well good afternoon everyone Uh welcome to the city of MadiRaa Beach Variance and Special Exception Special Magistrate hearing Uh my name is Bart Valdez and I'm the appointed special magistrate to hear today's cases I'm a practicing attorney and I've been a member of the
Florida Bar for over 20 years I have been appointed to this position in accordance and with the authority set forth under Florida law and the city of MadiRaa Beach Code of Ordinances It is my role to fairly and objectively review the matters presented today in these requests As such I would like to advise you of certain matters related to
today's proceedings Today's matters will be heard in the order that they appear on the agenda And also if you are here for code enforcement matters or variances you are in the uh correct place The first thing we're going to do is a special exception then the variances and then the code enforcement Uh at this time I have read and reviewed
the applications with all attachments any written submissions by anyone having an interest any timely submitted written objections and the materials provided by the city staff In all cases the hearing will be conducted in the following order The city will present its case and staff report The applicant may ask questions
of the city's representative The applicant will present his or her case supported by witnesses and evidence and the city may cross-examine each witness We will then take public comment We will then public participation will then be closed I will deliberate and then make a decision to grant or deny the request in
the application Formal rules of evidence do not apply to this proceeding However I will exert every effort to ensure that fundamental fairness is afforded to all parties After my decision today I will issue an order The order will be reduced to writing and uh the applicant will be provided with a copy by mail
Additionally you are advised that I do not have the authority to grant you a building permit You must still obtain a building permit for any work you intend to do on your property If you wish to present any information to me today it is necessary that you swear or affirm that you will tell the truth Therefore in just a few minutes the city attorney
will administer the oath and swear in any witnesses So what that means is anyone who's in the uh sitting here today that wants to talk to me is going to need to be sworn in in just a couple moments Uh and of course this includes any members of the public who are directly affected by the application and
may wish to provide comment Now uh the first matter on the agenda today is SE 2025-01 for the Barefoot Beach Club A couple of the interested parties have uh
lawyers I think the applicants lawyers here also u M Edwards has a lawyer And so I just want to go over a couple things Uh the first thing we're going to have to deal with is a motion to continue That means to postpone this
uh to another month Again that's a motion that's been filed by a a resident And then also understand the applicant's lawyer may also be seeking that I just want to say if the hearing goes forward today then it will be a quasi judicial hearing and it will begin with a
statement by the city attorney that will include a summary of the application the standards to be applied to the evidence the burden of proof and the identity of all parties in the order of their presentations Uh the next is the first party present evidence to the board shall be the applicant So that would be
barefoot beach club The applicant shall make a presentation to include all evidence relating to the applicable standards for review of the application The next party to present evidence to the board shall be the city and the city shall provide analysis of the application which includes a consistency
determination with regard to the city comprehensive plan and a determination of compliance with the procedural requirements of law Uh and then other parties shall follow the city in order of their filed notices And Mr Tras the city attorney has a chart that shows
everyone who has gone ahead and filed something So Mr Tras I want to start with the motion to continue I understand the lawyer for the applicant's here Come on board sir And can you give me your name please yes your honor Brian Angst McFarland Ferguson McMullen
625 Court Street Clearwater here on behalf of the applicant And uh we are also u consenting to a continuence I believe the uh next hearing before your honor would be May 26th according to Mr Tras All right And Mr Tras I've noticed and
that forwarded to me today was and I'll make sure I'm getting this correct Jane Graham an attorney for Cynthia Edwards who filed an objection to the uh application Apparently she
filed a an email that I'm construing as a motion to continue Says that she is ill unable to attend today and her client is unable to attend So I'll treat that as a motion to continue She asked for a date in June I mean I'm I'm willing to move this
to the next date in May but what's the city's position on this Mr Tra city has no objection to uh the continuence based upon the applicant's request that it be continued All right And will it be continued to the May 28th date so um we'd like it to be
scheduled for the next date May 26th I think is on the calendar Andrew can you confirm that uh May 26th holiday I thought it was going to be on a Tuesday but I I I know Holden emailed
Yeah Okay hang on just a second That's supposed to be the Yeah it looks like the 26th is Memorial Day Yeah it was Oh we don't want to do it on that day Yeah Um I know Holden emailed about the 27th Um
a Yeah I've got a note here on the calendar too Tuesday the 27th is a question mark Next available whenever y'all have it scheduled is fine with us Yeah I mean I I will certainly be here I'm available so we can do it on uh and
we would do it at noon Yes we would need to do them at noon Okay All right Based upon the applicant's motion to continue as well as one of the agrieved parties motion to continue I'm going to go ahead and grant that So anyone here who's for the first one I'm sorry to make you do this but you guys are going to have to
come back on May 26th at noon 27th 27th May 27th at noon And so you may receive notice but I'm just putting everybody on notice here that will be here May 27th at noon So thank you for coming If you're here for that special exception you don't need to stick around
any longer So uh you're free to go Will they give the room a moment to clear out before I move on to the next one will they need to do another affected party form no If they have published or provided an notice of intent to meet an
affected party they do not need to do it again Okay Uh for this for this specific public hearing Okay Uh thank you for clarifying that I just wanted to make sure uh the public was aware of that It's good good point
Yeah I just sometimes I still need to get everyone sworn in too I need to swear in everyone Okay Thank you Thank you Thank you All right So I assume everybody who's left is here for the variance or code enforcement Uh the first thing we need to do is everybody needs to be sworn in If anybody wants to say anything to me
today then you need to stand and be sworn in So Mr Tras can you go ahead and swear everybody in please thank you Everybody raise your right hand if you're going to speak today You swear the testimony you're about to give today is going to be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Okay Thank you Okay The uh next matter on the agenda is V 2025-03 You guys good down there okay Uh for the property located at 422 137th Avenue Circle is the city ready to proceed we are All right Go ahead Mr
Tras Uh first of all I want to present to you um two support letters that the city has received so that you have those They're from two individuals I can't figure out their names So I'm going to go ahead and
pass those down to you Okay the city um is going to go ahead and have Mr Morris uh present So Mr Morris if you could please tell us your occupation and your job responsibilities here at the city of
Mader Beach Um good afternoon My name is Andrew Morris I'm the long range planner at the city of MadiRaa Beach Um usually I I work on I think things related to planning like uh zoning ordinances
comprehensive plan updates Um but also I do variances uh related to variances for land development regulations like like this one uh today Are you familiar then with the application for the property address of
422 137th Avenue Circle here in MadiRaa Beach yes sir Okay Did you receive an application on behalf of the property owner for a variance yes sir Did you uh review that application and prepare a staff report and recommendation
yes sir Okay Could you please go ahead and present that staff report and recommendation okay So um here's the uh variance app V2025-03 Uh it's for uh property address
is uh 422 137th Avenue Circle Madira Beach Florida Uh the request from the applicant is to reduce the front setback from um 20 ft to 12 feet reduce the rear set back from 25 ft to 15 ft and reduce the side step back on the east side of
of the structure from uh 5T to 4T Um the specific code provision this variance is for is for uh the uh section 110-206 setback requirements Um and currently in the code the following minimum setback shall apply in the R2 lowdensity multif
family residential district The front yard is uh 20 feet the rear yard is 25 ft And for the sideyard a single family lots less than 50 ft wide may reduce the total side setback to 10 ft with a minimum of 5t on either side Uh so with
the background uh the variance request for the property at 422 137th Avenue Circle is to reduce the front yard setback sideyard setbacks and rear yard setback to allow for the construction of a new single family home on a substandard in a
regular regularly shaped lot The existing single family structure on the property was substantially damaged by Hurricane Helen The property owner can rebuild within the same footprint by right but the existing home has a sideyard setback that is less than one foot from the property line The proposed new single family structure will meet
all current FEMA and Florida building code requirements The proposed sideyard uh setbacks would be closer to being conforming uh than the the existing sideyard setbacks Located below is a summary table of the existing uh setbacks and the proposed setback
variances So it shows uh what is usually required and what the applicant is asking for a variance on Um when um the next part is uh the section uh 2-507 variances criteria and analysis uh
special conditions and circumstances exist which are peculiar to land building or other structures for which the variance is sought and which do not apply generally to lands building or other structures in the same district
Special conditions to be considered shall include but are not limited to the following circumst circumstances um which are the I have listed all them below Uh with this application though the the ones
that are relevant are a which is the substandard or regularly shaped lot If this site involves the utilization of an existing lot that has unique uh physical cir circumstances or conditions including a regularity of shape
narrowness and shallness or the size of the lot is less than the minimum required in uh the district regulations Um so lot 30 uh which is the lot that this address is at is a substandard and irregularly shaped lot The lot does not meet the minimum sight area requirements
for a single family home which 4,000 square feet Uh the lot depth is less than the minimum required which is 80 ft The lot width at the front of the lot is less than the minimum required for a single family home at 40 ft Uh the next one it meets is the residential
neighborhood character and that is if the proposed project promotes the established historic or traditional development pattern of a block face including setbacks building height and other dimensional requirements Uh the proposed variance maintains existing front yard setback of 12 ft which is
similar to nearby properties The proposed rear rear yard setback of 15 ft matches the rear rear rear yard setback of a neighboring property The proposed variance supports the tra traditional development power of a block face for the neighborhood And the last one is E
which is architectural and/or engineering considerations If the proposed project utilizes architectural and/or engineering features that would render the project more disaster resistant and uh the existing home had had habitable space at grade that uh
flooded during hurricane Hela Uh the new single family home would be more disaster resistant since the home would be built to current flood plan Florida building code requirements which would mean it's it's elevated It it doesn't have habitable space at grade It would be high high up off the ground Um the
next part of the criteria is special conditions circumstances that do not result from the actions of the applicant and self-created hardship shall not justify variance um was staff findings The plat for lot 30 was approved in 1941 before the current Mader Beach land
development regulations were adopted Existing home was built in 1950 which predates the design criteria requirements for a single family home in the R2 zoning district Both the law and the home are considered legally non-conforming Uh the applicant did not make a self-created hardship since the house and law predate the current zoning
requirements Uh the next one is the granting the variance will not uh confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied to other land buildings or structures in the same zoning
district Many of the lots located in the R2 zoning district along 137th Avenue circle are non-conforming and have older structures that are accurate All single family homeowners in the R2 zoning district have the right to rebuild within their existing footprint but many of that grade structures have setbacks
that are significantly less than what would be uh conforming If other neighboring property owners were to rebuild they would need to apply for similar variances to reduce the non-conformity of the setbacks Uh the next one is if literal interpretation would deprive the applicant of the
rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same zoning district under the terms of the land development regulations subp part B of this code or section 14-205 of the code of orances and would work unnecessary and undo hardship on the applicant staff findings
The applicant would not be able to build a new home within the R2 zoning district setback since the lot is substandard Relying on rebuilding a home within this existing footprint would create a home with minimal side setbacks The proposed variance would have side setbacks that would be closer to conforming reducing the impact of the home on neighboring
properties The proposed variance fits within the intent of the R2 zone district to support or of supporting a mix of lower density single family and multif family dwellings Uh the next one is the variance granted is the minimum variance that will make possible reasonable use of land Um using the
existing footprint when rebuilding the home would have led to a house with a side setback far too close to the neighboring properties The proposed variance allows for a reasonable use of the land and not and does not go beyond the minimum variance necessary The granting of the
variance will be in harmony with the general intent and purpose of the city land development regulations or the code of ordinances when it relates to section 14-205 and that such variance will not be injurious to the area involved or
otherwise detrimental to the public welfare The proposed variance is in harmony with the general intent and purpose of the city land development regulations The R2 zoning district is a residential district that does allow for
single family homes on smaller size lots The new home home would not be injurious to the area involved or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare Um next one is under staff recommendations uh city staff recommends approval of
variance 2025-03 and uh the the applicant also doesn't have any fines or or anything on the the property Um so but yeah the city staff recommends the approval of variance
2025-03 and attached to this are the application um the applicant's answers and the support materials where uh he included a very nice uh like survey that showed uh the existing structure and and what's being proposed and and how it is it is a
big improvement because the current one has very close side setbacks um because one of them is even less than a foot which is really close Um I also uh printed out copies of the zone um letters of neighboring properties that are in support of of this variance Um
and then I also attached the public notice mailing and posting uh where we had to do that 300 foot mailing to uh property owners around um the 300 foot radius Uh uh we did not receive any effective party forms for this variance
uh within that uh the time allowed Mr Morris did the city receive any letters in opposition uh we did not Okay If you could turn to page 72 of the packet I want to I have a couple questions for you on page 72
Page 72 Okay sounds good So are you there yep Okay Can you explain then what this diagram site plan really is so that we're all knowing where the current house sits where the proposed house will
sit and how it affects the setback variance application So the the line that is uh dashed is the existing building and the solid line in black is what's being
proposed So as you can see uh the the current building goes really far into the uh uh side setback Um and because of that there on on one of the sides of it is less than a foot
and and then it even at the further up at the other corn it's a like 1.7 ft Um it also uh shows how um the proposed rear setback would would match uh the neighboring houses and the front
existing front setback would be maintained So uh the reason why we support this is it would help get them closer closer to conforming because the lot lot is a is is a regularly shaped lot So this was the closest we were able to get them to at least get the side
setbacks uh near conforming uh to uh reduce the impact of the new house on the neighboring properties All right Thank you I don't have any other questions of Mr Morris I would tender in the evidence pages 58 through 90 of the packet Ask that be received into evidence All right I'll go ahead
and receive into evidence is exhibit number one The agenda items page 58 through page 90 90 And also I have reviewed there are variance request support letters from
what appears to be the neighbors on both sides of the subject property as well as looks like maybe a neighbor on the same street as well all in support of the variance So that'll be exhibit number two All right Is the applicant here mr
Mazio Misillo Yes All right Come on forward sir Uh you've heard the city has recommended approval of your variance However you have the right to cross-examine Mr Morris and ask him any questions based upon his testimony that he provided I'm going to give you a chance in just a minute to tell me
anything you want to tell me but do you have any questions for Mr Morris um no I think he did a very good job Okay great Thank you sir Any other witnesses no other witnesses on this case All right Um sir this is your opportunity to tell me anything you'd like to tell me about your variance request Um I've lived in a
home since 1989 and it's planning on being my home when I retire uh to keep it but uh me and my family are looking forward to moving back in The um the average width will be five feet um which is shown in the middle of the drawing Uh
due to the pies-shaped lot and um you know we're trying to keep it as close as we can We're looking um we're proposing a modular building due um which has standard widths of 15 feet and there's two modules that go together
makes the 30 um but that's it All right Mr Trash any questions for the applicant no sir All right Uh are there any members of the public who are directly affected by this variance who want to come forward and provide public comment all right seeing none we'll
close public comment Anything else on behalf of the city no sir All right I will go ahead and grant the variance in V 2025-03 All right Let's move on to the next one on the agenda which is uh case
number VAR 2025-04 and that's for the property located at 14830 North Behore Drive Is the city ready to proceed we are Go ahead Mr D Uh the city would call uh Joseph
Petralia Joe if you could state um what your occupation is and your job responsibilities here at the city of Madira Beach I'm a planner with the city of Madiraa Beach My primary responsibilities include reviewing building permit applications uh for compliance with the land development
regulations Are you familiar with the variance application that was received for the property 148 14830 North Bayore Drive yes And are you the person that was responsible for making a staff report and recommendation yes Okay If you could
go ahead and present that staff report then Sure So this afternoon we have VR 2025-04 for Elizabeth and Jason at 14830 North Behore Drive Madira Beach Florida
The zoning and future land use is R2 low density multifamily residential residential medium and the request is to encroach into the required front yard setback with an access porch to be located 7 ft from the front property line and an addition of a rear porch to
be located within the existing covered porch footprint 16 ft from the rear property line The specific code provisions are section 110-206 setback requirements 1 and two Front yard required is 20 ft Rear yard
required is 25 ft Background The existing single family home was built in 1949 prior to the creation of the Madira Beach land development regulations which created setback requirements In 2023 a variance
V2023-04 and building permit 2023-207-int were both granted allowing for the for an addition that encroaches into the required rear setback slightly further than what is currently being requested in this variance The addition has since been completed and shown on both the survey and site plan which is
included in the support materials for this application on November 26th 2024 As a result of hurricanes Helen and Milton the city sent the property owners a preliminary determination of the structure being substantially damaged When a structure is substantially
damaged the structure needs to be rebuilt or brought into compliance with current flood plane regulations including having the lowest living floor elevated to an elevation of at least 14 ft NAVD in this case In response the
owner contracted with Davy Shoring to have the existing structure elevated and submitted building permit application number 2025-2552-ELV On February 20th 2025 the city denied the building permit application partially due to the proposed access balconies which encroach
into the required front and rear yard setbacks Under section 110-933E of MadiRaa Beach code of ordinances only the primary structure itself is exempt from the setback requirements of the code and only within
the existing footprint The owner owner met with city staff to discuss the issue The owner agreed to reduce the size of the balcony to help meet the variance criteria and has since submitted this variance request Criteria and analysis
One special conditions and circumstances exist which are particular to the land building or other structures for which the variance is sought and which do not apply generally to the lands buildings or other structures in the same zoning district Special conditions to be considered shall include but are not limited to the following
circumstances and the criteria that was met here are both A and E A being that the lot is substandard or irregularly shaped The lot has a depth of 75 ft which is 5 ft less than the minimum building site
area required in the R2 zoning district The lot area of 3,128 square ft provided from the Panalis County Property Appraisers website is 872 ft or about 21.8% smaller than the minimum required lot area for a single family home in the
R2 district This lot is also in a regular pie shape Additionally criteria E is being met which is for architectural and/or engineering considerations Since the building is going to be elevated it will
make it more disaster resistant and the existing building is legally non-conforming as the entrances will require access platforms once the building is elevated Criteria two the special conditions and circumstances do not
result from the actions of the applicant A self-created hardship shall not justify variance Findings: The substandard or and irregularly shaped lot was planted before the adoption of the current land development regulations and is not the result of any actions
taken by the applicant The non-conform building was constructed in 1949 prior to the adoption of the current setback requirements is not from the actions of the applicant Criteria three granting the variance will not confer on the applicant any
special privilege that is denied to other lands buildings or structures in the same zoning district Findings: SMV 2016-08 through SMV 2016-13 granted variances to several other properties within the same zoning
district for a reduction of the rear yard setback by 15 ft from the required 25 to 10 ft for single family homes in the same block These lots are all 75 ft deep a similar depth to the applicant's property The lots from the approved
variances have rectangular shaped lots and are slightly larger area of about 33,076 ft per lot The lot that is located at 14830 North Bayshore is approximately 1,00 3,128 square ft of
lot area for literal interpretation would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same zoning district under the terms of the land development regulations sub part B of this code or section 14-205 of the code
code of ordinances and would work unnecessary undue hardship on the applicant findings literal interpretation of the code would reduce the buildable footprint of the lot since the lot depth is less than the required 80 ft and the lot area is less than the
required 4,000 ft Many other properties in this zoning district have the ability to elevate their existing structure and add the required to access stairs and balconies by right Five the variance granted is the minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of the land As
previously stated V 2023-04 was granted reducing the rear yard setback to its existing 15.32 ft The rear yard setback being requested by this variance will be less non-conforming than what exists with
this addition and it will be within the covered porch roof line footprint which is shown to be set back 16 ft on the side plan submitted with the application A variance is not needed for the primary structure itself as this will be lifted
within the existing footprint which is permitted by right under the city of Madiraa Beach code of ordinances section 110-933E It is also worth noting that the applicant originally proposed a rear yard setback of only 12.33 ft with an
additional balcony and stairs beyond the current footprint and had to make two revisions to the site plan before resulting in the current proposal to meet a staff recommendation of approval The proposed balcony in the front yard is needed to maintain access to the
front door when the house is elevated and will be 3 ft wide which is the minimum width allowed by Florida Building Code Due to the required elevation of the building the balcony and access stairs will need to wrap around the northeast side of the house which due to the cur curvature of the
front property line is currently only set back 10.76 ft If the balcony and the access stairs were instead to wrap around the southwest side of the property it would not encroach as far into the front setback although it would still be
encroaching and it would create an additional encroachment into the side setback which is only 5 ft Six granting the variance will be in harmony with the general intent and purpose of the city land development regulations or the code of ordinances
when it relates to section 14-205 and that such variance will be will not be injurious to the land involved or otherwise detrimental to public welfare findings The general intent and purpose of the city land development regulations is not to unduly
restrict the owner's ability to maintain or improve their property which they are attempting to do with this variance Furthermore none of the proposed work should negatively impact the water flow or runoff as a drainage plan is requirement for the building
permit Staff recommendation City staff recommends the approval of V2025-04 and included with the application we have the uh including with the variance we have the application applicants responses
proposed site plan existing survey site plan from the previous variance that the property owner obtained in 2023 along with the building permit that was approved and the posting pictures Uh the staff recom recommendation that I just read is pages 91 through
96 Uh pages 97 to 104 is the variance application form that was submitted on time Pages 105 through 110 is the applicant's responses Uh 111 is the site plan 112 is a survey of the current
house 113 is the previous site plan approved from 2023 variance and building permit Page 114 is the mailing affidavit along with the mailing labels on 115
through 118 119 is the posting affidavit and 120 is the posting pictures Thank you Has the city received any letters in opposition or uh in favor of this application neither I have a couple of questions relative to
the photographs So if you could turn to page 107 in the packet Looks like an aerial Could you um explain where the applicant's property is in this aerial sure Put an arrow on it maybe so the special magistrate can see it Yep So I
have my mouse over the applicant's this one over the applicant's property Okay And what do the yellow lines depict that have been overlaid on the aerial i would defer that question to the applicant This is
part of what they provided with their application but I would presume it's showing that the house is it's highlighting where the rear property seems to be and where neighboring properties also protrude into the front
setback Okay And if you could turn to page 110 and can you explain what this photograph is and where the applicant's property is in this photograph yes the applicant's property is on the bottom right where I have my bouse This photo
is also provided with the applicant's application Uh similarly I think the I would improve the rear line The rear yellow line looks like the rear property line The front seems to show that
neighboring properties protrude into the front setback Okay And then if you could turn to the next page page 111 And um can you explain what this exhibit depicts yes So
this is the site plan that was submitted with the variance application showing the proposed elevation plans In the on the right side is the proposed So as you can see the structure itself is staying in the same footprint
as compared to the existing which is on the left in the rear yard The applicant provided on the site plan that uh everything's going to be within the footprint of the covered porch which is dimensioned to be 16
ft And in the front yard there's a you can see a platform is added That's the 3-ft wide platform that's being addressed by the variance and the applicant has confirmed that that's not going to be any closer than 7 ft from the front property line All right Thank
you Um I don't have any other questions for Joe I would tender into evidence pages 91 through 120 of the packet All right All right I'll go ahead and accept into evidence as exhibit number one pages 91
through 120 of the application or of the hearing packet All right Is Elizabeth Holloway or Jason Holloway here anybody on their behalf hello sir What is your name jason Holloway All right Mr Holloway you've
heard the city's presentation Uh Mr Petralia is recommending to me that I approve this application Uh this is your opportunity to ask any questions of Mr Petraia based on his testimony Again you're going to have an opportunity in
just a couple minutes to tell me anything you want to tell me but do you have any questions for Mr Petraia no questions All right Thank you Don't go far Mr Tras do we have any other witnesses from the city no other witnesses for the city All right Mr Holloway what is it you'd like to tell me about this variance uh just thank you for your consideration and looking
forward to rebuilding All right Mr Tras any questions no sir All right Uh you can go have a seat Mr Holloway Thank you so much Are there any members of the public who are directly affected by this variance who want to come forward and provide public comment okay Seeing none we'll go ahead and
close public comment Anything else from the city no Thank you All right Based upon the application and the recommendations of staff I'm going to go ahead and approve V 2025-04 Okay now switching gears Welcome to the city of Mader Beach
code enforcement hearing Once again my name is Bart Valdez I'm the appointed special magistrate to hear today's cases I'm a practicing attorney and have been a member of the Florida Bar for over 20 years I've been appointed to this position in accordance and with the authority set forth in chapter 162
Florida statutes It is my role to fairly and objectively review the matters presented As such I would like to advise you of certain matters related to today's proceedings Today's matters will be heard in the order that they appear on the agenda Every effort will be made to hear all persons having relevant evidence argument or comments to offer
related to the specific case that is being heard Again if you wish to speak today and you have not already been sworn in then it is necessary that you be sworn in in just a couple moments In all cases since the city has the burden approved the city will present its case first The respondent or land owner then
will be given the opportunity to refute the city's allegations Formal rules of evidence do not apply to this proceeding However I will exert every effort to ensure that fundamental fairness is afforded to all parties After hearing all relevant evidence I will issue an order The order will be reduced to
writing and the applicant or excuse me the respondent will be provided with a copy by mail Additionally you are advised that I do not have the authority to grant you a variance permit or special exception of any kind during these code enforcement hearings My role is solely to determine whether a city code has been violated and to provide
you a reasonable time to correct the violation by whatever means is available to you Please be advised that you may be subject to a fine and a lean may be recorded on your property if the violation is not corrected by the compliance deadline All right So if anybody wishes to present any
information to me today it is necessary that you swear affirm that you will tell the truth Anyone who has not already been sworn in but wants to speak to me today please rise and be sworn Is there anybody who didn't get sworn in the first time around okay let's go on to the first one on the
agenda It's code enforcement case number 24-71 for the property located at 129th Avenue East Is the city ready to proceed we are All right Go ahead Mr Tras Call Mr Pinkert um as the city's first witness Mr Pinkert um if you could tell
us what your occupation is and your job responsibilities here at the city of Mader Beach Uh I am the building compliance Okay The building compliance supervisor and one of my duties is to issue building code violations Are you familiar with the property that
is located at 129th Avenue East as the subject this code enforcement case yes Okay Who's the owner of that property and how do you know that uh JPV Hotel Property LLC um from the Penelis County Property Appraiser Okay
And um are you familiar with the courtesy notice of violation that was issued by the city on August 9th of last year yes And I'm just going to refer you to page 125 in the packet Can
you explain what this courtesy notice of violation is for uh it is citing the property owner for U section 110-124 standards and requirements um under the special ex exception uh subsection
um and failure to comply with these special exception orders Uh those are on page uh looks like 132 Okay You're referring to the order granting special exception use that was entered by the special magistrate on
June 8th 2023 Yes Okay And in that order does it provide that the property owner in order to uh be granted the special exception use uh uh conform to certain conditions that were established by the special magistrate correct Okay And can
you go over those special conditions that the order uh requires let's see Uh starting under section 15 on page 133 You can just go to the ordered section
of the order Okay Uh section 15 Do you want me to read through them yes Okay The standalone parking lot must be brought into compliance with the off- streetet parking requirements located in chapter 110 zoning article 7 off streetet parking and loading Uh the
parking lot must meet the landscaping requirements located in chapter 106 vegetation article 2 landscaping The special exception use uh C The standalone parking lot must adhere to the drainage requirements in chapter 98
natural resources Uh D the standalone parking lot must meet the driveway requirements in chapter 58 streets sidewalks and other public places article 2 uh sidewalks and driveways And E an approved building permit will be
required to bring the property or the parking lot into compliance Thank you When the courtesy notice of violation was sent out were those conditions referred to um in the courtesy notice
yes Okay And did it uh provide for some type of corrective action to take place to bring the property into compliance uh the corrective action was to bring the property into compliance with the conditions underlined in the order granting special exception And the
special exception order was included with each of those notices And did it provide well first of all what was the date that that um courtesy notice of violation was issued uh August 9th of 2024 And what was the follow-up date for that compliance
letter uh August 23rd 2024 Was the property brought into compliance by August 23rd 2024 no Was there a subsequent uh notice of code violation that was issued by the city yes And is that the notice that's referred to in uh
pages uh 20 127 128 129 of the packet yes Does it mirror the courtesy notice of violation yes Does it give additional time to come into compliance yes The follow-up date for the notice of
violation is was March 14th of 2025 Okay And this letter was dated what date february 28th 2025 Okay Was this letter sent by regular and certified mail it was Okay Did the city receive the green
card back or the regular mail back from the property uh yes On page uh 131 Okay And what does that reflect uh that is the certified return receipt um signed
Okay And is that dated uh that is dated March 5th 2025 Okay Did the property come into compliance by the compliance date listed in that code violation notice no Okay
The city issue a statement of violation and notice of hearing Yes You could turn to page 138 in the packet Is that the statement of violation request for hearing yes Okay And did it site the same code section yes As being
violated Was um that statement of violation request for hearing sent by regular and certified mail yes Okay Okay And when was that done uh April 18th of 2025 Did the city issue an affidavit of service showing that it in fact been
sent yes Okay And is that affidavit of service listed on pages 136 and 137th packet correct And lastly I have a question about the notice of hearing Was a notice of hearing issued for today yes And was that um also provided to the
property owner yes And was that also sent by regular and certified mail correct Okay Was the property also posted uh yes that is on page 143 Okay Can you point out where the posting
is in that photograph on page 143 uh just beside the cone on the right hand side Okay Do you know whether or not the if the property owner ever filed a application for a building permit as a result of the
special magistrate's order uh yes I believe they did apply for a permit The last comment that I'm aware of is the plan that was submitted was insufficient for review And what date was that comment provided
to the property owner looks like September or it's September 14th of 2023 That is on page 144 Have there been any additional um requests for a building permit application to comply with the special
magistrate's order not that I'm aware of No All right Can you explain to us what the picture in 145 in the packet is page 145 Uh that is a picture of the posting a notice of hearing outside of city hall
Okay Do you know whether or not that this these properties that are listed in the notice are currently being used as parking lots they are Are they paid parking lots in other words people that are using them are paying the property
owner or its agent Correct Okay Can this property come into compliance by having um the parking lot closed other words it's not used as a parking lot any longer Yes Okay And what are the
other things that are necessary uh for the property owner to bring the property into compliance i realize that earlier you had cited a list of things in the or um special magistrate's order but what specifically would need to be done
i think I would defer to either uh uh the planning department to answer those specific Okay I'll I'll ask them next then Okay All right Thank you Um I don't have any other questions of Mr uh Pinker at this time I would tender in evidence um exhibits
121 through 145 in the packet All right we'll go ahead and accept into evidence as exhibit number one pages 121 through 145 of the agenda packet And Mr Pinker I just have one
question I I think the purpose of page 143 is to show proof of posting And maybe this I need to talk to some a different witness but does this picture also evidence the failure to comply with the prior order i mean I
know that there's requirements for landscaping and and other requirements Uh does this picture also show that they're not in compliance with those other conditions yeah that's correct It just shows the current condition as well
Okay All right Is uh anyone here on behalf of JPV Hotel Property LLC yes your honor Once again Brian 625 Court Street Clearwater McFarland Ferguson and McMullen on behalf of the
respondent JPV Property LLC All right Mr Ens you have want to do any cross-examination of Mr Pinker uh just um may I approach i've got some exhibits some evidence here that I want to provide to the magistrate Yeah show it to Mr First of course Do they have to
deal with this witness uh they may It's a business tax receipt So to the extent that's in his wheelhouse Okay Are you going to take this other stuff off okay I I suppose I should lay a foundation
first Uh so Mr Pinker are you familiar with the business tax receipt process for the city of Mader Beach or would that be somebody else i'm familiar Yes Do you do you actually issue the business tax receipts no Who does that uh Lisa Sherman Okay Um what role do you
play in issuing business tax receipts uh none currently Okay So you're just generally familiar with it okay Um can I guess I'll wait till you're gonna present other witnesses Tom yes Okay then I will end my cross- examination Mr Pinker Thank you All
right Thank you Mr Tras Who's the city you want to call next uh Jenny Silver All right Go ahead Jenny If you could state your occupation here and your job responsibilities at the city My name is Jenny Silver I'm the
community development director Um I oversee building services and planning and zoning Okay Are you familiar with the special magistrates's order that um Mr Pinker was referring to yes I am Okay And if on the last page of that um
special magistrates's order there's a list of five things that need to be accomplished by the property owner as a condition to being able to use this as a standalone parking lot Are you familiar with those five five items that are listed yes I am Can you go through each
one of them and explain what the property owner would have to do to come into compliance with each one of those subparagraphs um I can give a broad overview each each one of these articles um have a lot of detail in them but you must comply with
all of them to get a building permit Um in the off streetet the comment a let's see you have that on Okay that's on the screen What page is that page 134 Um that's the article
chapter 110 zoning article 7 off streetet parking and loading There are site requirements um giving a stabilized surface as one of them Um and B is chapter 106 vegetation
article 2 landscaping That includes things as buffer buffer zones and buffering for public parking lots Um and then in C there is drainage requirements in that
chapter 98 Um and then in chapter 58 that has the sidewalk and driveway widths that the city um has to adhere to and all of those go within a building permit When we receive a building permit
we review all of those standards Um there was as Mr PinkerD stated previously um in August the 9th 2023 we did receive an application for this property to come up into compliance
But when the city reviewed that we submitted comments back to the applicant and that was September 14th 2023 that these submitted plans were insufficient for review I believe that there was other discussions um not
including myself but some of our engineers here at the city um looking at the parking lot with the applicant in October and then the last correspondence that I see through email was December the 1st and we have not received any
other comments on that application All right Thank you I have no other questions from Mrs Silver All right Miss Silver I'm going to ask you the same questions about um the photograph that I see on 143 Based on this photograph does it appear this parking lot meets
the complies with chapter 110 of the zoning article 7 no All right How about uh does it meet the landscaping requirements located in chapter 106 vegetation article 3 um no All right How
about the Does it appear to meet or does it appear to adhere to the drain drainage requirements in chapter 98 natural resources no it does not And how about the driveway requirements does it meet the driveway requirements um it's
hard to tell in this picture Um I'm I am not sure Okay And if I understand correctly the the situation is that the owner of the property it looks like submitted some sort of plans in late
2023 But for those plans to be approved they first have to the owner first has to be in compliance with my prior order Is that right yes they would have to be in compliance with all of those um five things A through E which they did not receive an building
permit Okay And I just want to make sure I'm I understand we're not a chicken or the egg situation So they're applying for a permit but they have to Does the permit application just have
to address these I guess four or five things is that the issue yes So the the last thing is that E an approved building permit but within that approved building permit would address A through D Okay I understand that Mr Ens come on up
Do you have any questions for Miss Silver based upon my questions uh or her testimony uh your honor just the same foundation I'd like to ask Uh Miss Silver do you have any role in the review or issuance of business tax receipts in the city of Mader Beach i do not issue but I do know I have some
knowledge of the BTR process Um you could ask me and and I'll see if I can answer Okay U just very briefly I'm not I'm not going to belabor this but uh from a planning and zoning perspective do you review uh uses that are subject to business tax receipts prior to the
issuance of a business tax receipt yes we do I don't personally but yes we do And does but prior to the city issuing a business tax receipt and accepting the tax money on behalf of the the operator of the business does the planning and
zoning department clear that and say that the properties in compliance and the uses of compatible and allowed under the code yes When we receive an application for a business tax receipt it goes to the planning department to review for the use Okay So last question
prior to the issuance of a business tax receipt and the city accepting and receiving the tax funds the planning department confirms that the use is allowed and is compliant and there aren't any code violations on the property Is that correct um I know for the uses I would assume um also for code
any code enforcement or code um compliance that we would check that Thank you ma'am I have a little bit rebuttal Go ahead Mr Tras So Miss Silver so if the city issued a business tax receipt to
JP Hotel Property LLC does that mean that they're in compliance with all of these standards um no not not particularly Just because we sent them a a business tax receipt doesn't mean
that they received an approved building permit um it doesn't mean that they have met all of those conditions They're A through A through D as well And in fact they have not met any of those conditions Correct That's
correct Um I'm unsure of that D with the streets and sidewalks um with the driveway requirements but other than that um they do not comply with All right Thank you I have no other questions All righty Uh anybody else on behalf of
the city no other witnesses from the city Mr Tras I don't know maybe I missed it Time for compliance and proposed uh fine on this one if I find there's a violation So um the city is going to recommend that the property owner be
given 30 days to come into compliance Should he fail to be come into compliance within that 30 days that he be subject to a $250 a day fine and just so the record's clear Mr Tras I want to make sure compliance is either
close the property or bring the property into compliance with the five I don't know if I called them conditions or requirements of the special exception conditions Yeah conditions
So there's two ways the product can be brought into compliance said it stopped being used as a park parking lot or they comply with the five conditions that were set forth in your order Okay I just want to make sure that was clear on the record All right All right Mr Unst Uh your opportunity to tell me anything you
want to tell me Make any arguments call any witnesses show me any evidence you want to show me Thank you honor Uh may I approach absolutely And once again I've shown these documents to Mr Tras I've got copies for them that I'm going to provide as well Thank you Thank you
I want to provide just for reference Yeah Have copies for Mr Tras as well Your honor may I proceed thank you your honor Um so succinctly to give you the practical the actual what's going on here with this piece of property This
property is in the John's Pass Village activity center Uh the applicant and the city and the community have been working on that activity center uh and the comprehensive plan uh for many years Uh and that process took roughly three
years to to complete with Penllis County for Penllis uh and the city You know my applicant or my my client was you know proactive member uh of the community that participated in that process and is is helping uh in his mind the city
achieve the planning elements that it wants to achieve on this property particularly in the activity center To that effect I can tell you uh and he can testify to it that we are imminently submitting a PD application for a plan development for a hotel use which would
include uh structured parking uh which will include parking that again would be consistent with this current use but improved in a structured parking uh with hotel use over top Uh city's aware of that Uh that's just for your information your honor So I don't want you to view
my client as someone who is not active not responsive uh just totally out to lunch and thumbming their nose at the city Uh you know he's he's working proactively in many areas with the city on many different parcels Uh and again we believe uh consistent with the
comprehensive plan and the goals and objectives of the city uh and of the planning department So in this particular case your honor um Mr KS uh JPV did submit a building permit application after your order in 2023 Uh
for whatever reason Mr K was unaware or felt like that process was still moving forward um and thought that he was waiting for some comments back I believe from the engineering consultant uh regarding that Um having said that your honor again and I can show you um the
city has issued a business tax receipt for this part for these parcels It's you know these parcels are are should be really unified They're not unified yet but it's one cohesive use This is a parking lot that's managed by UPP Global LLC a parking management company that's very familiar to the city Uh and the
city issued a business tax receipt in 2023 uh through 2024 and then sent an invoice again for business tax receipt 3950 uh in September of 2024 which was paid just prior to Hurricane Helen Uh and when you look at the code sections that
I provided you your honor uh and in my experience you don't get a business tax receipt unless the city uh establishes that the use is consistent and there are no code violations There's no zoning or or development review process that needs to occur Uh and then when you look
through uh what happens to revoke a business once the city issues a business tax receipt what is the proper process under the black letter law of the code to close that business or to revoke that business tax receipt and that has to go to the board of commissioners uh
pursuant to section 62-57 um of the code So the city's already issued a business tax receipt has already accepted the tax funds So purely from a legal argument your honor I my argument would be from a legal
perspective under the process under the code the first step to get back to your honor for code enforcement and to levy a lean on the property for a violation would be to first go back to the city commission and have the business tax receipt revoked because the business tax
receipt is what legally establishes the business and allows the business to operate within the city You cannot do business in Madira Beach without a business tax receipt So from this perspective you know the respondent felt like they were following the process They were paying their taxes They got
their business tax receipt Uh this isn't a use that was just established fly by night They haven't changed the character of the use since the business tax receipt was issued Um so it's not like they put some non-conforming structure on the lot So that's my legal argument your honor to the extent that you agree
from a process perspective that this should go to the the board of commissioners first uh that would be my my argument that that I would advance to your honor to the extent that that argument is not going to apply today uh and you do uh find them in violation and
you uh do want compliance uh we would request that you would allow us time to go back into that permitting process understanding that these improvements are going to be ripped out and and it's again going back to the practical ical argument here or not the practical argument the pract practical facts of the situation is whatever money they
spend to landscape and drainage and and pave all of that's getting ripped out in in short order for the PD so we would request that if we had a PD application active that code enforcement be for would be would for forbear uh if we have
a building permit application active that's sufficient for review and let's make that the condition if either of them are sufficient for review a PD application within 30 days is sufficient for review or a building permit application that's sufficient for review Um that that the code enforcement would
forebear Uh and if the city's ultimately if ultimately the the outcome is our least preferable outcome which is he does they do have to invest in improving this parking lot with improvements that are going to be ripped out We would like to not have to start that construction
until after the season which would be after this summer So sometime in the October November time frame your honor Preferably November All right I I understand the legal argument I may have some more questions about that Do you want to call any
witnesses or present any other argument or evidence you want to say anything you don't have to nevericotic You can say that if you'd like Hey good afternoon sir Just give me your name and your relationship with these uh
this LLC Uh William KS and I'm one of the managers of the LLC And tell me again I know I've seen you before How do you spell your last name k A R Ns Gotcha You look a lot younger than the last time I was here I don't know about that sir But all right What do you want to
tell me i I understand your lawyer's argument but what do you want to tell me about this situation well I did apply for the uh uh permit shortly after the last hearing Um as uh Holden had explained to you the
uh city engineer I believe it was Al Carrier who was working on that and I was in communication with him He simply just said that the plan was insufficient that we submit it Didn't tell me what was insufficient about it or anything like that Um so I don't know how to correct the
plan if I don't know what was incorrect with the plan that was submitted So I'd like to get the uh permit pulled I understand uh it's just a big waste of money to go ahead and do any work on
that property when whether the PD gets approved or not we're building something on that property Um property is not going to sit there Property been in that same condition for over 15 years Operated as a parking lot way before we
ever purchased it So I want to do whatever is best for the city whatever is best for our development And uh right now the parking lots are full on a regular basis They stay full through the
summer So certainly wouldn't want to tear up the parking lot because it affects businesses that I rent to all along the boardwalk that I own property to That's where they park to go to eat at Caddies or go to Skullies or go to
the fish market at the at the uh uh east end of the property We we own that uh uh Dons property down there and that's where the people park So it certainly doesn't make any sense to eliminate all
the parking at high season when this is something that we could do in October or November But I need direction on how my plan was incomplete insufficient
insufficient What's that mean uh may I ask one question to Mr K uh Mr When do you believe that you will have this PD application submitted what's your time frame for submitting the PD application it's any it's any day now
Within the next 30 days absolutely Thank you sir All right Um Mr Trash do you have any cross-examination Mr KS i do Go ahead sir Mr KS you're a general contractor correct yes sir How long have you been a general contractor
44 years Okay How many building permits have you pulled here in the city of Madira Beach in the last 10 years approximately 40 maybe Okay So you're familiar with the process then when you get comments back on an application that's been submitted what you need to do to bring
the uh application in compliance Correct Absolutely Okay As we all know uh Mr Tras uh comments aren't forthcoming So in the portal uh there is a link that provides on Thursday September 14th 2023
to whom it may concern and it provides a response to the application Did you receive that i don't um someone in my office handles that I I don't handle that myself All right So someone in your office handled that uh response uh that came from the city If that's if the one
you're referencing is uh the one that says the plans are in incomplete is that is that the one you're talking about okay Yeah The answer is yes Yeah What's it what's that mean though so did you and I called Mr Carrier and I asked him to please send me a detailed list of
anything that's not complete on that set of plans And as you can see in the portal there's no activity since then Did you read that letter yes Okay So you you understand then and it's been received into evidence The
letter says "Per the order granting special exception used to allow vehicular parking on the boardwalk properties requires the standalone parking to be brought into compliance with the city code of ordinances regarding off- streetet parking and loading landscaping and storm water
requirements The submitted plan is insufficient for review You're aware of that right that's exactly what I'm talking about." Okay doesn't state what's insufficient about it Okay Um
I've done this I've done this for 44 years Mr Tras So um approximately how many cars park on this parking area on a day-to-day basis i believe there's approximately
170 parking spots on the property Cars come and go throughout the day So I couldn't tell you how many cars per day parked there So what is the income that JPV Hotel Property LLC receives from these parking lots on a monthly basis
your I'm going to object I'm going to object This is outside the scope of direct and it's not relevant to the uh code enforcement issue before Your honor I think I understand Go ahead The reason I'm asking is is because if you're going to associate in a dollar fine associated with the violation if in
fact that it's low enough then the property owner could continue uh to pay the daily fine and keep the parking lot open So I think it's appropriate in regard to how much money is actually receiving in relation to the daily fine of $250 And I do think it's relevant for
that purpose We ask the same question when people are doing VRBOS So you don't have to answer if you don't want to I don't mind answer but I'd like you to answer I don't mind answering it because I don't I don't have any idea how much the parking that up collects I know that
we rent up the par park parking lot and I know what we receive on a monthly basis for that Okay What do you receive on a monthly basis then about $47,000 Does that include all the lots together that's correct
Okay All right I don't have any other questions and I believe that concludes the tax Okay Thank you All right Uh first of all I'll go ahead and uh acceptant evidence as exhibit two pages of information that you provided Mr Ang Thank you honor Also
want to give you the opportunity Is there any followup you want to have with Mr Kins based upon Mr Trash cross-examination no your honor Okay All right Mr Unser are there any other witnesses you want to call today we have no other witnesses All right
Um Mr Ens I'll start with you since it's your argument but Mr Tras I'm going to give you an opportunity I have read the ordinances the ordinance that you cited Mr Ens I follow your argument Are you aware of any case law reported at an appellet level or even circuit court decisions on this argument that you're
making because I don't I don't know if I necessarily see in this ordinance what you're arguing but is there any guidance that you can give me from any court uh that's passed on this issue before your honor I mean I the the notice of hearing that I got was the first notice that
I've received of this and that was from April 21st that it's dated April 18th My client received April 21st So I'm just becoming aware of this entire issue and this entire history Uh so what I know is in my practice whether it's Madiraa Beach or Clear Water or St Pete you
don't get a business tax receipt if your property is not in compliance or if your use needs a special exception or if your use needs um you know some kind of public hearing uh or development review process So uh from my perspective when a
city issues a BTR it's certifying that that business is legally allowed to operate whether it's from a planning perspective um uh you know an alcohol zoning perspective a height density setbacks any of those types of perspectives And what the code in
MadiRaa Beach says and this is maybe peculiar to Madira Beach your honor because I can tell you I've not seen this particular uh code section anywhere else Not to say it doesn't exist but what MadiRaa Beach says is if the operation of a business is contrary to to the provisions of the code it first
must go back to the board of commissioners to retain the right to revoke the local business tax receipt Uh and so that's the process I think the city should have started with here U but again that's purely a legal argument your honor Uh and I do not have any
appellet case law Um if you want to give us another month I can come back with a brief for you Um and I'm not being sarcastic I mean if if it's something you're interested in I I'm interested in it as well Um I we can do that Um if you're going to rule today you've heard
our argument your honor I appreciate that U Mr Tras I'll give you the same opportunity Can you provide some insight on this again I'm I hear the argument I don't see in this ordinance Um but is there any case law that that you can
point me to any other argument you want to make on that particular issue first of all I'm not aware of any case law that it falls in line with what Mr UN was arguing to to you as a special magistrate but to me I think this is just a red hearing We're not talking about the use of the property right now We're talking about whether it's in
compliance uh with the order that you had entered two years ago So this is two years that they had to come into compliance and in fact have not done so Um so I don't I don't believe that that argument should hold any water You've heard testimony from two city employees
that the property is not in compliance with your order And I think that that is sufficient enough to prove that there is a violation of the cited code section Um I'm very concerned about the um the fine if you find that there is a violation here Even at $250 a day times
30 days in a month it's $7,500 So the business is receiving $47,000 a month The fine is can be a maximum of 7,500 Um we're still asking for that but um I'm hoping that Mr KS
would do the right thing and close the parking lot down Either that or bring it into compliance within those 30 days So um but otherwise we'll be expect the city will be expecting a check on a monthly basis for $7,500 All right And Mr Tras what's the
response to Mr UNK's argument about if a PD application or a building application is submitted Uh how do you have any response to that or how I should treat that i mean I
understand the argument he's making Look if I'm going to build a hotel on this oh I spend all the money to make a big parking lot I get that argument I I don't know if that I mean that's not before me today It's not whether a code provision has been violated or not I just want to come up with a practical solution to that issue I think Mr KS
made that same argument two years ago when we heard the case the first time You remember that he was a witness um in the case and it is actually his name is actually referenced in the order that you had entered that he was here and testified and I think that that was their intention two years ago
Um I know that I have been familiar with Mr Kins's um desire to build a hotel in John's Pass Village um for at least 10 years Um so this is not something new Um I know he's working on it but I don't
think it has any relevance Um two years ago we had the same capability of making those arguments Um I don't think that they were successful then I don't think they should be successful now We need to get the property into compliance so that it complies with the city code
All right Thank you All right Um are there any members of the public that have knowledge of this code violation that want to come forward and provide any testimony in regard to this particular code proceeding all right seeing none we'll go ahead and close public comment All
right based upon the testimony of the city staff and the uh evidence I'm going to go ahead and find that there is a violation These five conditions have not been complied with Mr UNS I I followed your argument And um you know if you find case law and you want to file a motion for
reconsideration or rehearing of my order I I would welcome that and certainly hear that at one of our next meetings So I'm going to go ahead and move forward with an adjudication today But again I want to get this right I want to follow the law of the state of Florida And if there's a judge out there or appellet panel that have already ruled on this
and I'd very much like to see that you're welcome to file that uh brief Um I'll give you 10 days to do that Mr Mr Tras I'll give you another 10 days after that if you want to file anything else in response or in reply to whatever Mr
UNS files and that still gives us time you know before the next hearing if I need to bring it up I Mr Ens I understand what you're saying about the timing I'm willing to work with you a little bit on the timing and uh give you 60 days to bring the property into
compliance and then a $250 a day fine after that What I'll also say is as I do in all my orders I'll reserve and preserve jurisdiction If you want to come back in and you want to make an argument that my fine should be abated reduced or something like that uh based upon some new information or some
development plans or some submissions or building permit submission I'm here every 30 days and I'd be you know more than welcome to hear that You just have to coord coordinate it with Mr Tras so that it's properly noticed and can be put up uh for a public hearing But again please feel free to do that Uh you can
get all my information from the city or or online of course So all right uh we'll move on to the next one which is code enforcement uh case number I don't know if it's make sure I got the case number right Mr Travis what's the case number on this one is it
just 122 no it is not 122 So the case number is uh let me find that Uh I'm not seeing a case number So this is the property that is located at 13715 Gulf Boulevard property owner is
John Vulpe as trustee of the John Vulpe uh revocable living That That's what I have So okay So the next hearing we're going to move on to um Mr Vulpe if you're in the audience we're moving on to your case It's the case for the property located at
13715 Mr Tr is city ready to proceed Yes Uh the city would call Holden Pinker Mr Pinker if you could state your occupation and your job responsibilities here at the city of Madera Beach please Uh building code compliance supervisor and one of my duties is to issue
building code violations Are you familiar with this property that is located at 13715 G Boulevard yes Okay Who's the owner of that property and how do you know that
uh John I'm sorry Uh John Vulpi uh and the Panelis County property appraiser Okay And what is this property um in violation of uh the sections cited in the courtesy
notice uh are for maintenance of the exterior That's section 1469 and general maintenance which is 1470 All right Did the city issue then a courtesy notice of violation and if so
what was the date of that notice uh yes And the courtesy notice was mailed on February 28th of 2025 Okay And when this courtesy notice was sent did it specifically provide besides the code sections you just mentioned um
the violation detail and a corrective action needed to be taken by the property owner yes And what were the what was that uh the building on the property is in a state of disrepair and to correct the violation the owner or
licensed contractor will need to apply for and obtain a building permit Um if a permit cannot be obtained the structure must be removed Okay Did this letter um provide the property owner with a follow-up date yes
March 14th of 2025 Did the property come into compliance by March 14th no Okay When um the courtesy notice of violation was sent did it attach photographs to the courtesy notice yes Okay Could you go through those
photographs that were attached to the courtesy notice of violation sure Uh page 152 is a posting of the I believe that is an unfit placard Um and unfit for human
habitation Correct Okay Um page 153 are interior pictures of the wall where you'll see the the back part of the home is separating or sinking Um this is more separating of
the concrete and the wall and the supporting um foundation on page 154 Uh more separation on 155 And that is a 155 is a closeup view of
the photos on 156 Um here you can kind of see the I guess sagging of that where the deck meets the back of the house on the second level Okay And if you could turn back to page
154 and 155 It looks like there's some type of jack that has been added underneath that overhang Am I is that correct yes Okay What's the purpose of that
i'm my assumption is the either the owner or someone is trying to brace that part of the building to keep it from falling down Okay Once this letter was sent out was it just sent out by regular mail the
courtesy notice was sent regular mail and the notice of code violation was sent certified Okay let's go to that then If you can turn to page 157 This notice of code violation mirrors the courtesy notice as to the
code sections that were cited Yes Okay And it could you go through the specifics uh relative to the subparagraphs that are listed in the notice of violation specifically under section 1470 why certain subparagraphs
are listed and not all of them Um I grace Mills was the author of this letter initially Um but the subsections all relate to uh structure and structural members Um
section 40-70 same general maintenance um the section two floors interior walls and ceilings of every structure shall be structurally sound Six supporting structural members are to be kept
structurally sound free of deterioration and capable of bearing imposed loads safely Um seven walls and ceilings should be in good repair from excessive cracks breaks loose plaster and similar conditions and walls should be provided
with paint wall covering materials or other protective covering Section 11 foundation and wall shall be maintained structurally sound free from defects and damage and capable of bearing imposed loads safely and 13 Exterior porches
landings balconies stairs and fire escapes shall be provided with railings properly designed and maintained to minimize the hazard of people falling and the same shall be kept structurally sound and good repair and free from
defects When the notice of code violation was sent were the same photographs attached to that notice yes Okay Did you receive um well first of all you sent that by certified mail yes Did you receive a response uh in other words the green
card back yes That is page 166 Okay After uh the green card was received back did anyone from the property uh the any of the property owners come to the city and um follow up
as to what needs to be done to bring the property into compliance not that I'm aware of Um there is a separate report from an engineer um that visited the property Um but personally reach out to me or contact me
No Okay In this uh notice of code violation did um did the city give additional time to bring the property into compliance uh yes Give me one sec This is
the Yep So the follow-up date was March 31st of 2025 for the notice of violation Did that occur no Did the city issue a statement of violation and notice of hearing for
today yes If you could turn to page 178 179 of the packet Is this a statement of violation that was issued yes And uh did you also the city also issue a notice of hearing for today's hearing yes Is that
reflected on pages 180 and 181 correct And how were they sent to the property owner uh regular mail certified mail Uh the property was posted and the notice was also posted here at city hall And that's reflective in the affidavit of
service It's on page 176 177 of the packet Correct Okay And if you could just explain to us then what this the last couple of photographs are in the packet which would be pages 183 and 184 Uh 183 is the posting of the notice
of hearing at the property and 184 is a picture of the notice of hearing posted here at city hall Is the property being um uh lived in at this point that I don't know Okay But it's been posted so that nobody should
be living in it Correct Correct All right Is the property still in violation then yes Okay Do you have a recommended time frame for the property owner to bring it into compliance and if not what the daily fine should be
uh based on the condition of the property uh I'd say 14 days and the daily fine the 250 a day And why on the high end of the range for the daily pine uh due to the life and health
safety concerns Okay Thank you I don't have any other questions Um for Mr Pinker I would tender into evidence pages 146 through I think it's 164 No I'm sorry 184 and ask that they be received
into evidence Right All right I'll go ahead and accept into evidence as exhibit number one pages 146 through 184 of the agenda packet Mr Pickard I just want to make sure I understand the corrective action
So is it to either obtain a building permit and make all the necessary repairs is it to u demolish the property is it to because I I notice in the statement of violation said to get an after the-act building
permit but I just want to make sure that the record's clear as to what compliance looks like for the owner Um yeah to either apply for and obtain a permit to make the necessary repairs to make it safe or remove it Gotcha All
right Mr Tras I'm going to come back to you at the end if you want to add or clarify anything on that All right Uh want to make sure I called Mr John Vulpi but I know there's other respondents Is anyone here on behalf of any of the owners John Vulpi Jennifer Vulpi or
Terresa Vulpi i'm John Vulpy your honor All right Hello Mr Vulpi How you doing today good Um I would like to say Mr Tras and to you um we we uh filed for a permit of demolition We're trying to have um that
part demolished and taken care of Um I haven't received mail There's no mailbox here Got washed away in the flood No one has lived in the property since September 26th You know it's it's uninhabitable And we we know that We're not trying to do that And we're not trying to uh drag it out We had
insurance litigation going on which I'm sure you all heard about from many many different people What we're trying to do is get the permit We filed for the permit on April 25th and for permit of demolition and we want that back area
that you've seen removed and we I've had it cautioned uh you yellow tape caution wrapped around it It's secured You can't get in it You can't get out of it I had the driveway lock blocked off so no one can get back there We've been trying to remove stuff you know uh as as we can as
best possible We lost everything Lost I used to live on the first floor of there lost everything lost the two cars in the back and been trying to do the best that I can do I had no place to live for three months you know and we're just trying to make the best Now like I say we filed on Friday for permit demolition
We we have litigation going on with the insurance company but we're going to pay out of our own pocket to have the demolition done So I'm going to try to comply as best I can with anything that we can do All right And Mr Vulpi I I heard everything you said I appreciate that You have the right to ask questions
of Mr Pinker do you have any questions you want to ask of him well I think he he summed it up He's trying to do the best he could and the way he understood he didn't know if someone lived in there or not I can understand that but there has been no one in it since the storm since Helen uh September 26th All right
Thank you sir We had 5 1/2 ft of water in the first floor alone Oh wow Okay So it's and it's just been so hard to even catch up and and as I'm sure all of you have heard the insurance companies are giving very very difficult time We we're getting less than a third of what we
thought we were going to receive So we're trying to you know dig in our own pockets to stay above and do what is required to make the place safe But like I say we tried to keep it as safe as possible I I you can't get in the driveway We had yellow caution tape on the whole place There's no way to get in
the building The the doors have been all screwed locked you know So and we're not trying to drag our feet I'm we're trying to comply as soon as we can I I wasn't even receiving mail for like three months because I had no place to live I was living out of a a truck you know It
just is very difficult But I mean I know you've heard the story from probably hundreds of different people but but I'm not trying to you know I'm not trying to drag my feet on this or anything It's just No I'm sure I'm sure the city appreciates that So u Mr Vulpi any other documents you want to show me and other witnesses you want to call at this time
no that's about it All right Mr Tra do you have any questions on Mr Vulpi just a few Sir how much time do you need to bring the property into compliance well if I get the a permit for demolition I have a I have a demolition a licensed demolition mandate can come out and
start the process I want to make sure I'm doing it legally And I like I say I applied online on Friday for it And I also did send an email a while back trying to explain I wasn't trying to ignore anybody I called the the city here many times but I couldn't get
through So then I sent the email but I didn't get any answer And I don't know if it got lost or whatever but I got a copy of it here but I'm not you know it's here nor there But anyway um like I say um you know I I'm willing to go forward We're going to pay out of our own pocket So if they give me the permit
for demolition I will proceed as soon as I can So the city is um suggesting 14 days to get that permit Do you think that's sufficient enough time for you to get that permit well does the city know when I if the sooner they get me to permit the sooner I can get the man lined up to get out there now now as far
as the scheduling goes you know how all these contractors and everybody are all tied up with everything in the whole area So I'm trying I mean I I want it as soon as possible Okay All right Thank you All right And Mr Trash for purposes of my order is is my order that he has to
the compliance would be obtain the building permit within 14 days or demolish the structure in 14 days i just want to be clear on what the city's asking for He needs to be in compliance with section 1469 and 1470 whatever it takes Okay And and maybe I can add a
little bit with that What we would like to do is if we get the permit for demolition we would like to have that dangerous area taken down the for the start the first most as soon as possible And then if we need to go in to have a permit for the existing structure obviously we'll go for that Yeah that's
I think that's a different issue isn't that Holden the remainder of the house I guess Is the demolition permit for the entire structure is what you've applied for is for the entire structure no no it's actually for that that back section you see that is falling off And how is the rest of the that second floor going
to be supported in the meantime you know that was all blocked in there The whole you know that was an addition and and the city had okayed it We had all the paperwork all the license all the all the permits and we were putting in steel beams and they insisted upon laminate
beams and over the time that's been about maybe 12 years 13 years the laminate beams failed And that is what happened We were putting steel beams in but they insisted and I got the paperwork for it that we put laminates in And over time whatever
for whatever reason they failed Okay Okay But it's not your intention to tear down the entire house Not the whole house No we're going to leave the footprint All right So your testimony then is is that the remainder of the structure other than what is on the overhang is concrete block You're not
going to touch that other than you're going to remove this addition that is on the back side Well obviously we're going to have to have a structural engineer come in and tell us what needs to be done to make it safe But it's not your intention to demolish the back No not the whole place Just this portion that's over hanging back Okay
All right All right Thank you Mr Vulpi Uh are there any members of the public that are familiar with this code enforcement proceeding that want to come forward okay Seeing none uh Mr Vulpi I'm going to go ahead and give you 14 days I'm sure the city appreciates that you've already submitted an application
Like I said in the prior hearing if for whatever reason that 14 days isn't workable for you because either there's some delay in issuing the permit or there is some You know what I would like if if if it would be okay with you if you could put 30 days on it now
depending on how the uh permit is issued and and I would like to schedule my demolition man to come out I I've always had him look at it and he says he could do it I just want to make sure he gets it in that time frame and 14 days is a little short to you know just jump right into him because I don't know his schedule All right I'm going to give you
30 days based on your representations that you've secured the property and that uh that it's you know people can't get onto the property Thereafter it'll be a $250 fine per day Thank you Again if if there's an issue that you have but you want to come back before me because
there's some unforeseen delay just please make sure you do that and you can ask You may also want to if you have any other questions I don't know if Mr Pinker has other uh items on his calendar today but you may want to hang out here in the back until after this hearing is over I'm sure the city staff
might be willing to talk to you today Again I don't know what Mr Pinker schedule is but uh you may want to just you know hang out till the end of the hearing today Thank you very much for your time All right let's move on to the next one which is case number
C24-238 for the property located at 265 East MadiRaa Avenue Is the city ready to proceed yes Go ahead Mr D So we call Mr Pinker again Mr Pinker um this case is on the property located at 265
East Madira Avenue Uh who owns this property and how do you know that sorry one second here Um Randy Randall Keys uh the Penelis County property appraisal appraiser Okay And this uh property was cited for
what code violations all right So this was section 14-69 same maintenance of the exterior of the premises And then 1470 general maintenance Um subsections number
267 and 11 Okay those are similar to the code sections were cited in the last case dealing with structural um portions of the home Correct They are the same And so did the did the city
issue a courtesy notice of violation yes What date was that uh March 4th of 2025 Okay Was that sent by regular mail yes Okay And did it provide what the details of the violation were and what corrective action was to take place yes
The detail was just that the building on the property was heavily damaged um and maintenance was needed and the corrective action is the either either the owner or licensed contractor will need to apply for and obtain a building permit to bring the property into compliance and if a permit cannot be
obtained the structure must be removed Did you give the property owner um some time to come into compliance yes approximately two weeks Uh and the follow-up date was March 18th of 2025 Okay Did the prop did the courtesy
notice um contain photographs uh when it was sent yes And could you go through those photographs starting at page 191 of the packet uh 191 is a picture of the unfit for occupancy And
uh 192 um somewhat hard to see but you can see portions of the home that were that are damaged Uh and my understanding is this property also there was a fire at this property
Um 193 is more damage of the ceiling door walls and 194 shows some of the fire damage Is the roof caved in in that photograph yes
Okay The property didn't come into compliance by March 18th then Correct Correct So the city issued a notice of code violation on March 24th Correct Is that the notice on page 195 of the packet yes Did it include the same photographs and the same code sections
um in that notice yes Okay And in that particular one it gave the property owner until April 7th uh to come into compliance Correct Correct All right And the property owner did not do that Right Correct So when the the
letter was sent um the courtesy notice I mean the I'm sorry the regular notice of violation was it did the city receive the green card back uh yes And is that on page 203 of the packet correct Okay
Did the city subsequently issue a statement of violation and request for hearing yes Is that on page 210 of the packet yes The city also issue a notice of hearing for today's hearing Yes Is that on page
212 of the packet correct Now how were these the statement of violation of the notice of hearing sent to the property owner uh regular mail certified mail the property was posted and the notice was also posted here at city hall Okay Have
you or has the city received um any correspondence or contact by the property owner uh yes I have Um and there is a permit application in now Um we need a one form until we need to issue the demo permit and I'm hoping
that will happen as soon as tomorrow Okay Okay So there's a very good likelihood that the property owner can bring this property into compliance by demolishing the home within the next couple of weeks Yes Okay All right A couple of more questions Can you explain to us what the
photographs are on the last two pages of the packet looks like 215 and 216 Uh 15 is the posting of the notice at the property and 216 is the notice of
hearing that was posted here at city hall Okay All right Thank you Um do you have a suggested time frame for the property to be brought into compliance and if not by that time what the daily fine would be uh I think same as the
previous uh case the 30 days and the daily fine the 250 and what's the reason for the high end of the dollar amount of the fine uh just due to the life and health safety concerns Okay But there's nobody living at this home at this point
Correct No Okay All right I have no other questions for Mr Pinker I would tender evidence uh documents in the packet 185 through uh 216 All right All right I'll go ahead and accept into evidence as exhibit number one pages 185 through 216 of the agenda
packet All right Um Mr Keys or anyone on behalf of the owner are you here today all right Come on forward sir Right sir Are you Randall Keys yes sir All righty Uh just as the other people I'm going to give you an opportunity just a few minutes to tell
me anything at all you want to tell me about this violation This is your opportunity to ask Mr Pinker any questions about his testimony Do you have any questions for him not really No sir All right Thank you All right Mr Keys what would you like to tell me uh you can call witnesses You can tell me
what you want to tell me or give me any evidence you want to give me I came in and um applied for a permit immediately after the hurricane after the the building caught on fire during Hurricane Milton due to a Duke Energy power surge Um I corresponded with the fire
department Um they sent over a fire marshall from Orlando that determined that it was Duke Energy that did it However they cannot be held liable because anything that happens during a name storm uh is considered an act of God So
So the the place burned I came in shortly afterwards and applied for a permit Unfortunately the property as well as my residents are in the name of a trust and a building permit cannot be
issued to anyone in the name of a trust So I went I got in touch with Grace I talked to her I talked to uh I talked to Al Carrier about having the uh you know recommending an engineer
to analyze the walls to see whether I could build on top of the existing walls if they were structurally sound enough which they are not Um I also would like to have some soil
testing done to see whether I leave the slab there or not or have it all done at once Uh in any event I switched the property over last week into my own personal name out of
the trust so I could apply for the building permit I had previously had two other contractors uh one of which put a silt fence around the property and that was and told me he
was applying for the permit He did show me copies of uh his insurance that he allegedly sent to the city I don't know if he he did or not but uh so two contractors I had to
tried to get permits while it was still in the trust That's why I switched it out of the trust so I could be much more active in uh in trying to get this taken care of Um uh Holton's aware that I have applied
for a permit in my my own name and um you know I'd like to get things going but as Mr Vulp also said contractors are as I can tell you two of them are incredibly
irresponsible And uh I also have a couple questions for all of them when I do talk to them The lock's only 40 foot wide So getting a dumpster there and as well as their
equipment which has got to come in on a trailer and the road is incredibly narrow Even the garbage trucks back down this road It is so narrow but I'm hoping to get things done as quickly as I possibly can All right Thank you I have
been you know also affected by the storm I had four foot of water in my home which was also in Mader Beach I lost my truck Um two boats you know it's and I definitely uh feel a little bit of uh
PTSD as a result of these uh these storms and lost all my tools So anything that I was attempting to do I couldn't do And uh it's it's been rough on everyone All right
Thank you Mr Keys Uh Mr Trash do you have any questions for Mr Keys no sir All right Um All right Any members of the public that want to or first of all anything else Mr Keys any other documents or any other witnesses you want to call no I Okay I mean Holden has most of the documents
All right Are there any members of the public that have knowledge as to this code violation that want to come forward all right Seeing none we'll close public comment All right Mr Keys based upon the testimony and evidence I'm going to go ahead and find the property in violation uh you'll have 30 days to either apply
for and obtain a building permit to make the repairs or to get the building permit for the demolition as I said in the prior hearings if for whatever reason you have a difficulty complying with that deadline please make sure you communicate that to the city you can come back before me Whether it's a delay
in issuance of the permit or a delay in finding a contractor to actually do the demolition then just please get back before me as soon as possible Once the propertyy's in compliance please make sure you notify the city that the building has been demolished so the city
can do an affidavit of compliance Okay Yeah there's no repairing this structure Yeah it doesn't look like it So uh best of luck to you sir Sorry about the misfortune and and good luck on getting it demolished was uh it was half my income was from the rental of that
duplex Um good luck sir I had can also uh talked to uh Joseph earlier regarding you know the rebuilding what I need to do in order to keep it as a duplex because it's on a
non-conforming lot and he said I would be grandfathered in as long as I began construction within a year And so I'm I'm working at that goal also I think you'll find that city staff will want to work for you to work with you to bring
this property into compliance sir All right Thank you All right Thank you All right Let's go on to the next case which is case number 24-254 for the property located at 433 Bokeh Drive Is the city ready to
proceed yes we are Go ahead Mr Tras Calling Mr Pinker again So Mr Pinker if you could state your occupation your job responsibilities here at the city please Building compliance supervisor and one of my duties is to issue building code violations Okay Hey today we're here on a property
that is located at 433 Bogga Drive here in Mader Beach Are you familiar with that property yes Okay Do you know who the owner of that property is and how do you know that uh Shirley A McFarland and from the Penllis County Property
Appraiser Okay And um I notice that there is a courtesy notice of violation that was issued uh by the city on March 5th 2025 and it was addressed to someone in Highland
Michigan What was the reason that the notice was sent to that address uh that is the address listed on the Penis County property appraiser or the mailing address What was the property owner cited with um in that courtesy
notice of code violation uh the same as the last two cases Um section 14-69 uh maintenance of the exterior and section 14-70 uh general maintenance sections
uh 24 and 11 All right And did the courtesy notice provide a violation detail and any corrective action that needed to be taken uh the detail uh the building on the property is or requires interior and exterior maintenance due to
damages and the corrective action was the or is the property owner andor licensed contractor will need to apply for and obtain all required permits to bring all violations into compliance And if permits cannot be obtained the
structure must be removed Okay Attached to that letter was some photographs Can you um go through the photographs and tell us what they depict uh page 222 is a photo of the unfit for
occupancy posting 223 Uh this was also a a house that had fire damage Um but 223 shows I believe what was a sliding door at one
point Um and the fire damage inside and more fire damage on 224 and more of the same on 225 Okay Um was the property brought into compliance as a result of the code
vi uh courtesy code uh notice no Did the city issue a notice of code violation on March 19th yes Is that reflected in pages 226 through a number of pages after that in
the packet yes Okay Was the same code sections yes Okay And was it the same photographs that you just went through earlier correct All right And was this notice of code violation sent by certified mail yes And did the city receive um a response
to that letter uh I am not seeing the signed card in the packet Okay Well did did the city follow up with a statement of violation yes And that's um reflected on page 241
Correct In the packet it's stating that it's the amended statement of violation Can you explain the reason that the original one was amended uh I believe yes the incorrect parcel ID was on the original
statement of violation Did the city also issue a notice of hearing for today's hearing yes Is that located on page 243 and 44 of the packet yes And how did you send that statement of violation and request for hearing uh
sent regular mail uh certified mail The property was posted and the notice was also posted here at city hall And did you issue an amended affidavit of service yes And um is that located on pages 239 and 240 of the packet yes What
was the reason that the affidavit of service was amended uh the same The partial ID was incorrect in the original Okay So there are a couple of photographs at the very end of the packet Could you
explain what those two photographs depict pages 246 and 247 Uh 246 is the notice of hearing that was posted at the property and 247 is a picture of the notice of hearing posted
here at city hall Has the city received any correspondence um or communication from the property owner about this case none that I'm aware of Okay Is the property still in in the same state as
it was in the photographs yes Okay Have you um well can you recommend the number of days that you're asking for the property owner to have to come into compliance uh same as the other cases before uh
today um the 30 days and $250 a day All right Thank you I have no other questions for Mr Pinker I would tender into evidence the packet uh documents starting at page 217 and going to page 245 or
246 All right I'll go ahead and accept into evidence as exhibit number one pages 217 through 247 of the agenda packet Is the owner here Miss Shirley McFarland or anyone on her behalf here today okay I don't see
anyone Alrighty Uh Mr Tras any other witnesses you want to call no no other witnesses All right Uh last call for Ms McFarland and the owner of the property or anybody on behalf of the owner of the property
located at 433 Bokeh Drive Okay How about any members of the public that want to come and comment in regard to this code violation at 433 Bokea Drive okay Still seeing none All right We'll close public comment All
right Based upon the testimony of Mr Pinker as well as a record evidence I go ahead and find that the property is in violation The property owner will have 30 days within which to bring the property into compliance and thereafter will be a $250 fine per
day All right Mr Tras is there anything else before me today no I think that's it I think that's it as well Thank you all for coming today and that concludes today's hearings Thank you