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HomeMy WebLinkAbout609 - MINUTES - City Commission MINUTES DANIA BEACH CITY COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING ABATEMENT HEARINGS J U LY 29, 2004 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor McElyea called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Present: Mayor: C.K. McElyea Vice-Mayor: Bob Mikes Commissioners: Bob Anton Robert Chunn Pat Flury City.Attorney: Tom Ansbro Deputy City Clerk: Miriam Nasser Absent: City Manager: Ivan Pato (excused) Also Present: Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development; Josh Pinsky, Ryan & Ryan; Connie Falzone, Public Services Department City Attorney Ansbro explained that the purpose of the abatement hearing was only for petitioning the Commission to reduce current fines. He stressed that no cases were going to be re-heard and petitioners should avoid getting into the facts of the cases. 3. ABATEMENT REQUESTS: 3.1 Renewal of request by Henry L. Graham, Liberia Economic & Social Development, Inc., for abatement of lot mowing and clearing of South Broward Cradle Nursery. Property located at 909 SW 12th Avenue. (Folio #1203-34-0220) Henry Graham, Liberia Economic & Social Development, Inc., explained that he was one week late in paying the $1,327.92 and promised to pay the next day. Vice-Mayor Mikes clarified that if this amount were not paid within one week, the original fine of$4,857.04 would be reinstated. MINUTES 1 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Chunn, seconded by Commissioner Flury, to abate the fine to the amount of $1,327.92 with the condition that it be paid in' one week. The motion passed on the following 5-0 roll call vote: Commissioner Anton —yes Vice-Mayor Mikes —yes Commissioner Chunn —yes Mayor McElyea —yes Commissioner Flury —yes 3.2 Request by Chriss E. Marcus for abatement of Case #03-4890. Property located at 4274 SW 48th Court. (Folio #0136-6-2510) Josh Pinsky, Ryan and Ryan, P.A., stated that the property was originally cited for on June 25, 2003 for two violations and was given 30 days to comply. He explained that Mr. Marcus had not complied and the Code Enforcement ordered a fine of $100.00 per day levied if the defendant did not comply by October 19, 2003. He reported that compliance was not completed until November 14, 2003 and that his fine was issued for $2,700.00. He further explained that the fine had been abated to $1,300.00, but was not paid within the 30-day time limit and that the original fine had been reinstated and a lien was recorded. Attorney Pinsky noted that Mr. Marcus had no representation at a previous abatement hearing, which resulted in the denial of the abatement. Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, suggested that the item be continued to the next abatement hearing because, Chanel Gutierrez, the property trustee was not present. In response to Vice-Mayor Mikes' question, Attorney Pinsky stated that the property had not yet been sent to foreclosure. Vice-Mayor Mikes confirmed that there was a mortgage on the property. Director Leeds noted that the property was in compliance at the present time and explained that the property trustee had requested the abatement hearing. He noted that she had been properly notified and twice had not shown up. The Commission was reluctant to proceed with foreclosure while the property remained in compliance. Chanel Gutierrez, trustee for the property, arrived at 6:15 pm. She stated that she had purchased the property after attending a Code Enforcement hearing and had the property in compliance within three days of purchase. Commissioner Flury confirmed with Ms. Gutierrez that she was the trustee, that she now maintained the property, and that it was currently being rented. Vice-Mayor Mikes explained that when an investor came in to buy property with a lien, they understood that they inherited the lien and it was not customary for the new property owner to request abatement of prior liens. Commissioner Flury confirmed that the Code Board had recommended abating the fine to $1300.00. MINUTES 2 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Flury, seconded by Vice-Mayor Mikes, to abate the fine to $1300.00 payable within 60 days. If not paid within the time limit, the fine would revert to the previous $2,700.00. The motion passed on the following 4-1 roll call vote: Commissioner Anton —yes Vice-Mayor Mikes —yes Commissioner Chunn — no Mayor McElyea —yes . Commissioner Flury —yes 3.3 Request by E.R., Mariza and Marcus Santoni for abatement of Case #CEB99- 0334. Property located at 25 SW 12`h Street. (Folio #1203-10-6210) Josh Pinsky, Ryan and Ryan, P.A., stated that this item was originally heard by the Code Board on October 11, 1999 for four violations and a final order was issued giving the defendants 60 days to comply or a fine of $25.00 per day would be levied. He noted that the compliance date was December, 25, 1999 and they had not complied until April 21, 2004. He explained that the Code Enforcement Board recommended abatement to $5,000.00 because the owner, Marcus Santoni, was not living at the property at the time of notification and his mother had not understood the notices. He explained there was proof that some work had been completed in June of 2000. Marcus Santoni, property owner, explained that he was head of household with five dependants. He also testified that the property was a triplex at the time he purchased it and did not know there was a problem with the City of Dania Beach until he tried to refinance it. He requested that the Commission consider reducing the fine to $5,000.00 • because he did not have the money to pay. Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, reported for Commissioner Chunn that he estimated the cost to the City to have been approximately $1,000.00 and noted that the applicant had converted the structure back to a duplex. He confirmed that the applicant had lived there since 1988. Mr. Santoni explained that he had been out of the country in 1999 because of a death in the family and was unaware of the problem with the City until he tried to refinance the property. A motion was made by Commissioner Chunn to abate the fine to $1,000.00 payable within 60 days. Motion failed for lack of second. Vice-Mayor.Mikes felt that $1,000.00 to cover the City's cost was not enough to discourage people from buying duplexes with insufficient parking. Commissioner Anton noted that the original lien was $39,575.00 and recognized that Vice-Mayor Mikes' motion was also a reduction from the $5,000.00 that the Code Board had recommended. He noted that if the fine was not paid within 60 days, the fine reverted back to $39,575.00. MINUTES 3 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT • A substitute motion was made by Vice-Mayor Mikes, seconded by Commissioner Anton, to abate the fine to $3,000.00 to be paid within 60 days. The motion passed on the following 4-1 roll call vote: Commissioner Anton —yes Vice-Mayor Mikes —yes Commissioner Chunn — no Mayor McElyea—yes Commissioner Flury —yes 3.4 Request by Mark Herndon for abatement of Case #02-3796. Property located West of 3691 Griffin road (Folio#0230-05-0100) Josh Pinsky, Ryan and Ryan, P.A., reported that this case was originally heard by the Code Board on February 3, 2003 for four violations and that a final order was issued giving the defendant 30 days to comply or a fine of $100.00 per day would be levied. The compliance date was March 21, 2003 and compliance had not occurred until July 28, 2003. He stated that the Code Enforcement Board recommended the lien be abated to $6,000.00 because of the owner's health problems and the fact that the family took corrective action as soon as they noted the violations. Lee Schilinger, representing the applicant, introduced the members of Mr. Herndon's family that attended. Mr. Schilinger explained that Mr. Herndon was in the process of drug recovery and felt that this case involved an over-aggressive action by the Code Enforcement Department and suggested that the fine be reduced to zero. He explained that Living Color Garden Center had an existing building on the property owned by Billy • Nichols. He reported that Mr. Herndon had assembled four lots contiguous to the existing garden center on which he was constructing another building for use in conjunction with the center. He noted that owners of the existing building held an occupational license from Broward County and were not initially aware that the City had annexed their property. Attorney Schilinger outlined the specific violations that he felt should not have been applied to this property because it was a construction site. He noted that the Code Board, in addition to quadrupling the violations, had given Mr. Herndon 30 days to comply in a situation where it was physically impossible. He reported that they had required him to obtain an occupational license on a property that was under construction and was not occupied. He noted that once the family became aware of the situation, they took prompt steps to complete the building and obtain the occupational license. He referred to the minutes from the June 7, 2004 Code Meeting. City Attorney Ansbro confirmed for Commissioner Flury that these facts were irrelevant to the abatement hearing and advised the attorney to get back on track. Attorney Schilinger noted that violations for Mr. Nichols and three of the four quadrupled actions against Mr. Herndon were dropped. He felt the remaining violations were not legitimate. Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, addressed the statement regarding over-aggressive action by Code Enforcement. Mr. Leeds explained that construction had stopped completely and neighbors began complaining about the condition of the property. He noted that Chief Code Enforcement Officer William Johnson had tried unsuccessfully to resolve this issue without formal citation. He noted • also that the reason this whole situation occurred was due to the state of disrepair on the MINUTES 4 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT west portion of the site that was a parking lot, rather than a building. He felt that the suggestion by the attorney representing the property owner that the fine be reduced to zero was incorrect. Attorney Schilinger explained that the reason he felt code enforcement was over aggressive was because they had quadrupled the violations. He noted the violations were issued for lack of paint, numbers on building, unspecified public nuisance issues, and landscaping. Attorney Pinsky clarified that Mr. Schilinger's statements were "attorney" statements and had not reflected the facts or testimony of this case, such as what constituted construction materials and what was garbage and debris. He noted that the Billy Nichols cases and the occupational license issue were not part of this case. He made reference to the testimony from the Code Board meetings concerning violations to the property for which no rebuttal testimony had yet been offered. City Attorney Ansbro clarified that the time to appeal the Board decisions had passed and that these proceedings were not appealable to the court. He noted that this was purely a matter of whether or not there was equity to have the fines reduced. A motion was made by Vice-Mayor Mikes, seconded by Commissioner Anton, to abate the fine to $5,000.00 to be paid within 60 days and if payment was not made within that time, the fine reverts to the previous amount. The motion passed on the following 4-1 roll call vote: • Commissioner Anton —yes Vice-Mayor Mikes —yes Commissioner Chunn — no Mayor McElyea—yes Commissioner Flury —yes 3.5 Request by Merrill Industrial Center, Inc. for abatement of Case #02- 3531. Property located 3406 SW 34 Court, Building C. (Folio #0220-12- 0030) Josh Pinsky, Ryan and Ryan, P.A., reported that this case was originally heard by the Code Board on April 7, 2003 for one violation and that a final order was issued giving the defendant 30 days to comply or a fine of $50.00 per day would be levied. The compliance date was May 24, 2003 and compliance had not occurred until June 21, 2004. He stated that the Code Enforcement Board, after hearing testimony on July 6, 2004, recommended the lien be abated to $1,000.00 because the owner of Merrill Industrial Center Inc. was deceased and the notices had been sent to the deceased owner. He noted that they had routine landscape services and that the property manager had the mailing address for future notices changed with the Property Appraiser's office. Jeannie Yahuda, property manager, agreed to pay the $1,000.00 fine. • MINUTES 5 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Flury, seconded by Commissioner Anton, • to approve the Code Board's recommendation to abate the fine to $1,000.00 to be paid within 60 days and if payment was not made within 60 days, the fine reverted back to the previous amount. The motion passed on the following 5-0 roll call vote: Commissioner Anton —yes Vice-Mayor Mikes —yes Commissioner Chunn —yes Mayor McElyea—yes Commissioner Flury —yes 3.6 Request by Jocelyn Jones/Pat Jones for abatement of Case #CEB00- 0668. Vacant lot 200 Block NW 15` Avenue in Dania Beach. (Folio #0234-01-0110) Josh Pinsky, Ryan and Ryan, P.A., reported that this case was a little more complicated because the actual owner of the property was Nigel Joseph Williams who acquired the property, a vacant piece of land, from Ivory and Sean McCutcheon via a tax sale. He noted that the total amount of the liens was $39,300.00 levied from March 3, 2001 to September 15, 2001. Attorney Pinsky outlined the four violations initially on this property and noted that the liens exceeded the property value. He reported that a foreclosure action was authorized previously and a complaint has already been prepared and it is pending tonight's hearing before the Commission. Patricia Jones, 6861 NW 40 Court, Lauderhill, explained that her family desired to start a non-profit organization for the purpose of educating children and families on how to • function. She explained that Nigel Williams was a Canadian citizen and her daughter's boyfriend and was part of this venture. She explained that she and her husband had financed the property and had actually bought it by mistake by bidding on the wrong number and were now trying to sell it. She noted that they had paid all the small fines, but that this lien was double what the property was worth. She also noted that she was advised that there was $9,000.00 from the tax sale coming to them that they planned to use to pay the fine. She further noted that a realtor had informed them that the property consisted of two lots and that the second lot was still owned by Mrs. McCutcheon. She was confused as to why the fine for the entire lot was being charged to them and suggested that half of the fine might be charged to the other owner. Attorney Pinsky explained that there were two pieces of property that were contiguous and that the properties were cited by folio number. He assured the applicant that these fines were only connected to this folio number and they had nothing to do with the other. Mrs. Jones noted that on January 8, 2002 the Commission had reduced the fines from $39,300.00 to $19,600.00 and requested the same reduction. She stated that they would not buy property from the tax rolls again. Mayor McElyea confirmed that they only owned one lot. Mrs. Jones reported for Vice-Mayor Mikes that they had invested over $15,000 in the property and it was valued at under $20,000. She pleaded with the Commission for their assistance. • MINUTES 6 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT Attorney Pinsky reiterated the conditions under which the property was purchased and clarified for the Commission that the property could be abated to an amount that if the property went into foreclosure the City would be paid first and the applicant would get the remaining funds, which could reimburse her for the amount she had put in. Vice Mayor Mikes indicated that the City could have some use for the property and get Ms. Jones out of it financially and perhaps some builders in town would be interested in the lot to build a single-family home. Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development clarified for Vice Mayor Mikes that the property is zoned Commercial, located directly south of the old laundry building. He further explained that the property is shaped like a triangle, sort of odd piece of property, but it could be used for parking if the laundry building is developed into something else. Laurence Leeds, Director of Community Development, questioned whether the City or the petitioner would have to have the property appraised and who was paying for this. Vice-Mayor Mikes confirmed that the applicants wanted to get their money back and suggested that the item be continued to another hearing giving time for the City Attorney and staff to obtain an updated appraisal of the property, explore the possibility of finding a buyer or purchasing the property and preventing it from being turned over to someone for an inappropriate use. City Attorney Ansbro and Attorney Pinsky both clarified for Ms. Jones that the property was authorized by the Code Enforcement Board:for foreclosure in order for the City to • get the money back, but action had not yet been taken. In reply to Commissioner Anton's question on whether the adjacent property was also authorized for foreclosure action, Attorney Pinsky advised that it was not, but that there were City liens recorded against it and it was still pending. Mrs. Jones reiterated that they had purchased this property as an investment to get their non-profit organization underway and had made an honest mistake. Vice-Mayor Mikes advised Mrs. Jones that she needed some professional information that perhaps staff could recommend. Attorney Pinsky suggested that the professional advice required in this case would be a real estate attorney considering the ramifications of how the case would proceed if it went to foreclosure. • MINUTES 7 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT A motion was made by Vice-Mayor Mikes, seconded by Commissioner Chunn, to continue the item to the next regular hearing meeting, and at such time staff would try to get professional advice and work with Mrs. Jones so she better understands the situation and maybe staff can also look at the property and see if there is a potential use or if it would be beneficial to the City. The motion passed on the following 5-0 roll call vote: Commissioner Anton —yes Vice-Mayor Mikes —yes Commissioner Chunn —yes Mayor McElyea—yes Commissioner Flury—yes Comments: City Attorney Ansbro obtained a consensus from three Commissioners to support a slot machine/Casino resolution with Hallandale and Hollywood for the League of Cities. He will have an official action requested at the August 10, 2004 Commission Meeting. He also noted that the Harbour Towne lease negotiations were almost concluded and confirmed with the Commissioners that they did not want to initiate a $5,000.00 appraisal before the August 10, 2004 meeting. 4. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m. �A'A;�"- • C.K. MCELYE- MAYOR-COMMISSIONER ATTEST: LO.UISE STILSON CITY CLERK Respectfully submitted by Jill Fiorentino APPROVED: September 14, 2004 MINUTES 8 JULY 29, 2004 SPECIAL MEETING-ABATEMENT