the parameters stipulated by City Code. Mr. Ayala replied, "Yes, I can check." Additional discussion followed on possible solutions to the parking issue. Note: The Respondent was not present. "I MOVE TO FIND THE RESPONDENT IN VIOLATION OF THE CITY CODE AND ORDER THAT THE RESPONDENT BE GIVEN UNTIL MARCH 13TH, 2017 TO CORRECT THE VIOLATION. IN THE EVENT THE RESPONDENT FAILS TO COMPLY BY THIS DATE, A FINE IN THE AMOUNT OF A HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS ($150.00) PER DAY SHALL BE IMPOSED FOR EACH DAY THE VIOLATION CONTINUES THEREAFTER." MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER POE. SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER ROBINSON. DISCUSSION. VOTE: BOARD MEMBER POE: AYE BOARD MEMBER ROBINSON: AYE CHAIRPERSON CRISWELL: AYE BOARD MEMBER KAPROW: AYE BOARD MEMBER WALKER: AYE VICE - CHAIRPERSON ROERO: AYE BOARD MEMBER GILTZ: AYE MOTION CARRIED. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 5 OF 10 PUBLIC HEARINGS - NEW CASES 501. Code Enforcement Division — Police Department CASE #2016CE003521 Louis P. Bova Trustee FBO 733 Tanglewood Road Winter Springs, Florida 32708 City Code: 6 -4. - Violations. (No Building Permit) Inspector: Code Officer Terri Guerra As previously noted, this Case was not heard. PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA - NON - COMPLIANCE CASES PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA - NON - COMPLIANCE CASES 600. Code Enforcement Division — Police Department CASE #2016CE002045 Ann C. Bourgeois 635 Murphy Road Winter Springs, Florida 32708 City Code: 6 -195. - Maintenance Of Fences Or Walls. City Code: 13 -2.(c) Grass Height/Overgrown Yard City Code: 13 -2.(e) Stagnant Pool Date Of Original Hearing: October 25, 2016 Inspector: Code Officer Rich McLaren This Case was presented by Code Officer McLaren who testified, "Case started on July 14th, 2016 for a reported stagnant pool at this location. I observed the fence on all sides of the house in disrepair; grass was overgrown and the pool water was stagnant. The house appeared to be vacant. July 14th, 2016 Notice of Code Violation was sent first class Certified, return receipt requested, and returned unclaimed on August 17th, 2016. The Case was brought before Code Board on October 25th, 2016 and given a remedy date of November 15th, 2016 which they failed to meet. I spoke with a property restoration company on several different occasions in reference to the Violations in question, and they did state that they would remedy them, and the conditions still exist. This house, as it is vacant, some of the neighborhood children had jumped the back — fence and spray painted graffiti on the backdoor and went inside. They did take care of the graffiti on the door as well as — they put a padlock on the fence; the fence is still in terrible disrepair and either needs to be taken down or totally redone. The property and City Hall were posted for Non - Compliance Hearing on February 14th, 2017." CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 6 OF 10 Photographs were shown from "WS -1" with additional comments. Code Officer McLaren concluded, "I recommend the property be found in Non - Compliance, and the two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) a day Fine be applied and entered as a Lien on the property." Board Member Maurice Kaprow commented on the ease of access to the property in relation to a hazard to public safety and welfare. Code Officer McLaren stated, "It could be if someone chooses to trespass on the property — it could possibly happen." Referencing a photograph of the fence, Chairperson Criswell inquired as to what was currently holding the fence up. Code Officer McLaren replied, "Basically there's a post behind, but I can't really tell if the post is just weak or if it's just not supporting the weight." Additional comments followed on the neighboring properties. Board Member Suzanne Walker asked if the property was going through foreclosure. Referring to his conversation with the property restoration company, Code Officer McLaren answered, "They would state that to me; they only state that they were watching the property." Chairperson Criswell commented on the amount of activity on and around Murphy Road. Board Member Kaprow expressed that the property did not seem secure. Additional comments about the fence followed. Again, speaking of the property restoration company, Code Officer McLaren remarked, "They stated that they were going to have somebody come out, which they did go out, they did spray paint the backdoor and I did notice there was a padlock on the fence now whereas before it was the fence kind of just kept falling down." Board Member Walker inquired about the party responsible for the Fines. Senior Attorney Jennifer Nix stated, "The property owner that's listed in the Property Appraiser's website, which is what City Staff — that's what they reference when they send out the Notice of Violation, the Notice of Hearing, everything. That's what they're statutorily obligated to do even if it's in the midst of a — foreclosure proceeding." Further remarks. Continuing, Board Member Kaprow asked, "Assuming we were to find Non - Compliance, and apply the Fines that we either originally said we were going to apply, can we further find that this is a serious threat to public health and safety and order repair work." CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 7 OF 10 Senior Attorney Nix stated, "Well, no, because of the way that the property was `Noticed'." With additional comments, Senior Attorney Nix continued, "If you are asking, you know, such that you're trying to make an Order for the City to do something and tell City Staff — to proactively go to something about this, then that's not what this was `Noticed' for because there are separate Code provisions in the City Code for that." Senior Attorney Nix concluded, "It's not `Noticed' in that way and it would a violation of due process. So, I would recommend that the Board not do that." Note: The Respondent was not present. BOARD MEMBER GILTZ STATED, "I MOVE TO FIND THE PROPERTY IN NON - COMPLIANCE." REFERRING TO THE PENALTIES SET FORTH IN THIS BOARD'S PREVIOUS ORDER ON OCTOBER 25, 2016, BOARD MEMBER GILTZ STATED, "SHALL BE IMPOSED CONSISTENT WITH THAT ORDER." MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER GILTZ. SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER POE. DISCUSSION. MUCH DISCUSSION FOLLOWED ON PROPER NOTICE AND DUE PROCESS PROCEDURES FOR VIOLATIONS REGARDING THREATS TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY PURSUANT TO BOTH THE CITY CODE AND THE FLORIDA STATE STATUTES. VOTE: BOARD MEMBER WALKER: AYE VICE - CHAIRPERSON ROERO: AYE BOARD MEMBER GILTZ: AYE BOARD MEMBER ROBINSON: AYE BOARD MEMBER KAPROW: AYE CHAIRPERSON CRISWELL: AYE BOARD MEMBER POE: AYE MOTION CARRIED. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 8 OF 10 PUBLIC HEARINGS AGENDA - NON - COMPLIANCE CASES 601. Code Enforcement Division — Police Department CASE #2016CE002043 Patrick R. And Kathy Leary 150 Tarpon Circle Winter Springs, Florida 32708 IPMC: 302.7 Accessory Structures. Date of Original Hearing: September 27, 2016 Inspector: Code Officer Rich McLaren Code Officer McLaren introduced the Case and testified, "I received a complaint from the neighbor reference to a shed in the rear yard of this property that appears in disrepair and partially covered by a tarp. The Notice of Code Violation was sent Certified, Return Receipt on July 10', 2016 and signed for on July 16th, 2016. The Case brought before Code Board on September 27th, 2016 and found in Violation. The property and City Hall were posted reference to Non - Compliance Hearing on February 10', 2017. There has been no contact with owner or resident to this date; the house is currently up for sale by owner." Photographs were shown from "WS -1" with additional comments. Officer McLaren concluded, "I recommend a Fine of fifty dollars ($50.00) a day be applied to the property and it be entered as a Lien on the property." Mr. Patrick Robert Leary, 106 Flag Pond Road, Saco, Maine: explained that the he has been in the process of selling the property since September 2016 and remarked, "I don't believe that that's a current picture because there hasn't been a tarp on that area since about November time - frame." Mr. Leary also commented on a Code Enforcement Officer coming onto his property as well as the volume of Notices received through the mail. In response, Code Officer McLaren explained that he was escorted by a Police Officer on to the property to ascertain if the shed in the backyard was secure due to an impending hurricane. Mr. Leary commented further on the shed and the structure. Discussion. Board Member Giltz asked when the property was last inspected. Code Officer McLaren stated, "Visually, on the property, was before the hurricane." Code Officer McLaren continued, "The property can be viewed, as you saw in the picture, from the neighbor's property on the other side of Tarpon Circle which I've driven by, and the roofing part with the supports are still there." On a related note, Board Member Giltz asked about sheds. Code Officer McLaren stated, "The shed is okay." It was determined that the shed had all the appropriate permits required. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING - FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 9 OF 10 Board Member Walker inquired as to what the necessary steps would be for the property to be in Compliance. Code Officer McLaren stated, "As far as the City is concerned, as long as the structure that's built off the back of the shed is removed, then they will be in Compliance because that is not the original part of the shed." Additional comments. Mr. Leary commented on the Notice of Code Violation and stated, "I get a Violation Notice that says I needed to not have a tarp over — I believe that that would constitute a new Violation if you're going to cite something else." Chairperson Criswell stated, "I don't disagree with you." Further discussion. Note: The Respondent was present. "I WOULD MOVE TO FIND THE PROPERTY IN COMPLIANCE AND THAT NO FINE SHOULD BE IMPOSED." MOTION BY BOARD MEMBER KAPROW. SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER ROBINSON. DISCUSSION. VOTE: BOARD MEMBER POE: AYE BOARD MEMBER WALKER: AYE CHAIRPERSON CRISWELL: AYE BOARD MEMBER GILTZ: AYE VICE - CHAIRPERSON ROERO: AYE BOARD MEMBER ROBINSON: AYE BOARD MEMBER KAPROW: AYE MOTION CARRIED. Brief remarks. REGULAR AGENDA REGULAR 700. Code Enforcement Division — Police Department Not Used Discussion followed on Violations regarding threats to public health and safety. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA MINUTES CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING — FEBRUARY 28, 2017 PAGE 10 OF 10 ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Criswell adjourned the Regular Meeting at 6:26 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: ANTONIA DELLA DONNA ASSISTANT TO THE CITY CLERK NOTE: These Minutes were approved at the March 28, 2017 Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting.