so loud good good afternoon everyone um my name is Brana Duran and I'm serving as the special magistrate for the city of Jacksonville Beach and uh this is the beginning of hearings that are scheduled for March 26
2025 Madam clerk the purpose and function of the Jacksonville Beach Special M dist strect Hearing in accordance with Florida Statutes chapter 162 in the city of AAL Beach code of ordinances is to reach an equitable expedition to enforce the
codes the city presents the violation and evidence to the special magistrate next the property owner is sworn in and responds to the violation and evidence both the city and the property owner may call witnesses to provide sworn testimony relevant to the case this is a
quasi judicial hearing not a public forum individuals not called as sworn witnesses will not be heard oh thank you very much um Shall We Begin with case number one miss beavers do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give in
this matter is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God please state your name in position oh these are new Nikki Bieber city of Jacksonville Beach Code Enforcement office officer you may proceed okay good
afternoon your honor um want to start today with case number 24262 property owner Jackie Clark violation address 632 10th Street North Jacksonville Beach Florida this is in
regards to a fence that exceeds the height um limitations let's see okay all right as you can see um where the yellow arrow is pointing down this
is a rear fence um um a rear yard fence yes thank you that appears to be um approximately 8 feet in height um as you can see it's almost touching um the fascia of the
roof there um there is no um airf flow any any between six feet and 8 feet it's required to have at least 25% air
flow I have sent um several violation notices to the property owner and I have I have not had any response back okay thank you um if
um it's it's okay wait just a moment let me just talk to Miss beavers to begin with um so you said this is a rear yard and yet
I'm looking at the street um so it makes it sound feels like the front yard or the side yard that's the rear the F the front fence that you're seeing where the seahorse is that's part she's on a corner lot so that's part of her side
yard that front fence but where the arrow is actually pointing that's actually in the rear of the house okay and that's based upon the the definitions and and the corre provisions in the code it makes this fence so the
you said where the seahorse is located that is that's not the same fence that the arrow is pointing I understand but the where the seahorse is is that that's consider her side yard side yard okay and can you explain what the 25%
air flow between six feet and 8 feet is so anything over six feet there is a requirement that there has to be air flow um if the fence exceeds that height so can you give us like an example of
what that would look like um what most people would normally either have the panel staggered or either put lattice lce so and that allows that air flow okay and how did you determine that
uh the fence the where the yellow line is well is if you can look at the fence that's in the front on the in the sidey yard compared to the fence in the rear how much higher it is above that the rear the fence in the rear is
almost to the roof well um where I'm I'm not actually seeing that M okay are you looking at this it looks to me like the side yard where the seahorse is located and the
and the where the yellow is from these photographs it makes it look like they're the same height not let me go back I think I hit it too many times there's a delay okay um as Miss Clark just stated
the fence that's right here in the sidey yard that is six feet and the one where the yellow that's almost to the fence the one in the front as you can see is nowhere near breaching close to the top of the roof the one in the rear where the arrow
is pointing is almost touching the roof okay I'm just looking okay I'm looking at the fence that's adjacent to the seahorse fence yes okay so this fence right here do you have a pointer
yeah it's not working okay so this one the lower looking at right where the seah isach it is only okay and then the one directly to the left of it is also six feet that's all but behind it if you look at the top
of the roof where the yellow arrow is pointing that is the top of the actual do you have a paper copy of the photograph that we're you're showing no okay so I'm not it's
yence okay where the point of the arrow yes okay it does look like there's some kind of a a wall I can barely see between the fence I mean excuse me between the roof and the dark the roof
almost little tiny sliver of daylight is that right yeah it's the The Roof Is Almost touching the top of that fence okay okay so um you don't have the exact
measurement because you didn't go on the property is that correct correct I know but again and you're basing it on knowing that the seahorse fence is 6 feet and the it's clear above six feet
yes it's almost to the roof and it does not appear that there's any at least in this Photograph that there's any air flow there isn't for the area between six and eight correct okay um and that is a violation
of which section that's 34-46 B4 so under B it says any portion of said fence and excess of six feet in height shall have shall be constructed in a manner which provides openings to allow the free flow of air through that
portion of the fence the opening shall be evenly distributed with the pertinent portion of the fence and shall equal not less than 25% of the aggregated surface of the portion of the fence which exceeds six feet in height okay um
and um the notice of hearing was sent by certified mail yes ma'am and and did you receive a return receipt I don't believe so but I did post at the property as
well okay on March the 7th that's the date of the posted letter yes I did receive a return receipt okay what day did you what is it dated it looks like it was I can't read the date
on here I can't read and who who's it signed by um it just says Clark it looks like um it says received by Clark and then the date may be the 14th
314 the signature is Clark you believe yes okay and it looks like the March 14th correct okay is there anything else you want to add at this stage no I have nothing else okay thank you uh is Miss
Jackie Clark here please come up and be sworn by the clerk no no you can at the podium and if you'll just press the button down there it'll turn your microphone on the button at the base of the microphone yep okay
please raise your right hand do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God I do please state your name and address please state your name and address uh Jackie Clark 632 103 North
Jacksonville Beach Florida 32250 27 years good afternoon Miss clerk thank you for being here yeah um what would you like to offer well I did the first notice I got was this on my door this is the first thing I know about it
and then I did get a certified later certified letter later after I got this on the 7th and the mailman rang my doorbell and told me I had a certified letter that did he want me to go ahead and sign for me and I said sure he signed it and it was the same thing that
I got on the door and when did you get it on the door I got one on the door and one certified letter and that's it yeah I'm just asking you when do you recall when you got it on the door um I think it was the same day it was
posted okay I could be wrong I don't really remember okay it was in March first week of March somewhere there okay thank you um I do have that fence in the back and I had no idea that need to have Trail this because it is um not really a fence
that is on the line on the survey line of the of the it's in between The Back Fence and the front fence so it's it's a middle fence in the middle had no idea that a middle fence had to be
somewhat specified so a height but um it is eight feet I don't have any problems putting the ventilation in there I would like to suggest that I since it's 25% I'm getting ready to take the fence down in January it won't be there after
January in 2026 this this middle fence this middle call the middle fence for now the middle fence will be gone in January of 2026 we're not going to keep it up there forever just it was a temporary um piece that we needed and um
I don't mind putting the ventilation in there but I really want to talk about what exactly I need to do without because I'm going to take those panels and use them replace some of the older panels you see up front they'll be cut down to the six feet but I don't want
to destroy the fence and putting this air flow in so what I was suggesting is that every fourth you said 25% so every four um pickets I would cut one one down to 6
feet is that enough oh six feet um in order to get that 25% air flow well it it sounds reasonable um but
we would have to ask we'll have to ask Miss bavers and uh sure I mean I'm open for suggestion without having to destroy all the pickets let me ask you a couple things um you said it was only going to
be temporary for some reason and um what is the reason that it's only temporary it's a temporary fix for uh we needed to separate one section of the yard to the other section of the
yard that was it it's a separation of this inside portion of the yard and what's going to happen in January well in January we're going to take it down and um hopefully some of the older pieces out front you see in the picture
we're going to take the those and replace it with um some of the old pieces or we'll sell it what's happening in January that that is there some project January there won be a need there won't be just won't be a need for
us to have that your need now the need is a need to separate the two sections of the yard I mean I think that's pretty okay um could you
um how soon could you remove the every fourth I could probably get that done this week my this week my daughter's uh Beyonce he's a handyman kind of guy and so he said he would definitely come over and take care of that for me okay
um we can have a little bit of a conversation back and forth um Miss beavers um it sounds to me like U Miss Clark would every fourth panel or pick it I guess that's the proper word pick it um
would that equate to the 25% um air flow under this particular section of it says um equal not less it shall be evenly distributed um the opening shall be evenly distributed with the pertinent
portion of the fence and shall equal not less than 25% of the aggregate surface area of the portion of the fence which exceeds six feet in height correct um as you can see in the
pictures I can only see that corner of the fence so if Miss Clark will allow me access to see the rear part the remaining and see how far across I know you said that it goes across just in the middle can you speak Corner please speak
really speak M um then I believe that should be sufficient um Christian is with the planning and zoning department and let's see okay was there if Christian uh would like to speak first with Planning and
Development um I haven't heard of this interpretation before um it does say that any portion of said fence that exceeds 6 feet in height shall be constructed in a manner so I would say if it equals 25% that would be fine okay
and um you said that you could accomplish this this is the 26th let's say um by April 10th yeah April would that be fair that'd be fair okay and then um would you also agree
that you've said that you would take the fence down um I don't think that's absolutely necessary if it's in compliance well eventually it's going I mean I I know the dead dat so that's what's happening it's not going to be there for any length of time so it's not
um something that's going to be be I mean it's we've already set that in stone we already know that that's what's going to happen in and will the other thing that Miss beavers mentioned was that she would like you to let her um view the fence i' would like to send you
some pictures I have my pets and my pets are the most important thing in my life to me so I prefer that I would send you pictures versus coming on site I have to verify compliance so um I would need to actually come on to the property to
verify that it's been and the other option is we cut it down to 6 feet Yes or can we put holes in them without having you to come on I I don't is there other than the I mean are you able to put your pets I am but um I don't minut
I don't really wish to do that but you could if you wanted to it's not that big a deal but I I'm not happy about that I don't know why she would have to come to my house and come on site she can't go out and look at the neighbors yard offsite so I can't imagine why she would
want to come on my side look what do you mean by the neighbors uh the guy across the street he has a trailer in his parked his front yard and doesn't even have a tag on it but you guys can't get been told you guys can't get out of the car look at that that's separate from
this case that he has been cited for everything and he's in compliance with everything that you complained about well that would be nice so you know the thing about that would be nice if they told is that um okay we off topic um so
I would like to um it sounds to me like there's an agreement yeah so if she can Miss Clark can just contact me that way I can just come it'll be just a five minute um inspection to verify that the fence is in compliance okay no problem
it'll have to be after the 10th I'll be out of town till then okay I'll have to contact you after that because I I W get back till the 10th but could be the 11th so um I'm out of the town from the 6th through the
10th okay so I think you said that your son-in-law could get it done yeah he's here I will be here okay so so does does if I was going to put in the order that you would um remove the every fourth
picket no later than April 10th is that acceptable sounds so good to me okay and then um uh and that uh you'll uh contact Miss beavers um
and I'll put her email address in the order for you okay um I just want to be home when you do come onite I'll put in the address and the phone number for you okay and then
um and then uh um if Miss Clark can leave her phone number um when you get ready to leave if you can stop by the um planning and zoning
department at the end right across from Beaches Energy and just let the clerk know that you're leaving your contact information that way I can contact you um after the 10th oh you can write it down now oh number it's
94 226 7 99 and then the last thing that is standard okay than the other thing that's standard in these orders Miss Clark is that if you don't come into compliance as you've agreed then there
would be a it would come back to me and have the potential for $250 per day violation so that's why I wanted to make sure that you're okay with the April 10th okay no problem okay great
um then um I've announce my order and um that concludes this matter unless you have anything else either one I don't have anything else with this case okay okay thank you very much for being here mome okay
thanks you still need me to stop or no no just just need your contact thank you okay your honor moving on to case number 2530 3 this is rhc Associates um Duncan
Brands this is at 1325 Beach Boulevard Jacksonville Beach this thing has a delay okay there we go um is in regards to a non-conforming sign it appears that the sign was damaged during one of the
recent storms and has um can you be any more specific on that okay let me go to the picture as you can see the Duncan sign that was in the middle is now missing so the sign is considered a non-conforming sign what
makes it non-conforming because it's it's a pole sign it's a pole sign and poll signs are no longer authorized in the correct in your code is that right yes so once the signs have um been damaged they would have to
replace them with Monument signs and when do you think it was damaged this case was started what's the DAT while you're looking up that what is the date on the photograph this is January 6 2025 and
that is the date of the original um case okay what is still what what is still what part of the sign is still in existence this is what's left of it the part that's the opening at the top it originally was a Dunkin Donut sign up
there and now that's is the Dunkin Donut still there yes ma'am let me go to so here is this picture was taken today this is um the actual structure and the
sign what's it say on the sign right now um dunan six me deal $6 meal deal okay tell us about the provisions in the code that talk about the um the state of the okay
CHR um I'll give you kind of a summary and then I'll point out specifics um could you announce your name sorry Christian uh senior planner um in essence uh going back at least to 2015 I believe back 2011 um the city determined
that poll signs weren't acceptable any longer so any existing poll sign was deemed a legal non-conforming sign at that time the code has several Provisions under which those signs have to be removed um the previous code under which this was cited basically said if
it was uh not used for more than 60 days or if it was damaged and deemed unsafe um or if it needed some kind of structural repair so there's three three ways for it to become right there's also some leeway to the building official as well when it comes to the question of
safety um but in essence if a sign is damaged um Beyond 50% or you would have to make structural improvements to maintain the sign in this case the entire upper portion of the sign is gone and where where are those Provisions again uh so this starts on 34 450 450
yeah and um there's uh under what was that um under e um 2 three four and five specifically um number two um letter B A nonconforming Sign shall not
be re-erected relocated or replaced unless it is brought into compliance with the requirements of this division uh which would be a monument sign um and then non-conforming signs shall be removed or rebuilt in full Conformity with this division uh if it is damaged or allowed to be
deteriorated to such an extent that the cost of repair or restoration exceeds 50% or more of the cost of the replacement sign um new and additional signs for non-conforming uses shall not be um permitted a non-conforming sign oh
that's for you sorry uh signs which are which remain vacant unoccupied or devoid of any message or display uh pertaining to a Time event or purpose that no longer applies for a period of 180 days shall be deemed discontinued M um and then
uh uh yeah so if the building official determin that the sign is unsafe or an unsafe condition he may immediately notify in writing the owner who shall correct the condition within 48 Hours the correction basically would be to remove it if it was damaged to the point of seeing unsafe so has the city
determined that the sign is on Save no is it is just damaged damaged and which one is that damaged uh this would be under number two letter c c if it's damaged or allowed to
deteriorate to such an extent that the cost of repair or restoration is 50% or more of the cost of replacement of such sign have you determined that it's more than 50% yes because the entire
sign that was in the center is completely gone additionally under letter B it says it shall not be um re-erected relocated or replaced unless it's brought into compliance yeah I I'm I'm just trying to get to the point where it's supposed to
be removed or rebuilt in Conformity with the terms of the division if it's damaged you're allowed to deteriorate that the cost of repair or restoration so do you have a determination on the cost no we do not have
that but when I did speak to the previous owner there the business is actually going through a ownership change the franchise for Dunkin Donuts is it still is that a Dunkin Donuts right now yes it is a Dunkin Donuts um
so the sale of the business probably won't continue or won't be complete within the next 30 days um the sale of the franchise to the new transaction between yes um so it's a
situation between is the previous owner going to be responsible for it or the new owner and I've spoken with both so who is rhc Associates is that the current own that's the current owner okay and that's who you provided notice to of course they are the current
owner correct are they the owner of the property or the or the operator or they're the owner the business or both both okay um so and let's let me
step I still have the question about C regarding the cost to restore um or the cost of replacement for the sign um um are there any other bases out of the code determining there
are minimum maintenance standards um for signs but under number one um in that section letter B uh I'm sorry letter C it says a legal non-conforming sign may not be altered in any manner not in conformance with this division um it doesn't apply to reasonable repair and
maintenance or change of copy of that sign um by uh change of copy structural alterations are not required um and then uh any building permit for any addition alteration or Improvement valued at more than 50% of the market
value of the structure uh or the building for which locations I'm sorry that's really not that's over complex I'm not even sure what that is referring to um so basically it cannot be increased
in height it cannot be um repaired uh to the extent that it's not in Conformity so in essence they wouldn't be able to put the top portion back regardless and then um there is a provision um so it says that removal of
discontinued non-conforming sign shall include all sign supports components angle iron poles what section I'm sorry uh that is uh 34450 um number four discontinued signs
and then letter D okay so in that instance for the signs discontinued um it has to be for a period of 180 days um can you miss beever do you know
when the damage to the sign occurred I don't recall when the damage actually occurred but the it was actually cited January 6 so that's less than 180 days so are you saying that it was cited 180 days
not cited but became damaged or actually what's the word it was damaged before occupied or devoid 180 days before January the 6th I'm sorry I say that again you saying was it damaged 180 days prior to January
6 based on the storms that we had I think our last storm was probably in September or October of 2024 so from those from that date up until the date that it was cited or up
until now would exceed the 180 days and magistrate if this helps any um there's uh there's no way for them to basically replace what was there without requiring a permit and potentially structural elements because the sign is literally broken off so they might be
able to continue using the existing lower portion but they can't replace it at the top because then it would not be in Conformity with the code any additions or alterations to the point that it would basically require a building permit which this would because it's a new electrical cabinet that would
go in um they wouldn't be able to do that so they could potentially depending on the timing um keep the lower portion but at least our opinion would be that if they did so they would still have to remove the portion above that's not part
of the sign any longer because they can't put any advertisement above the uh changeable message sign portion okay so we know based upon this it seems to me that as of January 6 when you cited them the 180 days would have already have
been in play what would have had to occur uh if you are going for a violation under subsection D um if you're going for a violation under the section that talked about it
the the value hold on let me find it that's under C to C yes thank you to see then it would seem to me that you need to know the value the cost of the repair or
restoration is 50% or more of the cost of replacement otherwise you don't trigger that you've got to know that information to be able to say that under C the sign um is no longer
authorized um um magistrate not uh that this is you know uh 100% our evidence but just looking at Google Street View um they have listed at over 10 months ago showing the sign missing the top
portion and I'm sorry where this is in just Google Street View so the cars that drive around and take pictures of everything um they have uh various dates where they post the changes and the most recent one on Beach Boulevard was more than 10 months ago
and shows what's the date of that photo um find the specifics uh May 2024 so right now that's not in evidence is there a way um we can produce a hard copy if you'd
like I can go do that um I I think that would be the minimum necessary okay uh is someone is someone here from rhc Associates
okay okay one moment please he's he's gonna go get this photo okay um sorry which wasn't part of the notice that you received but we'll see what's going
going on um so we'll wait for him to return well do you want to be you can be sworn in now with safe time do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth the whole truth and
nothing but the truth to help you God I do please state your name and address uh vter Amaral 6011 Street South uh Jack Beach 32250 and could you repeat your last
name please Amar a m a r a l thank you very much Mr we'll wait for him to come okay your honor I do have a question um being that we don't know the exact date of when
this sign was constructed so in regards to the 50% that need to know the actual value of it how would we measure that based on the length of time that the sign has
been there compared to the cost of it um Mr am is an ameral M have you priced um what the cost of the repair would be when it was initially um damaged uh I was I was getting pricing
but um no I did not actually get a figure I made I reached out to several could you speak into the mic please I reached out to several vendors but they didn't give back to me did and to
ascertain the cost to repair yes and then one of the one of the vendors told me I couldn't repair it anyway I would have to reduce it to a monument oh he was okay so you don't
have any idea about the cost to repair no and So based off of what could we wait until the photo comes okay than please for for for
did you give one to Mr em uh oh okay I think that does it oh just double-sided So based on um what Mr Emerald just stated that well I have
some questions okay um so when what was the date of of this Photograph Christian um it says May 2024 doesn't give an exact date
okay um Mr ameral do you recall when the sign was damaged it was one of the storms I don't remember I don't remember exactly it was the last storm did the do
you so Christians provided us a sign he believes based on Google date that it was May of 2024 um do you believe that this is what the sign looked like in may24 absolutely yeah I'm not debating that it was it's
definitely been 180 days excuse me for clarity yeah you you think that the sign did look like this in May of 24 yes okay okay and in May it's showing that it's Duncan and
that's your business were you operating the business at the time yes ma'am is are you still operating the business okay and um so today's sign you said this is the sign today yes ma'am that has something to do with Duncan right
the message on the board so I'm going to ask the city the provision that talks about the 180 days says that it the sign has to remain
vacant unoccupied or devoid of any message or display a that or display a message pertaining to something that no longer applies so at least this portion of the sign
um uh and appears to me to still have a message both back in May of 24 and as of now that is so the sign's not devoid of a message
um or vacant or unoccupied correct but there was another portion that was up there and as what I was stating Mr em even stated as well that when he contacted some of the
vendors one of them even told him that it's not repairable that he would have to change it to a monument sign okay Mr Emerald do you know why he told you that did he tell you that because of the code or did he tell you that that was a
structural problem with the sign that it could not he said it would probably be a code violation so do you have any idea whether anybody's told you you can't um restore the sign because of a structural
problem uh no no which as far as I can tell there's nothing wrong with the structure okay so I have some concerns about finding that the um sign has been quote
discontinued under sub paragraph 4 um because of the pro Provisions um the other section that we talked about was the cost
to it would be 50% of the two that's under 2C that something that would render the sign nonconforming if it's damaged or allowed to deteriorate to such an extent that
the cost of repair or restoration is 50% or more of the cost of repair placement of the sign so I think that I would have to have evidence of that so that in order
to rule that the sign has been rendered non-conforming okay if I may um the sign is non-conforming by its nature of being a pole sign that is a prohibited type of sign um and under number two letter B it
says a non-conforming sign shall not be re-erected relocated or replaced unless it is brought into compliance so I think at least from our standpoint I think the argument could be made to keep the changeable message portion as far as it's existing but as far as replacing
anything above that my opinion is it would violate letter b but you your your testimony earlier said stated that this sign was a legal non-conforming sign correct until and it's your
position until it was damaged it's a leg Al non-conforming sign but it is still a non-conforming sign and once a non-conforming sign is damaged it can't be replaced or repaired right but but or re re-erected
but the way to get to the damage or to the 18 180 days discontinued there has to be something that triggers it changing status from legal nonconforming to quote illegal non-conforming that
would be when the sign was damaged to the point that it's no longer there and since it is gone it can't be put back regardless of the time or money it's just a function of letter B says it cannot be re-erected relocated or replaced unless it comes in compliance
with the code which in this case would be a monument sign so how high could the monument time be so long side code um so it can be a maximum of 10 feet high and 12 feet wide so how high is the
sign You' you've mentioned that he could City would accept the idea of keeping the sign that's there today um how high is that is that it's about 15 I'm I'm not sure honestly but keep in
mind that um the compliance of the monument sign would also include the inclosure of the bottom portion otherwise it is a pole sign by Nature it's a what a pole sign by Nature
if it doesn't have an completely enclosed skirt that goes all the way to the ground so he would have to in order order to come you're saying that that in fact he couldn't keep the sign the way it is if it cut off the two
poles above that's possibly uh something I would need to discuss with the director that's a very on the edge of interpretation um regardless I think that the the upper portion should be removed but um whether they would have to enclose the bottom and whether that's
over 12 feet I can't say Mr Amaral um do you have um do you have a concern if I were to continue this hearing to the next special magistrate um
date there's a few things that um I'd like you to um you and uh the city to work together to determine if you can come to an agreement um I have some concerns I I
haven't heard evidence today um that is enough to find that you're out of compliance and that you your sign is turned into a um an illegal non-conforming sign at
this point can I just can I just add two things yes first of all I was My Hope was to you know what what you said about you know the the lettering being there and all that um making that a useful sign I was going
to bring that up and I'm glad you did and then the gentleman suggested cutting off the tops I could I'd be happy to do that and leave the sign the way it is it's right now it's a temporary sign as is right now because he's gonna tear it
down when he when he takes over the site the whole sign is coming down either way so this would be a temporary fix and um okay I'd like to hear from the other
gentleman now don't go too far please raise your right hand do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you got yes I do please St your name and your address Uh
Kevin Patel uh okay speak a little bit loud 116 so Kevin Patel 11657 Beach bouly Jacksonville okay so so Mr Patel yes
ma'am am I could you tell us when you expect that the new sign your new well first just for the record uh is it correct that you plan to become the new franchisee yes so I like explained I'm not sure if I spoke to her or somebody
from the city it's okay this is the record so you so so the whole process I'm going to kind of narrate here what the process is like so we haven't gotten to agreement yet there's still been drafted once we draft that agreement we come to an agreement that this is what the final draft is to
look like and we sign it we send it off to the brand then brand takes about 60 days from that point to whether to make that decision whether I'm a you know obviously I'm an existing franchisee but then they need to look at you know our records and whether we're correct you know perfectly fit for the site or not
once they approve it then we pick a closing date which happens about 30 days after approving the 60 days so already 90 days 90 days there like he said if you are to remove the structure the way it is right now it's called pylon sign you know what pylon sign which pole sign
and now the city is calling you for to be Monument signed to become come back into compliance well for that it's a whole process we have to do the engineering work drawing setting it off to the city to get permit uh permit pulled once that permit gets pulled then our r guys actually start working on
this sign anything with about manufacturing and delivering takes a loan 10 minimum 10 weeks to the side right um and obviously um after that you know they're able to work on this side now time frame wise you know we're not sure exactly how long it's going to take
okay um but I do go ahead so um right now though the the two of you Mr Mor all and you have not come to an agreement for the transfer of his interest over to you is that correct
that is correct okay and how long have you been working on it so far we've been working for about a month and a half or close to two months it's been drafting process um I understand it takes a long time yes um would
let's assume and it's a big assumption but let's assume that you and Mr Emerald did come to an agreement would you expect to be operating by January 1st of
26 yes that's about eight no yeah nine months eight eight or nine months is that reasonable or or is a year it is reasonable um the only thing that
I had mentioned which ien um so what the brand is looking for right now so it's called non drivethru you know location so what the brand is actually suggesting going over from non drive-thru to dto drive-through only concept which talking
about tearing down entire building all together so that's where and I haven't heard we haven't heard from Human hit we don't know exactly what the the the process is going to be like from the brand brand side a loc so there a lot of parties involved uh and I think at the
end like I had told her we would love to be in compliance because that's where you know we're here for that and we would like to have sign there because technically he's losing business right now with sign up there okay well that that's very helpful and um I don't have
any question any further questions for you thank you um where just to be very you know transparent where I was headed was I thought that if there was a uh some certainty about that um maybe we
could uh find a resolution based upon the eventual removal but it's a little too uncertain for me to rule based on that um so the city recommendation would be to
give them time to get this transaction at least in motion to come back in 90 days come back in 90 days yes um let me ask Mr Emeral the city's
recommendation I think based upon what they've heard today is to uh continue the hearing there won't be any fine issued or or you know put in the documents at this time I won't rule on
the matter I I will issue an order that basically says that we will come back in 90 days okay at that time uh I would expect that you know perhaps you and Mr Patel will be further
along there may be some more certainty between the two of you and it's possible that the city will have some more information um in regards to uh the things that I pointed out regarding
their um the cost to restore um or uh alternatively uh uh the evidence about the number of days so um uh I think if that's sounds like that's accept is that
acceptable to you Mr Emerald uh yes ma'am okay then uh we'll see you back here in 90 days okay that'll be our June 25th hearing June 25th yes will you be here Mr
Emeral I always check because of vacations yes okay and Mr Patel can you be there can you be here that day or at least provide a a sworn statement June
25th okay then uh this matter will be continued to June the 25th um and we'll take it up again at that time see where they are in process at that time okay thank you thank you very much for being here both of you
thank you okay your onor moving along to item C on the agenda case number 24281 this is Parish Rentals LLC violation address 725 north3r Street
Jacksonville Beach Florida this is um a case of a non-conforming sign in regards to the sign the business has been closed more than 180 180 days
so that would apply um to the violation of this current sign what was the business it was seahorse floors do you know when the um could you tell me the dates that
you're using for the 180 days um I don't have the specific date but I've only been working here four years and this the sign has been it hasn't been a flora shop since I've worked here which is over four years and it was cited back October 2024 yeah the business has been
closed and that was um Christian you you testified that it's been closed as long as you've been working here correct and that's more than four years yes and so does this um I gather that you believe this sign constitutes a poll
sign correct okay and um I see that posted and um sent by certified mail yes um this was on March 6 and as of today the property Still
Remains in violation okay what's your uh recommendation on this one um my recommendation would be to issue a $250 per day fine until the sign comes into
compliance and and how would it come into compliance by removal okay magistrate if I may um the other aspect of this that I don't think we necessarily reference but the property has changed from commercial to residential so it's no longer a
commercial property in which case residential uh uses have a very different amount of signage that they're allowed to have so this doesn't even even if it were still legal it's not a commercial entity great okay so that's commercial both the use and the zoning
used to be commercial and now the use and the the zoning is still commercial but it's been converted to multi family oh the okay so it's still zoned commercial but it's converted and that's
a a apparently a lawful conversion residential it's underway they still have outstanding permits okay uh is there anyone here from Parish Rentals LLC hey how are you I'm good nice to see
you please um please raise your right hand do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God I do please state your name and ask address Brent Parish 7253 Street North Jacksonville Beach Florida
3225 I'm sorry 32250 are you the um land owner I'm one of them or yes ma'am you're one of the managers of the LLC yes ma'am okay
um do you have any concerns with the uh recommendation to remove the sign I'm pretty amable to it I don't really have many concerns about it we were hoping to possibly save it if possible was just a discussion that be had with uh with
zoning but we just haven't gotten to the point where we could have that discussion from the business side um what would you use it for business if you have a residential now we would just use it as kind of a monument it's more of a nostalgic thing
had several people come up to the building and say that they remember this sign with a little clock on it it was nothing really significant to be honest with you how many days would you say it necessary for you to be able to remove
it I can't really answer that at the moment because the other business partner is very difficult to uh make decisions with and so um the financial obligation to do so I haven't really gotten any written
quotes because no one has it's very difficult to deal with a lot of sign companies but it's not it's not cheap I would propose so it's clear to me that I mean Bas well on based on the testimony the florist hasn't been operating there
for four four plus years I I'm not sure to be honest with you I mean I'm not sure what the operating of a business would would mean if they're selling flowers out of it if they're business is active and it's it's actually sitting there I wasn't a part of that business so I can tell you that as we purchased
the building uh December or January of 2025 so okay um I um I'm going to rule that the sign does need to be removed um based upon the fact that it's
still advertising uh Sunshine seahorse seahorse excuse me seahorse florist um testimony is that that florist hasn't been in operation for more than four years okay
um but I'm going to give you an extended period of time to complete the removal um I think that I think a reasonable time might be 90 days um uh would that
be reasonable in your mind it's very difficult for me to say I um well what do you think would be possibly 180 days I don't want to you know give too much of personal information but it's just we're dealing with a lot of
different situations and the idea behind it um the financial burden is going to just cost to remove it it's okay um let me ask the city so I threw out 90 you threw
out 180 um uh I'm going to ask the city uh if they have a recommendation um I do have a question your active permit right now do you know when that permit will
expire off the top of my head I don't and that was kind of the other thing is it hasn't actually converted we keep getting these messages that we're no longer commercial technically I was assuming and the reason why I haven't acted on anything actually is that an email I received from Christian
stated that you know we need to uh we have converted to residential my interpretation is that the building permit needs to be uh closed out basically a certificate of occupancy which would then convert it and that's
why I really haven't acted on it at this moment is because I assume that as it sits technically it's still the same use is that not correct do you have a building permit for residential is that what there there's an all-inc compassing and I I might be wording it wrong but but essentially the
building permit was for renovations of the building to convert it into to convert it occupancy change and you got that permit I do it's currently active yeah and how far along are you at the point to ask for
certificate of occupancy now I'm pretty close um again so you've invested the money making it residential yes absolutely okay so I apologize Nikki what was it that you
were so initially I was asking when did the permit expire and I can I'll find that information out but also being that it was under commercial under Section 34450
for non-conformance signs under section under four under signs discontinu the building has been vacant for a number of years so it would also fall up under that right I I would
agree yes so um the building wasn't vacant the business has not I mean we can horse floors has not been in business for Christian has been here four years I've been here almost seven um M sh I think what the applicant's
probably going to say is that there um there are residential spaces that were there previously that were occupied but the use as a commercial property with commercial advertisement has been ceased for a very long time right right you know um this is different from the one
that you heard before clearly the business has been gone it's advertising a business that's been gone for for four plus years um and uh you know given that it's
um it's deemed to be discontinued and once it's deemed deemed to be discontinued then um it becomes um an illegal nonconforming sign
and removal is the requirement of the city C so I'm back to my original question which was what is a reasonable I'm trying to be reasonable about the removal the the requirement the time frame I'm gonna
have to get with um you know 180 days is about the longest I feel even comfortable asking but I I can't uh you know the city is going to um recommend 60 days because the business
has how many 60 days 60 well um I think that's a little short and only because it does take time to get estimates and then get the
um the finances together U I would say that you know the city had lots of chances previously out you know the business has been out of business for four years and we cited it originally back in October of 2024 so so why am I
only hearing it they sent I don't know where they sent any of this mail I never received the chrisan was actually cting enough to send me the letter in December via email the address that we have on file is
13 245 Atlantic Boulevard number 2124 Jacksonville Florida 32225 did you own it in a different capacity a different entity before in October no as a matter of fact I walked in and George Knight actually kind of made a joke not joke but he was just
kind of like hey did you get that letter about that sign I didn't know what he was talking about at the time which prompted me to contact Christian and ask him you know about or actually I think it was Cali and she had somehow I got an email from Christian I think it was just trying to
figure out what it was all about who um Nikki who did you send in October who did you send the notice to um your honor I don't have a copy of the violation notices with me but I do have them in the office okay well we're we're only
working from the one that is dated March the 5th so um that was the posted one and then there was another one certified mail one second because we do have what was it the most recent
one okay Christian is searching I had did I did send him a copy of the violation notice not sure if it was all of them from October oh it was from October um it was
to Parish Rentals LLC at 13245 Atlantic Boulevard number 2124 Jacksonville Florida 32225 is it still owned by Parish Rentals LLC yes ma'am did you buy the company how no we purchased the seahorse
we purchased the building from the the owners of seahorse Florest and we started a new LLC and we basically started renovating it we we applied for the building permit as well I don't know how this didn't all come up when we were dealing with it because they seem pretty thorough when we were
doing the building permit application I'm going to rule that I'll give you 120 days to get the sign taken down um just trying to find a a happy medium um between the two and in particular you
know um there's no doubt that um that the sign is is constitutes an illegal non-conforming use at this point point and um and therefore you know I I'll rule but I'll give you 120 days
which will take us out to somay in sometime in July um after that date um the $250 per day will start will will be triggered if it's not repaired by then the matter will come back to me and um
and I will trigger that 250 days to dollar so I hope that you can manage to get it down in 120 days thank you thank you ask a quick question chrisan probably of course a monument sign is allow on the
record on the record or you want it doesn't matter I just it's so hard to kind of get together I just wanted to know if there was a way to modify the sign and become a monument sign similar to what we were talking about earlier with the Duncan I'm just kind of not trying to compare the two I'm just saying if we want if she wanted to do a
a monument sign would that be an option here because it um no because it's not a commercial property and not a commercial use you have access to free speech signs of a certain size but basically you can't have a full-sized sign
um Nikki could you or or someone tell me what the date in July and when I say 120 I don't I'm I'm looking for the date of the um the hearing I believe it's going to be
the July hearing no or is that is it the fourth Wednesday yeah it' be the 20 the 30th July 30th that's the July hearing July 30th okay July 30 is yeah okay oh wait you said it's the 4th the 4th Wednesday oh
it's the 23rd I'm sorry the 23rd July 23rd okay that'll be the date so you're on a just to be clear the sign needs to be in compliance by the July 23rd date sign needs to be
removed by July 23rd REM right and the $250 per day fine would be determined once we came back July 23rd okay can I just I think she's on the track of
what I'm not quite understanding um so July 23rd starting July 24th will be $250 a day or it's 1202 days for a day so will we come back on July 23rd If the sign has not been removed then the Special M magistrate would then order a
f i just have to be very thorough in my expl that's I was asking if it's down by July 23rd there won't be any fun it'll be a fun had several people say why don't you just take a saws offw and cut it down which seems
pretty crazy okay thank you very much for being thank you m thank you app all right your honor going to item D at um property um I'm sorry item D case number
24267 property owner that's Luna LLC violation address 223 South 9th Avenue Jacksonville Beach Florida this is also a non-conforming sign this sign has been um abandoned for more than 180 days um
this property was originally cited October 3rd 2024 the sign was damaged um it's hard for you to kind of notice but the sign is leaning um on this picture when it was originally
cited on the next one this is where you see the sign has been um secured or stabilized by the yellow beams that are um have been attached to it what's the date of that
the October 29th okay thank you this property has been closed for a minimum two years when you say it's been closed you mean there's been no operation no operation so when I reached out to the
property owner um back on the October 3D in regards to the sign falling down um October 29th is when we notice
the um repairs that had been done to it did you issue a notice in October yes ma'am and and what did it say
I for some reason I did not bring none of my violation notices with me today Christian did was that one that I sent you I don't think so okay but it was in regards to the sign um being damaged in a non-conforming sign um through the magistrate the uh
October 3rd the sign actually uh that first picture shows it leaning it was almost completely over before the repair started happened to drive by it uh pretty much every day yeah this after Hurricane it was it
was during the storm okay um and what is your recommendation for this sign my recommendation would be for the sign to be removed 30 days and that is based on the fact that there's been no operation for any business for for over two years
correct also the sign was damaged to the point of should have been removed the building official probably should have forced them to at that point but right but the damage requires that 50% well or if it's unsafe and it was falling and it could have potentially
fallen into the street it literally like the bottom had rusted out and it had folded I just don't think we got a picture between then and when it was repaired because they went in and fixed it rather quickly yeah each day from the day that this was taken it was leaning more and more and
more okay is there anyone here from D Luna LLC good afterno your honor hi hi we'll need you to swear be sworn in and and state your names for the record please no problem please raise your right hand
do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God yes I do please state your name and address desp malos I can spell that if needed D is in David E S is in Sam p i n
is in Nancy a last name malos m is in Mary a l l i o s is in Sam m a l l i o s is in Sam matle o yes right is it possible for
um my father to also swear in as well yes please if you could step up to the mic please please raise your right hand do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give in this matter is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God I do
please state your name and address Adonis malus 2 2822 Broward Road Jackson Florida 32218 thank you for being here thank you um could you tell us about your um if you're in agreement with the
recommendation of the city we're not in agreement um we do want to start off with the initial notice that was received on October 3rd did not state anything regarding non-conforming um or that it needed to be removed precisely it said that the
sign was declared that it needed to be repaired um May I assist your honor just for clarity it said it needs to be repaired and correct okay Mr malos you uh I I would
move your honor to for this violation to be dismissed on the basis that um there is no we have complied with everything that was asked from the officer and um the
building is currently constantly we're marketing the building to prospective tenants it is vital for our marketing to have the sign there the sign is Totally Secure it was never a threat to anything
and until we of course we repaired immediately and um it is not true that the sign was leaning day by day because when we put it back in place it was the same the same effort of the hurricane to
push it back in place than to for it to come down because it would obviously would have come down very easily but the sign was in in a very good structural condition and I'm a mechanical engineer and I can attest to that um uh also
um it is highly prejudicial for our business if we lose the sign because it's been grandfather we're actively U making uh efforts and we have meetings on a weekly basis basically we
do have a problem with the Jack Beach U homelessness and vandalism and everything that uh uh we have not been able to get help from the city and the officer who's back there I've met him in
place chasing away homeless and trying to secure the building and they did manage to break in at times and we have signed up for the police to have access and any help we can get from the building department to bring this
beautiful property back into business uh will be appreciated but as far as this case I I I move to to be dismissed because it wasn't nothing was uh was mentioned about non-compliance in the order and uh we
did move immediately to secure the sign it wasn't by no means 50% of the cost of the of the sign to to to secure it and um I've requested the the officer uh by
email I've notified the officer by mail and by phone to have a meeting and avoid litigation so to speak and I haven't received any responses from from the city which I understand they're busy when did you do that I did that in
October I did that in last few weeks ago when we received the last uh um violation notice of hearing and uh we've been on top of the business was there any uh
Communication in October after you got the October 3rd notice yes there is an email stating that uh the communication was um a voicemail to the officer that we completed the work but we never received a response or anything is it
completed yes it is structural it it it was completed and it is can we could you show us some other signs I mean photographs this is the completion like as again the business has been closed so is that the completion is that is that
and so for the property owner to state that they were able to rect the sign and they have the as you can see there's things stabilizing holding it up all around it so that goes to show you that
the sign was not stable because they put the three poles that's coming extending from the out on each side of it to keep it erected may I see the October 3rd letter please not the photo the I want to see
the letter that was oh yeah I don't have the letters with me I didn't bring I don't know why I think I do you have the letter Mr would you show it to M and just confirm that it's the one we didn't bring this officially I don't know if that matters like we didn't officially
like want they got several other notices after October 3rd as well okay I guess we can show this we just didn't submit this to the court or anything so I don't know if that makes a difference you reference in this March
5th notice of hearing an October 3 letter yes okay it's requested I think by um the
magistrate who may provide them and your honored during that time just just a moment thank you I'm a slow reader okay see so um before I talk about this one I heard
I believe I heard that there were additional notices provided after October 3rd but before the March 5th yes there were and then also no permit was um obtained either for this repair on
this sign so the I'll call stabilization yes so the additional notices will include what's so what other notices were sent I'm sorry you have to produce the
notic because we're not aware of V notices that came before the hearing I don't I don't have it I'm sorry I don't think they wearing okay your honor um I'll I can go get a copy of the notices Christian I I I actually I'm sorry I take it back I think it was noce about
garbage and cleaning the proper but then which we did compl okay in this picture Mr MOS is that the final that that was done the work was completed um the in this photo if I may provide a picture to
your honor which was taken couple of days ago well no I was I was referring to the October 29th photograph to comply with the cleaning up and everything this is the final
I I don't remember exactly so let me just ask so these yellow um bars are those the same yellow bars in that picture okay I'll return those if you'll let let
Christian take a look at those these were also well um well she is getting the other notices did you guys change ownership because I see this letter was sent to Corinthian LLC team yes and now you've changed it over
to LLC yes okay and maybe and notices going to be I guess transferred yes because the only um notice that Des Luna received was the notice of hearing no previous violations but I don't know if that's just the process well this was
sent to your Broward address and I think that is that where you reside now or yes my brother was the owner the previous owner and that's how I found out that there was even a violation oh you Corinthian was your
brother yes okay um Christian have you seen this letter um I just wanted not in a long time for thank you your honor can I provide you with
just a moment please october1 I don't okay um oh she came back and then she left okay she doesn't come back they hear it's it's go glue
right be back for it's okay she she went today the ch violation for not getting for this is this
the police department yeah the police department I'm ready whenever you are oh okay I bet you were still writing um so two additional notices were actually three um there was one sent on October
3rd October is it a different one I'm sorry the one on October 31st was sent um in regards to the sign being non-conforming I have a copy of this February 5th she's ging okay let me
so in the October 31st you um stated that the viol of the non-conforming sign and it was
um all the reasons under that under Section 34450 was listed but the main one was that the sign was discontinued right discontinued for 180 days yes so again that language is you
know sign structures that remain vacant unoccupied or devoid of any message or display a message pertaining to a Time event or purpose that no longer applies for a period of 180 days shall be deemed to be
discontinued and if it's deemed discontinued it has um it's the responsibility of the property owner to remove the discontinued sign correct okay um I want
to um I want to ask Mr malos if they um this was sent to Corinthian also at Broward Road may I ask how was this sent to Corinthian because Corinthian is no
longer the owner I don't know it was that was dated October 31st yeah how was it sent it was sent regular mail certified or because I don't believe I saw this uh another that
notice was sent regular mail and on February 5th a final notice was also sent how to the same regular mail okay the same address that we have for the notice of hearing is that the only
one for October 31st it wasn't posted or anything else is that correct uh no the only thing that is ever posted at the property is the notice of hearing okay so this was just a notice of violation yes ma'am
yeah if I also may say your this is coming up now in this hearing and of course what it was posted on the on the property okay may I see the the October initial you know the
although this first initial VI violation notice whatever it wasn't threatening at all to us we we complied immediately it never mentions anything about non compliance or
uh yeah it it did mentioned nuisance violation debris and all that and you have the October yeah could I see the October 31st one back please
did you or your brother to your knowledge did you did you receive this October 3 no I don't believe I've seen this this I would I would have acted because I always communicated with the officer and uh I have to say in the past
she was she she did speak to us once I believe and we cleared up some Nuance violations that we had but so you didn't receive it but but this business is your your brothers right correct then but he no longer yeah
okay um so we don't really know whether he got it or not basically we don't know for sure about the October 31st okay and then you said and there was another one on February 5th that was okay and where's that one we cannot get that one to print but the clerk is going to bring
it as soon as something's going on with our printer of course it always happens when you it it can't but it was a final notice of the same um about the non-conforming sign okay while we're waiting for the
February 5th I have a question about the October 3rd okay um because they said you said you did get this one the October 3rd okay um Nikki yes
this sign this this letter was also sent appears regular mail um it was sent to Corinthian um it said that there was an inspection done and that the property's in
violation of of 34-44 which is signs declared a nuisance and repair um that provision says that the building official May order the repair of signs declared a nuisance
and with or without notice may cause any structurally unsafe or structurally insecure sign to be immediately removed um if the sign presents an immediate Peril to the public health or safety did the building
official um declare this this sign a nuisance yes so originally when that notice was sent out I was informed of the Leaning being signed by the building official and so that's when that letter
was sent out after speaking with the planning director and with Christian and was informed about the non-conforming sign that's when the second notice in regard to the non-conforming sign was
sent out so that was initially from the because it was unsafe because it was Fallen what did the building official or do you have something in writing where he declared it to be a nuisance no he just told me verbally that the
sign I don't recall if I received a email I don't this letter doesn't say that this letter only I was informed by him we were not you were informed by the letter and basic what I'm saying is that
the letter itself doesn't actually say that the sign has been declared a nuisance it and if it's under unsafe it doesn't say that either okay ience what it states well you can I mean
it just cites the the section but there's no that's why we took immediate action it just says what the code says okay but then like I said again once the sign came into question I was then informed by the planning director and
the zoning Department that the sign was also a non-conforming sign I'm sorry what date were you informed ma'am um Christ you sent me an email I mean I can look at the time but I mean the sign's been non-conforming
for years and it's been vacant for years as well and so on here it says signs presenting immediate Peril to Public Health and safy question what dat Sor let me I'm responding to the magistrate right now your honor it does State on here that signs presenting immediate
Peril to Public Health or safety so that was the part that was part of this notice in regards to the sign Fallen no that's not what the sign letter says but that I disagree no it's right here I Know What It quotes the
code it doesn't say that the sign has been declared a nuisance it doesn't say that the sign has been declared a unsafe and there's nothing it says dilapitated it says that the what it L on here dilapitated time right here that's
highlighted so the your the verbage doesn't say unsafe but it falls up under no 34445 no that provision requires the building official to declare the sign a Nuance or determine
that it's unsafe so you're saying this letter should have came from doesn't say that and there's no and nothing in writing from the building official that the building official ever did that okay the building official normally just refers any cases that need to be made to
code enforcement if he wants to declare something a nuisance or he and he wants to use that provision he actually has to declare it a nuisance in writing you can't just verbally tell somebody oh I think it's a nuisance it has to
be you can't just do that to a property owner you have to if if you want to use that provision and it's visibly showing that and he should have declared it a nuisance he doesn't just and and the
letter if nothing else the letter should have said the building official has declared it to be a nuisance or unsafe so in my opinion that October third letter um quite frankly makes it sound like you
need to fix the sign okay so again if the building official is my immediate supervisor if he informs me that there is a violation he relays that
information to me as code enforcement that there's a violation then I issue the violation notice that is coming directly from the building official I agree however your letter
doesn't say that the it okay isn't it also say I'm going to ignore I don't I don't think the October 3rd letter um is is
of gave them notice that U the sign of the only thing it did was give them an idea that they needed to fix the sign which should have been quite frankly pretty evident
okay I'll just being fair um so then the this October 31st they say they didn't get it then we have the February 5th I have that here okay good let's see what that says okay so this is identified as Final Notice yes that's because you'd sent
this one but again it was so is that standard practice you don't send certified when there's a notice of violation no we don't hearing requires us to send certified and post at the property only for the hearing yes also also was sent
to Corinthian team which was no longer the owner well that's possible but you know what it takes time for the public records to change and that's why the only thing that they have access to are the public records and it's the same
address I don't know when did you did you you know when was the sale from Corinthian to D Luna when did that happen in November November of 20 November yes and was there anything recorded in the public records yes and
what day was that November 26th 2024 okay and do you have a copy of that recording uh no but I can produce it on my phone if that's helpful was it a deed is that basically what it was a deed from Corinthian to to D Luna yes
okay what was a complete closing yeah General warrant it does take time this was dated February 5th wouldn't surprise me that the records still and that's all the city has to do is look at the records they they can't know that you've sold it of course that it's been
purchased so so this one clearly you know notes that um talks about the um the discontinuance and it doesn't raise you
know the nuisance it doesn't raise the um uh the unsafe perspective um so did you receive the February 5th not to my knowledge I I only have
the initial my brother that was sent to my brother to Corinthian team and that's when I acted and then I forgot about it because she took over and it changed the ownership
and I didn't uh I was actually away in November uh until when it was I it was I had surgery and I wasn't here for quite a
bit of for almost a month so I didn't I I don't recall any other notice except this one that we got it on the posted posted yeah and not certified Ma just TST it
so this is a little bit like the one the seahorse Florest we know or well let me make sure has there been when was the last time that you know of that there was a
business in this building that it was Hillbilly wingshack we were there a couple of weeks we go often no no no when the the business was operated inside the building hillbilly wingshack
you mean as a restaurant say it's it's been a year and a half two years maybe I don't know it's also worth noting magistrate that that uh business never finished the process of becoming a legally registered business with the city he biles never did they were in the
process when I don't know why they left but they left yeah we were not aware we we didn't have anything to do with the operation of the restaurant we own the building only we don't we the
own hilly biles went there illegally without our permission they got permission from the car from the person who was holding the lease and we had to evict them and they filed bankruptcy and it took
forever to EVC them and okay and and but you you do you both live at 2822 Broward Road um I live at 2843 Broward Road next door or close by yeah okay but your address
was 2822 yes okay um you also said that you've been trying to market the property we've been do you have a current um uh what's that called
perspective no a current contract with with an agent for marketing it yes a rental do you have a rental yes a a broker or somebody yes who who is that
my son is a broker and we have a last week we got an Loi which we're in negotiations of an Loi for yeah for for Leasing
and putting it back in business what does can you guys tell me what this little sign to the left of the big sign hillbilly there's a little tiny sign there it says for rent it says for rent and it has a phone number I couldn't tell you it's pretty overgrown right
there yeah yeah also Snipes on legal so M can I just interject something please do um so it seems like the question at hand is whether they were given notice in the time frame they would have to comply because there's no argument that the sign has been
discontinued regardless of whether it was damaged or not it's been vacant for a long period of time so I think personally rather than going around the horn a third time maybe we can just determine if they need new notice and then when the period of compliance would be if that works because I don't
personally I don't think there's a question that the sign wasn't in use as a commcial sign right do you understand that um that the fact that the business there's been no business in there nothing operating in
there certainly not hillbilly Wings Jack um and could you show me the current sign please yes right that's actually not the current site sign this was taken today oh oh okay we have photos of the front
if that helps can there's no there's no message or anything there's no me that's why I was going to ask you is there any message on the sign no I provided you the picture that it doesn't really matter it's been discontinued
um so I I do have a question okay number two on the on on the hearing notice it says accept as provided in this section and UNC confronting sign confir sign make continue in the manner and to the extent that it is existed at the time of
the adoption Amendment or annexation of the division that render the sign not conform nonconforming the section shall not prohibit the reasonable repairs and alterations to non-conforming signs so it is the only
basically paragraph that is not highlighted and I don't know why we're not using that because it does say the reason that you're not using it is because of the second page under number
four and it talks about when signs have been discontinued and the the business that you had was discont or that was operating there has been discontinued for more than 180 days that's an
automatic when that happens the sign becomes illegal non-conforming use and when it becomes that illegal non-conforming use that's when the um that's when the
mandate to remove that sign is triggered and D also mentions um a sign permit which was not obtained so I think we're at see it I have to go by what the code
says the code says that if it's discontinued for more than 180 days then and this is what is referred to in the notice of of uh
violation then if it's discontinued for more than 180 days then the sign needs to come down so I understand that you know that it's possibly a hardship um but the code
requires that the um doesn't mean that your new renter or your new um buyer if you have a Loi they can put up a new sign you heard earlier them
talking about a monument sign for um The Duncan but your situation is very different from Duncan and and I'm only bringing this up so that you you you understand that and the difference you know Duncan is still
there operating they're sign talks about a Duncan special something that they're selling inside that store um in this instance it's more like the seahorse florist that's been out of business there's been no business in there for a
couple of years so for consistency on my part I think that is only fair um that I find that the sign um is a illegal non-conforming use based upon the
discontinu it and that it needs to be removed the seor seahorse florist if I understood well is a residential uh property now it's not a commercial property and it that part
really wasn't so important the part that I Ruled on was the fact that the seahorse florist hadn't been there um for four years and no other business had been there for four years in our case we
know that there's been no business in there for anywhere from a year and a half to a couple years you said so the only thing the left in my mind to ask you and the city is the time
for removal and um I would uh entertain suggestions from from the city and from you um uh regarding it an appropriate
time frame for the sign to be removed your honor being that this case has been ongoing since October um the City Rec recommends I would say the max 60 days
well I've I have real concerns about the October letter not the October 3rd the October 31st is when they receed the first notice of the non-conforming sign October 31st all right I
know um so what would be so the city has said 60 days that's consistent with what they said with the seahorse case what is your opinion what would be a reasonable time we didn't get
October 31st letter I know all right I know that you've testified to that yes yeah uh the sign is in clearly in the property is property line it's inside the property line yes it's not on the sidewalk is nowhere near right any city
property um I don't know if I should consult a to have a hearing or do something uh another hearing or I don't know what the the legal process could be here what my rights are basically because well based
upon I will tell you that you you do have a right to appeal my decision to the Circuit Court if you want to uh you could talk to a lawyer about that you know of course but I'm going to rule and I'll issue an order sometime time in the
next week or so the only question I haven't that I haven't answered or haven't determined is better word is the number of days um that you would like to have that you think is a reasonable number of days
for you to be able to undertake the removal of the sign and um Nikki does the removal also require permit no no does not okay if I may ask moving forward if now is the opportunity to ask
the code enforcement there is no way that you can preserve those signs even if you opened up a business and you apply and you renovate and we're we intend to do that we're not abandon the property you because it's a non-conforming sign and the city does
not allow those they have prohibited prohibited those so once it falls under any of those Provisions then it becomes an illegal family so if we if we let's say we come and we say open another restaurant and we apply for a permit and
we renovate and you we could not preserve that sign and fix it and get the permits and all that no lights or nothing no sir okay I I did not know that I thought that we could yeah now make it safe and buy time and fix it and we are going to do that but the finances
are not there right now you can come in and ask for a sign that does conform to the building to the to the sign code no he was say come for I mean not this sign not this sign that's what I wasn't the person that you're in negotiating with
right now they can get us a new sign but it's going to be it's going to be Monument a monument sign as I understood yeah I did not know that and that's something so what going back to the number of days well we going to go back
to seahorse 120 days and call it the day that's what I would say well let's see what um will comply I think we should just stick with we I'll do the same thing I did with seahorse which is the 120 days and that will be
July 23rd no fines uh at this point you have until July 23rd to correct it to remove the sign and um uh if you don't remove it by
then uh this item will come back well it'll come back to me anyway for um that it's been determined to be in compliance now if you remove it and no no fines if it's not removed by then then I I will
issue $250 day um yes fine so we don't have to come back on July 23rd If you if we remove it right correct it's up to you you'll get a notice of hearing right um
notifying you of the hearing on July 23rd but if it comes into compliance um if you get it done before July 23rd If you will just notify me so that I can close the case very will be the best way to notify you
email okay is that and you should have my email address because we've spoken yes we we I think we do yeah code enforcement something yes I wish you luck with the with the with the sale good luck with
the sale you can do something wonderful put in a nice new monument sign and people will come and be very excited about restaurant the sign is a minor detail of what it takes to this back together I definitely believe that so
thank you very much we are trying to to maintain as as best as we can as Miss Beav knows I mean we got good people over here to work with it's a war zone there with the homeless it's unbelievable how right yeah and that's
off the Record but we need keep that main dep the side of the building if I may say and I don't want to call the cour but that that driveway between the
tire they dumping now so something they okay okay we'll talk yeah do you have a phone number yes okay yeah email isab because I'm out in
the field okay what's your number call here because sometimes your okay we'll talk about the nuisance part it's both but I was out last week hours away the so we'll talk email me
okay problem do I can't recall it right now but I got one more case I need to finish okay all right I'll talk to you okay thank you thank you thank you very much okay your
honor um our last case on the agenda is case um item e case number 23130 this is um property owner 1121 North 3D Street Incorporated violation address 1121 north3 Street Jacksonville Beach
it's in regards to um outdoor display we were here um and during the last order your honor you stated that if the property owner did not remain in compliance that
there would be a fine and on February 14th the property was observed having merchandise out for sale um again as as you can see these
are the tags showing the price of the items um that were listed that were set outside the property of the business so the city is recommending that a fine be
issued for the February 14th violation now in response also to that since this date the ordinance has changed that will
as of the 17th the ordinance changed you the new L yes it was passed on Monday the 17th okay do you have a let me just stop you cuz I do you have a copy of the new ordinance that I can look at the land I have a scrible on one you can
look at so that was February 14th prior to yes and then what day was this March 17th March 17th okay so it's commercial limited just for clarity for the
record and this was adopted on March 17th yeah that's not a complete current copy but that's language is the same yeah it's also available online on the city's website okay so number seven outdoor display of
retail merchandise is limited to bicycles plants and Outdoor Furniture Limited to 200 square feet in area and only during a business's operating hours is that right yes okay so this was new
language was adopted and made effective March 17th yes okay and um I know that these pictures were taken February 14th so presumably before the new sub paragraph 7 was um adopted was
it pending at the time do you know what was the date of the February February 14 no the first reading was in March okay so that would have been presumably March 3rd that sounds right 14 days later yeah we had a final workshop on February
22nd what day 22nd we had a workshop with Council on the public prior to the first year March 22nd February oh February it was like a informative Workshop before we completed the code and took it to council but technically not pending correct and that was a workshop between
the commission and uh it was with Council on the public it was an opportunity for public input on the graft um I'm gonna put this over here just for the moment okay so the outdoor display is now with
those limitations is now a permitted use correct if it's yes if it's outdoor furniture and here you can see um yeah outdoor display of retail merchandise is limited to bicycles plants Outdoor
Furniture Limited to 200 square feet in area and only during a business those are in the list of per under 617b which are the permitted uses yes okay um um
some of these items include a wine rack and what what's the picture on the left um I want on on the left this one um the wine rack and a bench I'm sorry what is it let me see what
it oh says a te Ben bench okay that te Bene and then what are the you said that those are both of those items wine wine racks and what are they made
of some kind of wood okay and um so you posted this on February 14th and it was observed on February 14th and then a notice was sent to the property
owner and and deliver to the employee that was working to T Gregory was posted and then certified mail it was sent certified mail and hand delivered right and then also certified
mail to the property owner yes correct okay um one other question um have you observed um any other time before no no other days were observed
prior to the 14th um I also today went by there and did not see any observe any violations so just the one day that we oberved yes I was actually in the
area and observed it okay um and this is today yes and there's there's nothing outside correct okay do you have a recommendation at this point or do you
want to hear from um my recommendation would be to um the fine that was stated in the previous order to do what for the fine to be issued that was stated in the previous order if they failed to come
into compliance well if they repeated the what would that be for one day okay please come up and um thank you for your patience sure good afternoon your honor my name
is Panton Poe I am an owner of pink moon Imports LLC which is doing business at as T Gregory Imports at the subject location um swear me in do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about
to give in this matter is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help you God I do please state your name and address my name is Panton uh Patrick Poe and I am an owner of the business that operates at 11213 Street Jacksonville Beach Florida as T Gregory
Imports I have a question are you also here on behalf of the land owner no no I am not U but I would like to move for a continuance and the reason I would like to move forward a continuance is because
the legal issues present presented are currently on appeal as your honor may recall we had a hearing on September 25 2024 after that an order was entered on October 8th and an appeal was filed in November that appeal is still pending
I'm in communication with the Appeals Council for the city and that appeal is moving forward it is still open we're awaiting the appeals um responsive brief I imagine will be filed soon and we hope
that the legal issue will be resolved and at the end of the day as you may recall um we fundamentally have a disagreement about the law as applicable um and so we appealed it and so I'm not trying to address the merits here today
I'm asking for a continuance because if the appeal goes one way then this issue will be resolved in exactly the same fashion and if the appeal goes the other way then I suppose we'll come back here and
um address the issue in accordance with the appeals Court's determination and so I would ask to I would move for continuance and to hold this in advance until we get a decision and direction from the appeals
court okay um do you have a response to that um my response would be to follow through with the City's recommendation okay I'm going to um I'm going to
uh find that there's no violation based on the fact that the city has changed the code um the one day for which is all we've got and I wouldn't be able to find you for
anything more than that and that's all the evidence that we have for $250 um it's in my opinion given the new code provision um I don't believe that um that
uh that in my opinion I'm not going to find that there was even if I find that there's a violation I'm going to uh I would say that there's no fine
but my preference uh for my order and I know that I'm talking around it but um I I believe that the appropriate order today based upon the new provision that's in the code um is quite frankly
mood in my opinion and um I would I don't believe that um there's um uh reason in in light of the new
provision in the code I'm not going to um find Mr Poe and the business $250 for the one day of evidence that's before us can I say one thing um based off of what the new code
states that it be strictly followed not extra items such as wine holders and you know if it's not outdoor furniture because I feel like the business you
give them an inch they take a yard and test what the ordinance states that it should be strictly followed by because the ordinance was changed to allow the outdoor furniture but not to
okay let me put a little outdoor furniture and let me add a couple other extra things and then we'll be back here again for another year going back and forth and I would say that it would behoove the city to to try to Define
outdoor furniture because I can easily see myself having a wine rack on my porch which is outdoors so I I you know I don't think that the
wooden wine racks of our strictly allowed or could only be used indoors I can easily see that that could be outdoor furniture so um you know I think that
that is um the right decision on my part and I understand but that's all we you know if um there had been violations going ongoing from all the way that we had
evidence but for us today that this has been going on since September and all the way through March 17th or maybe March 3D I would feel differently I would feel
that it was um you know uh basically you know a blatant disregard for what the code says because that's to me that's just like saying okay you're getting a speed in
ticket you're not going to get one this time because even though you broke the law I'm not going to give you a ticket this time because it's only one time but then somebody will keep on doing it because they felt like they got away
with not getting fined or got a citation for that one time that they you know broke what you know the law was I I I understand and I think that's a good example you know uh but we have a very
in this case the state to go along with your they they changed the speeding limit and I know that they're changing the speeding limit and I'm here after they've changed the speeding limit and he was five miles over the speeding
limit I think it it it doesn't it it's because I do have some discretion not a lot I have some discretion and in my
opinion there's not enough evidence to um say that what he had there was um in on February 14th was in fact would violate the March 17th provision in my
opinion it doesn't so but even though the March 17th had not been approved he was still in violation on that day I understand um and that will
that will trigger all other businesses to do the same if they see one person do it the first thing they say to me on a regular basis well so and so did it and so and so did it and you know so it's it's a it's a domino
effect and so I have to you know again try to stay consistent because when another business saw that furniture they felt like okay well why are they able to do it but I was told I couldn't do it and you are exactly right and you did
the right thing it's now in my in front of me and that's my decision and I understand why you did it and you did the like I said you did the right thing and and you can
tell every person that comes up to you that you did um I think if you point to the very specific facts of this particular hearing and the evidence that
we had and the determination by the city you know of four weeks later and not even that two weeks later March 3D they're already hearing it the first time if you have those specific things then
maybe I'd rule again the way I'm ruling now but that is a very I would not expect that to occur very often in fact I I would say it's less than less than a 5% chance of that
of other businesses doing it no no no okay of of the circumstances facts surrounding this particular so when somebody says well that special magistrate let him get away with you know well if they want to come to me with the same set of facts that we have
here then maybe it maybe I might end up ruling the same way but I don't think it's going to happen very often and so you keep I'm not by ruling this way it has nothing it's not saying anything
um that takes away from what you have done you've done exactly what you were supposed to do and that's your role and and I guess I can say this on the record
I have been a code enforcement officer I know that the struggles that happened you know the push back and you know and the whole nine yards so you I don't want you to walk away from
this at all feeling like um you didn't um that somehow I didn't hear you or or believe that what you did was correct um it's just under this particular set of circumstances I believe that the more
prudent decision on my part is to um uh uh basically dismiss dismiss the action so um Mr Po you want to say something I'll be very brief and I appreciate I I
appreciate your take on the circumstances it sounds like you're um saying that it's made Mood by the change of the law and that you're going to dismiss the case the reason for my motion to continue was to avoid if there was a finding of another violation the necessity of another appeal and the
duplicity and expense that would go along with that so I wanted to avoid at least at this time the finding of a violation if your determination is to find is to dismiss it mutus um then I appreciate your approach on that your honor and I think that'll keep it
efficient and we'll see what happens with the court of appeals on the on the matter that's pending and I also do want to say our goal all along and I've said this before has been to comply with the code and our goal with the new change of code has it will continue to be to
comply with the code and so I just wanted to be clear that is that that is a good point um it is um you know if there um there's a limit to what anybody would reasonably think is
outdoor furniture thank you and so that is something that I think um is going to be important for you to to um consider so
um I don't have anything or more on that do you have any questions Mr Po about I'm going to issue an order in the next week or so and we'll go from there my understanding is the order will be dismissing the citation
okay I don't have anything else um thank you very much for being here that concludes all the cases for today okay did you have any questions Christian or or Nikki for me no I'm good
okay thank you and that's it for today excuse