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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-24-2017 MinutesgEBASTIA POLICE QkpARTMEpT Or 1? SEBASTIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT 1201 Main Street, Sebastian, Florida 32958 Code Enforcement Division CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA MINUTES SPECIAL MAGISTRATE CODE ENFORCEMENT HEARING October 24, 2017 1. The hearing was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by Special Magistrate Kelley H. Armitage. 2. Present: Special Magistrate Kelley H. Armitage, Interim City Attorney Cynthia Van DeVoorde Hall, Building Official Wayne Eseltine, Code Enforcement Officer Richard Iachini, Code Enforcement Clerk Janickie Smith, City Clerk Jeanette Williams, Sgt. Steve Marcinik, Police Chief Michelle Morris, Health Department Environmental Specialist Ian Moore. 3. Jeanette Williams swore in staff and all persons that would be speaking. 4. Procedure for Enforcement of Unsafe Building Structure (Sec. 2-195) Case No.: B15-1014 KARL CZAPLICKI 110 ABLETT TERRACE, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 32958 Magistrate Armitage read the docket. Mr. Wayne Eseltine, Building Official identified himself and his position. He testified that he was notified by Code Enforcement and received an email from the Health Department Environmental Specialist on September 26, 2017, that owners Karl Czaplicki and Karen Kang of 110 Ablett Terrace had two rental units in the residence. He stated a female tenant who lives in one of the units was afraid the lights would be shut off in connection with a permit issued to the owner for the service change. Mr. Eseltine said upon investigation he found two separate rental units with two separate entrances from the exterior. Mr. Eseltine stated there was a permit issued in 1985 for additions to the property of which included a den, utility room and garage extension. He stated the dwelling unit was in the same place as the previous permit from 1985, Mr. Eseltine explained the tenant who resided in the unit told him there was no access to the other unit from her unit. He asked for permission to enter the unit after speaking with her about issues with the electrical permit because she was in fear of her electricity being shut off because the owner of the property explained to her that the power would be shut off. Mr. Eseltine stated there was a permit for an electric service change from overhead to underground. Mr. Eseltine explained the permit to the tenant and how long the power would be off. Mr. Eseltine stated he looked around the unit and saw possible code violations but had to return to the office and do more research. After returning to the office he found the only plans issued were for a den which appeared to be the same location as the rental unit. At that time a notice of code violation was issued for unsafe structure for the conversion of two dwelling units without proper permits. He stated there appeared to be no fire barrier between the two units which can only be verified when obtaining a permit. Mr. Eseltine stated when he returned to tape the notice of violation to the residence he found the main part of the residence empty and unoccupied. The following week he was notified by code enforcement that someone was moving into the main part of the home. Mr. Eseltine stated the owners of the residence did not reside in the home and appeared to be someone else moving in and this was a rental unit. He was also advised by code enforcement that a neighboring resident told him that the previous resident had moved out (Alexa Pryor) and someone else had moved in. When given the notice the owner of the residence requested a meeting with city officials which included the City Manager, City Attorney, Chief of Police and myself. The meeting concluded with nc results or resolution. It was explained to Mr. Czaplicki the procedures for appeals and the Special Magistrate. Mr. Czaplicki at that time made a formal request to appear before the Special Magistrate. Magistrate Armitage asked if only the main part of the residence is occupied and the other part is not. Mr. Eseltine answered to the best of my knowledge that is correct. Magistrate Armitage then asked based on your understanding and to the best of your knowledge there was no fire barrier between the units. Mr. Eseltine answered that is unconfirmed. Magistrate Armitage asked how is the property zoned. Mr. Eseltine answered from information received from our Planning and Zoning department employee Dorn Bosworth who explained to him it was a RS 10 which is a single family residence. Magistrate Armitage asked as the residence stands now this would qualify as a multi -family residence and this area is not zoned for a multi -family residence. Mr. Eseltine answered correct. Ms. Hall asked the basis of determining the ownership of the residence by Ms. Kang and Mr. Cazplicki. Mr. Eseltine stated the owner of record was obtained through the property appraiser, quit claim deed through the courthouse and valor of taxes. Ms. Hall asked Mr. Eseltine to put his hand drawing of the property onto the overhead projection. A copy was also provided to Mr. Czaplicki. Mr. Eseltine stated this is the original 1985 permit which includes the garage extension, utility room and den. Mr. Eseltine is now showing a sketch of what he saw while at the residence. Mr. Eseltine testified that he meet with someone who resides at the resident in the garage and saw two separate entrances into the residence. Mr. Eseltine is now explaining what he saw with the drawing on his visit to the residence. Ms. Hall asked if the drawing corresponds to the addition of the 1985 application. Mr. Eseltine stated yes it does correspond and continued to provide his reasoning. Interim City Attorney asked to explain why the residence is an unsafe structure. Mr. Eseltine explained the type of work completed requires permits and inspections and also a threat to life safety. Mr. Eseltine explained the tenant at the time (Alexa Pryor) told him she only had access to one side of the property. Mr. Eseltine testified the City of Sebastian is seeking the residence be restored to a single family dwelling with proper permits and inspections and explained how the home can be restored back to this state. Mr. Eseltine states the City of Sebastian is requesting a ruling of thirty days for the property owner to vacate the tenant and forty-five days to bring the violation into compliance. If the property owner is uncooperative that a fine of $100 per day be accessed after November 13, 2017. Interim City Attorney asked how the notice of violation was delivered to the homeowner. Mr. Eseltine advised the procedure of how all notices are mailed and Mr. Czaplicki confirmed receipt of notice by coming into the building department to discuss the violation and hearing and proof of delivery from the postal service. Interim Attorney called Code Enforcement Officer Richard Iachini to the stand to testify. Code Enforcement Officer Iachini stated his name, position, years of service and certification. Ms. Hall asked if the code officer was called to 110 Ablett Terrace for service in the past three months. Code Officer Iachini testified he responded to the address after receiving a call from the Health department about possible code violations reference the property being turned into a multi -family dwelling and explained his conversation with the health inspector and what happened on his visit to the residence on September 23, 2017. Mr. Iachini stated he met with a tenant who told him he did not have access to the main part of the residence and was in fear of his power being shut off by the property owner. Ms. Hall asked if the code officer notice anything unusual on his routine inspections to the residence. Code Officer Iachini testified seeing someone moving into the main part of the residence. Mr. Iachini stated all calls are verbally radioed into dispatched and documented with his computer system at the completion of the call. Magistrate Kelley asked Mr. Czaplicki if there were any objections. Mr. Czaplicki answered no. Mr. Czaplicki questioned Officer Iachini on his inspections to the property and conversations with the Health inspector and Building Official. Officer Iachini answered all questions referencing the documented calls to 110 Ablett Terrace. Ms. Hall asked Officer Iachini to verify an email sent to Mr. Eseltine reference the code violation for the property. Mr. Iachini confirmed the email sent on October 2, 2017. Mr. Czaplicki questioned Officer Iachini on the delay of notifying the Building Official over one week of the violation. Officer Iachini responded with his reasoning for the delay and confirmed a voice message left with Mr. Eseltine before the email being sent. Ms. Hall asked Officer Iachini to confirm the dates of the routine inspection and email sent to Mr. Eseltine. Officer Iachini stated the normal routine of doing inspections and sending correspondence to the building department. Mr. Czaplicki questioned Officer Iachini reference seeing people moving into or out of the residence. Officer Iachini stated it was an assumption. Officer Iachini was dismissed with no further questions. Ms. Hall called Health Department Inspector Ian Moore to the stand. Mr. Moore stated his name and position with the State of Florida. Ms. Hall asked if he visited the address in question in the month of September. Mr. Moore confirmed the date of visitation and what happened on the date of September 22 reference an anonymous complaint. Ms. Hall questioned if the inspector spoke with someone who lived at the residence and what was said. Mr. Moore testified his encounter with a female who lived at the residence and the details of their conversation. Ms. Hall asked if the tenant stated anything about the property owner. Mr. Moore stated he was told by the tenant that she was being evicted at the beginning of the month and also confirmed where the property owner resided. Ms. Hall questioned where the tenant exited from the building. Mr. Moore responded where he saw the tenant exit and items viewed inside the unit. Magistrate Armitage requested the sketch from Mr. Moore be viewed on the overhead to provide a better picture of his description. Mr. Moore provided the Magistrate with the sketch and description of his visit to the residence. Ms. Hall asked what Mr. Moore was able to visualize the difference between unit 1 and unit 2. Mr. Moore described his visit explaining in detail what was seen using the sketch. Ms. Hall questioned the details of Mr. Moore's second visit to the residence. Mr. Moore explained the mailings sent on September 22 that was returned and his visit to the residence on October 2, 2017 where he was met by Mr. Czaplicki where the violations were discussed at that time. Ms. Hall asked if there was a discussion with Mr. Czaplicki at that time reference the multiple units on the property. Mr. Moore discussed the conversation in detail with Mr. Czaplicki on his visit and his initial reasoning for responding to 110 Ablett about an anonymous complaint. Ms. Hall provided Mr. Moore with an email from the Magistrate's packet for review and asked if Mr. Moore generated this email. Mr. Moore confirmed sending the email, the date the email was sent and the content. Mr. Moore confirmed the violation for the property and date notices were mailed reference a sanitary complaint. Mr. Moore confirmed the violation is with the State of Florida and unrelated to the City of Sebastian code violation. Magistrate Kelley asked the status of the septic violation. Mr. Moore stated he was working with Mr. Czaplicki on the violations who has corrected most of the issues and now trying to correct the remaining violations. Magistrate Kelley asked if the City of Sebastian moved forward with the demolition, would this impact the violations incurred with the septic issues. Mr. Moore answered no and explained why. Magistrate Armitage asked if there were two septic systems at the residence. Mr. Moore answered this can only be confirmed with an engineer and explained why. Mr. Moore also explained the repairs completed by sketch. Mr. Moore also referenced records from the year 2000. Magistrate Armitage asked if notice would need to be provided if demolition persist. Mr. Moore answered the only thing that would need to be provided is the number of bedrooms and square footage of the residence to determine the gallon usage of the septic tank. Magistrate Armitage asked if the residence was returned to its original state will there be a need for only one septic system. Mr. Moore answered correct, unless Mr. Czaplicki has engineered design plans that shows where the plumbing pipes are going to show equal distribution for the residence. If this cannot be proved per State code then a new drain field would have to be constructed for the entire home. Magistrate Armitage asked if there would be an issue if one of the septic systems were removed. Mr. Moore answered no and explained why. Mr. Moore stated there would only be an issue if one of the septic systems failed. Magistrate Armitage asked would notice to the Department of Health be required should there be demolition. Mr. Moore stated yes. Mr. Czaplicki questioned Mr. Moore's statement reference the residence being empty of September 22, 2017. Mr. Moore stated his findings from his visit to 110 Ablett Terrace on September 22, 2017. Mr. Czaplicki questioned Mr. Moore defining the residence as side 1 & side 2. Mr. Moore referred to the sketch and verified what he saw on his visit to the residence. Mr. Czaplicki continued to question Mr. Moore's entry into the residence, along with his inspection and findings. Mr. Moore responded to all questions referring to the sketch provided on the overhead projection. Mr. Czaplicki questioned the conversation between Alexa Pryor and Mr. Moore. Mr. Moore answered all questions. Mr. Czaplicki then questioned the email Mr. Moore sent to Building Official Wayne Eseltine, if he had any real estate experience and buildings. Mr. Moore responded and answered all questions and stated the experience he does have. Mr. Czaplicki read the email from Mr. Moore to Mr. Eseltine. Ms. Hall objected stating the email was not being read word for word but Mr. Czaplicki was adding verbatim. Mr. Czaplicki continued to read the email as is and questioned Mr. Moore's response to Mr. Eseltine of "great news". Mr. Moore responded to the question. Ms. Hall asked Mr. Moore if it is normal procedure to contact another form of government when a possible violation is observed. Mr. Moore answered yes. Mr. Czaplicki asked if it is normal procedure when responding to a sanitary complaint and other violations are seen, it is within his capacity to report those issues with the property governing department. Mr. Moore responded yes. Mr. Moore was dismissed from the stand. Ms. Hall called Sgt. Steve Marcinik for testimony Sgt. Marcinik stated his name and position with the City of Sebastian. Ms. Hall asked there were any visits to 110 Ablett Terrace within the last month. Sgt. Marcinik responded he has driven by there. Ms. Hall asked if he was asked to deliver a subpoena to Alexa Pryor. Sgt. Marcinik stated he was asked to make contact and was provided a phone number and this was the extent of his involvement. Sgt. Marcinik further narrated his contact with Alexa Pryor in detail. Mr. Czaplicki questioned Sgt. Marcinik about his contact with Alexa Pryor. Sgt. Marcinik answered all questions. Mr. Czaplicki referred to a conversation with Sgt. Marcinik on a previous visit. Mr. Czaplicki questioned Sgt. Marcinik reference Alexa Pryor a disturbance. Sgt. Marcinik answered all questions. Ms. Hall asked if he patrols in this area. Sgt. Marcinik answered constantly. Sgt. Marcinik was dismissed from the stand Ms. Hall requested items from the Magistrate packet are moved into evidence. Magistrate Armitage agreed. All narratives from code enforcement, three emails provided and addressed, Notice of Appeal proceedings, certified mail confirmation, notice of unsafe structure, letter of appeal by Mr. Czaplicki, property appraiser sheet, quick claim deed, 2016 paid real estate notices, & a portion of the 1985 permit application and floor plan were all admitted into evidence with no objections from Mr. Czaplicki. Mr. Czaplicki did object to the drawing submitted by Mr. Eseltine and gave his reasons why. Mr. Czaplicki requested to give an opening statement. He explained his reasoning for requesting an appeal and meeting with the Building Official and City Manager due to him being confused on why he received the notice of violation and requested clarity. Mr. Czaplicki denied making any changes to the residence from a single-family to a multi -family and denied more than one renter living in the home. Mr. Czaplicki denied any unsafe structures, separate water meters, and did not understand why plugs had to be changed for his washer and dryer when the ones he had were in the plans and permitted and legal. Mr. Czaplicki explained why he thought the observations made by the building official and health inspector were incorrect. Mr. Czaplicki called Building Official Wayne Eseltine to the stand. Mr. Eseltine stated his position and years of service. Mr. Eseltine also stated position and years of service for his previous employer. Mr. Czaplicki asked the procedure for beginning construction. Mr. Eseltine answered all questions. Mr. Czaplicki asked additional questions reference the pipes and their sizes required for plumbing. Mr. Eseltine answered all questions. Mr. Czaplicki stated all of the requirements that would be necessary to complete the installation of a bathroom to a constructed home. Ms. Hall objected to the relevance of Mr. Czaplicki's questions to Mr. Eseltine. Mr. Czaplicki stated he tiled the bathroom floor and there was no evidence there were any alterations to the floor to confirm additional plumbing or fixtures being added. Ms. Hall objected stating there is no evidence of this as Mr. Czaplicki is stating possible facts that were entered into evidence. Mr. Czaplicki asked Mr. Eseltine was it possible that the three inch pipes, shower and vanity were plumbed into the home prior to the slab being poured. Mr. Eseltine answered no and provided his reasoning why. Mr. Czaplicki questioned if there were plumbing plans in the permit folder for the residence. Mr. Eseltine confirmed what items were listed in the permit. Mr. Czaplicki continued to ask several questions and make comments to Mr. Eseltine reference septic drainage, plumbing, and permitting in which Mr. Eseltine answered the questions based on the current permit on file and experience. Mr. Eseltine was not able to answer questions as to why two separate septic systems were added to the home and was only able to verify what the original plans / permits and inspections from 1985 showed. Ms. Hall objected to the line of questioning by Mr. Czaplicki to not state facts with no evidence. Mr. Czaplicki asked several questions reference the definition of a duplex, the notice of violation and requirements to bring the residence back into compliance. Mr. Eseltine answered all questions. Ms. Hall explained to the Magistrate that Mr. Czaplicki had time to take corrective action for the violation and requested to appeal the violation. Magistrate Armitage explained to Mr. Czaplicki the process of how to authenticate documents. Recess was taken Mr. Czaplicki gave testimony on his personal accounts on what occurred from the beginning of the violation. Mr. Eseltine responded and gave testimony on what occurred on behalf of the Building department. Mr. Eseltine and Mr. Czaplicki discussed possible solutions to bring the residence back into compliance legally. Magistrate Armitage also asked several questions on how to bring the residence into compliance. Magistrate Armitage ordered that Mr. Czaplicki meet with Mr. Eseltine Building Inspector, obtain a permit, pay administrative costs, have the property built, inspected, and signed off by 4:30 p.m. on November 22, 2017. 6. Hearing adjourned at 4:55 p.m. CODE IN THE MATTER OF: Mr. Karl Czaplicki 110 Ablett Terrace Sebastian,. Florida.32958 Respondent 3120190057402 RECORDED IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF JEFFREY R SMITH, CLERK OF COURT INDIAN RIVER COUNTY FL BK: 3242 PG: 1379 Page 1 of 1 10/12019 1:59 PM CITY OF SEBASTIAN tCEMENT SPECIAL MAGISTRATE CASE No. B17-1019 RELEASE OF ORDER IMPOSING FINE LEGAL DESC Lots 1 and 2, Block 396, Sebastian Highlands, Unit 11, as per plat thereof, recorded in Plat Book 7, Page 56, of the Public Records of Indian River County, Florida. ADDRESS: 110 Ablett Terrace, Sebastian, Florida 32958 PARCEL I.D. 31382500001396000001.0 RELEASE This matter has been brought into compliance and all associated fines paid in full. ACCORDINGLY, the Order Imposing Fine, executed on October 24, 2017, and recorded at Book 3075, Page 1266, in the Official Records of Indian River County, is hereby RELEASED,. ATTEST: Janette WilliamsC City Clerk rIVAUL C RLISLE City ManagerTr ti Approved as to Form and Legality for. _ reliance by the City of Sebastian only: i James yokes, BCS City Attorney