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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09171997 CITY OF SEBASTIAN CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 Chairman Generazio announced that these proceedings are being voice transmitted live over cable channel 35, as well as being taped for official records. Chmn. Generazio called the meeting to order at 3:00 P.M. The pledge of allegiance was sa/d. ROLL CALL: PRESENT: EXCUSED ABSENCE: Chnm. Generazio Mr. Neglia Mr. Oliver Mr. Cosco Mr. Cormelly Mr. Flescher(a) Mr. May Mr. Costa ALSO PRESENT: ANNOUNCEMENTS: Randy Bonar, Code Enforcement Officer Kenneth Schmitt, Code Enforcement Officer Valerie Settles, City Attorney Phil Patnode, Engineering Department Ann Brack, Recording Secretary Chnm. Generazio announced that the Pledge of Allegiance is new on the Agenda.. He also noted that Mr. Dave Costa was excused for a Doctor's appointment, and Mr. Flescher will be voting in place of Mr. Goelz (who has resigned from the Board). APPROVAL .OF MINUTES: (8/20/97) MOTION by Connelly/Neglia I move we accept the minutes as written. A voice vote was taken. 7 - 0 motion carried. OLD BUSINESS: Chrnn. Generazio commented that this Board has not yet received an answer on the violation at 133 Miller Drive, Mr. Julian of Pan American Engineering. Mr. Schmitt responded that the total of City expense involved in this case has not yet been received CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 from the City Manager's office. Chnm. Generazio again requested this information. He also inquired about the suggestion of bonding contractors in relation to damage to property of others during construction. Mr. Schmitt noted that he had no information on it and Mr. Bonacci is out of town. NEW BUSINES..S.: A consensus of the Board members indicated changing the lineup of the Agenda items and placing item #3 in the # 1 spot. 1. Case t/97-13142 - 109 Ogden Avenue - Theresa Walker - Code of Ordinances, Section 66.3(1) and (11) Mr. Michael Darley, husband of Theresa Walker, was present and was sworn in by the City Attorney. He noted that the Code violations have been corrected, the truck has been moved to a storage facility, and all trash has been removed from the property, and the grass has been cut three times. Mr. Bonar gave staff presentation and noted that when he went to the above address today, all violations had been corrected. He submitted photographs (Exhibits A, B, and C) that substantiated the violation. He also noted that the first complaint earne in on 8/22/97, at which time a door hanger was left at the residence. Then on 8/25/97 he made contact and gave the resident a notice of violation which allowed them fifteen (15) days to dean it up, and it was complied with. MOTION by NegliaYCosco I make a motion that Theresa Walker was in violation of Section 66.3 of the Code of Ordinances, and find, of course, guilty of the violation, with no fines, but ff it ever recurs or there is a recurrence of the violation, this Board shall have to notification to the respondent, and meet in Council Chambers to hear further evidence on the issue of compliance; may impose a fine of up to a maximum of $250 a day for the violation, and $500 per day for repeat violation; so, you are found guilty with no fines, but if there is a repeat violation, you could be fined up to $500 a day, do you understand that? Discussion on the motion: Chron. Generazio wanted to add that the Section was 66.3.1 and 11, Code of Ordinance. Roll call: Mr. May ~ yes Mr. Oliver - yes Mr. Neglia - yes Mr. Cormelly - yes Mr. Cosco - yes Mr. Fleseher(a) - yes Chron. Generazio ~ yes The vote was 7 - 0. Motion carried. CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 2. Case #97-13075 - 1998 Barber Street - Shawn Eckard - Ordinance 0-9%03, Section 98.36(0 Mr. Shawn Eckard, 1998 Barber Street was present and was sworn in by the Recording Secretary. Mr. Schmitt gave staff presentation and noted that his Department had received phone call complaints, early in the summer, that Mr. Eckard was possibly running an automotive business out of his house. Mr. Schmitt visited this address and Mr. Eckard showed that the vehicles did belong to him but were not registered with an up-to-date tag. He told Mr. Eckard, at that time, that vehicles needed to have tags or be removed and he did remove the vehicles. Mr. Schmitt noted that since then, he has received several calls from neighbors that cars had appeared there and he had worked on them. These could not be verified by the Code Enforcement Department. On 9/4/97, this office received a complaint that a vehicle was being worked on ia the driveway. Mr. Bonar went by the house and confirmed that them was a vehicle in the driveway. Mr. Schmitt issued the summons to appear here, but Mr. Eckard was not available to sign the summons. After Mr. Eckard took care of some personal business, Mr. Schmitt served the summons and since then Mr. Schmitt has not observed any vehicular work going on ia this driveway. On the issue of Mr. Eckard running a business out of his home, Mr.' Schmitt offered information that indicated that Mr. Eckard was fixing a relative's ear. Mr. Schmitt noted that he explained that it is still a code violation, even though it was for a relative. Mr. Eckard commented that when he was working on his relative's car, he had no idea that he was in violation. He noted that that ear was there for a week because of the extensive repair needed. Chron. Generazio pointed out that if this ear had been in the garage, there would not have been a problem. He also asked the respondent if he received any payment for repairs and Mr. Eckard responded that he did not. Mr. Flescber asked how many vehicles were in the driveway when the first Code Enforcement visit was made, and Mr. Sehmitt responded that there was one on the lawn and one in the driveway. in response to a question from a Board member, Mr. Eekard commented that he is a mechanic and is employed by Midas in Vero Beach, as of last week. MOTION by Negha/May I make a motion that we find Mr. Shawn Eckard guilty of violation of Ordinance 0-97-03, with no fine, Section 98.36.F., but if you are found in violation again we can impose a fine of up to $500 per day, and that's according to Florida Statute 162-04 Florida Statutes. Roll call: Mr. Colmelly - yes Mr. Cosco - yes Mr. May - yes Chnm. Generazio - yes Mr. Neglia - yes Mr. Oliver - yes Mr. Flescher(a) - yes CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 3. Case ~97-13078 - 637 Bayharbor Terrace - Steven Emmett - Code of Ordinances, Section 26.2 Mr. Steven Emmett was present and was sworn in by the Recording Secretary. Mr. Bonar gave staff presentation and noted that on 7/28/97 his Department received a complaint concerning a code violation with a large tree or bush blocking the swale blocking water flow in the neighborhood. Mr, Borax went out on that day, spoke to Mr. Emmett and explained the Ordinance. He then forwarded the complaint to the Public Works Department for their dete~tion on whether it is blocking the water flow and what needs to be done. He noted that Phil Patnode, a technician in the Engineering Deparmaent visited the site on 7/29/97. Mr. Patnode spoke with Mr. Emmett and gave him two (2) weeks to trim the bush out of the swale area and clean it up without having to remove the plant. He then noted that on 8/8/97 he was notified by Mr. Patnode that nothing had been done. Mr. Patriotic still felt it needed to be removed. On that date, Mr. Bonar visited the site again, took photographs (Exhibits A and B), and lei~ a notice of violation giving Mr. Emmett sixteen (16) days to take action. On 8/25/97 Mr. Bonar checked the site again and the, bush had not been trimmed or removed. On 8/28/97 a summons was served by the Police Department since Mr. Bonar couldn't make contact with him. He then passed the photographs to the Board members. Mr. Steve Emmett was present and gave his account of his actions during the above process. He noted that the bush has been there for sixteen years, and since he has no water in his yard, he presumes that the bush is not blocking the flow of water. There was further discussion on this issue, it was established that the bush is in the right-of-way, and Mr. Emmett established that he is not removing that bush. At this point, Mr. Bonar lef~ the meeting to locate Mr. Phil Pamode for his input, and this case was put on hold temporarily. 4. Case #97-13145 - 868 Schumann Drive - Shannon Cook - Code of Ordinances, Section 66.3 (1) & Land Development Code, Section 20A-5.16.C.4 Mr. Shannon Cook was present and was sworn in by the recording secretary. Mr. Schmitt gave staff presentation and noted that this case goes back to January of 1997. He noted that there was a complaint from an adjaeeat propen'y owner that there was a trampoline and aluminum debris on the lot that Mr. Cook was using. Mr. Cook came into compliance the following day. He then noted that m February, it was reported that there was a truck in Mr. Cook's driveway with no tag on it, and he came into compliance immediately. He commented that there were three (3) complaints in March of 1997 that Mr. Cook was running an Aluminum Business out of his house. Mr. Sehmitt stopped and spoke to Mr. Cook, who said he worked for Roger Schull Construction. Mr. Schull verified that Mr. Cook was one of his employees. Mr. Sehmitt noted that another complaint indicated that materials were being delivered to Mr. Cook's house for the construction of screen porches and things of that nature. Mr. Schmitt noted that Mr. Cook indicated he would remedy this situation and there would be no more deliveries, but there CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 was another delivery in May and Mr. Cook indicated that the driver had not received the word for delivery to a different site. Mr. Cook indicated to Mr. Sehmitt that he had arranged for delivery and storage of this material at Park Place. Mr. Schmitt went on to explain that, in July, there was a boat m the front yard of Mr. Cook's residence and there was some aluminum laying around the front of the house and Code Enforcement received a phone complaint. Upon checking, Mr. Cook was given twenty-four (24) hours to clean it up, which he did. On August 25, Mr. Schmitt noted that another call was received and upon checking, the boat was back in the driveway, and aluminum debris was noted piled up. The respondent indicated that the pieces of aluminum are odds & ends for him to build a screen porch on the rear of his house. In summary, Mr. Schmitt indicated that Mr. Cook was given a notice of violation on July 17 regarding the boat in the driveway and the debris on the property. He also submitted two photographs, Exhibits A and B. Mr. Cook gave his presentation and responded to questions by Board members. MOTION by Generazio/Flescher I make the recommendation that the respondent be found in violation of Section 20A- 5.13.C.4 of the Land Development Code, Section 66.3(1) Code of Ordinances and that the respondent be found guilty, not fined - no fine be levied at this time. Should the respondent repeat the cause of violation, the recurrence of this violation, the Board shall hereafter be notified of the respondents conveyance to City Council Chambers, and thereafter evidence of the issue compliance and may be imposed a fine of a maximum of two hundred fifcy dollars ($250) a day in violation of this violation, and a maximum amount of five hundred dollars ($500) a day for repeat violations as defined in this Section. Roll call: Mr. Neglia - yes Mr. Connelly - yes Mr. Cosco - yes Mr. May - yes Chinn. Generazio - yes Mr. Flescher(a) - yes Mr. Oliver - yes The vote was 7 - 0. Motion carried. 5. Case #97-13146 - 101 Concha Drive - Debbie Oliver - Land Development Code, Section 20A-5.16.C.4 & 5 / Ms. Debbie Oliver, 101 Concha Drive, was present and was sworn in by the recording secretary. Mr. Bonax gave staff presentation and gave information begwning with 8/20/97 when the first complaint was received about a truck with no current license tag parked in the right-of-way, along with a trailer with debris on it. He noted that he was unable to make contact with the respondent on that date, and the next day, when he went to that address to give a 48-hour tow-notice, the respondent pulled in just as Mr. Bonar was leaving. He received a phone call the next CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 day that the truck and trailer had been moved. Mr. Bonar submitted a photograph, as Exhibit A. He then noted that on 8/22/97 the trailer was gone, and on 8/25/97 the trailer was back, but in a different place. At that time, he issued a notice of violation for twenty-four (24) hours on the trailer, to be removed or relocated. On 8/26/97, he noted that the trailer was still there. He was unable to make contact with the owners and contacted the Sebastian Police Department on 8/27/97 to deliver the summons to appear before this Board. Ms. Oliver then gave her presentation and responded to several questions from Board members. Ms. Oliver pointed out that the recent long m/ny spell has created this problem because they have not been able to put the trailer in the rear yard where it is usually kept. There was general discussion between the respondent and the Board members. MOTION by Generazio/May I would make a motion to dismiss this, I don't find any violation ...... Roll call: Mr. Neglia - yes Mr. Connelly - yes Mr. Cosco - yes Mr. May - yes Chnm. Generazio- yes Mr. Flescher(a) - yes Mr. Oliver - yes The vote was 7 - 0. Motion ca.med. At this point, the Board returned to Case #9%13078 - Steven Emmett. Mr. Phil Patnode was sworn in by the recording secretary. Mr. Patnode, City of Sebastian Engineering Department, was present and responded to inquiries by the Board members. He gave a description of the water problem and the involvement of the large plant in the right-of-way. He notexl that he requested the respondent, Mr. Emmett, to clear the flow-line out and see if the bushes could stay, but two weeks later when he went by to inspect, there had been no clearing of the stalks in the flow-line. He then noted that upon further consideration, he felt the bushes should be removed. Mr. Emmett gave further information, and there was more discussion on this issue using the submitted photographs for definition. Ms. Settles suggested that since the City owns the right-of-my, it would be the City's responsibility to remove the plant, and if the respondent's neighbor has a problem, the neighbor should come to the City Council and ask for plant removal. MOTION by Generazio/Oliver My motion is this, that the recipient is not in violation at this time, and should the City feel that, in order to repair the swale, they have to move that tree, they're going to remove CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 that tree at their expense, but you are not in violation because you are not causing the problem. This is my opinion and that's my motion. Roll call: Mr. Connelly - yes Chron. Generazio - yes Mr. May - yes Mr. Oliver - yes Mr. Neglia - yes Mr. Flescher(a) - yes The vote was 7 - 0. Motion carried. ATTORNEY MATTERS: Ms. Settles noted that for future hearings, she will have some proposed orders drawn up. Chmn. Generazio agreed that this should be done. Chmn. Generazio then noted that Board members should not be asking the Code Enforcement officers for their opinions (on penalties) afar the cases have been heard - on how the Board should find. Ms. Settles noted that Code Enforcement officers are essentially witnesses for the City. Chnm. Generazio also commented that this Board must be very careful not to get caught up in two neighbors' squabbles. BUILDIN.G OFFICIAL MATTERS: Mr. Schmitt asked if the Board considers return certified receipt letter as due process of someone being notified to appear before the Board. Ms. Settles responded that the Florida Statute allows certified mail, return receipt requested. .CHAIRMAN MATTERS: None GENERAL, ,DISCUSSION: 6. Recommendation to City Council - Appointment to Vacant, Unexpired Term - Regular Member, Architect Position - Remaining Term to Expire 3/1/98 There was discussion on the fact that only one application was received. Also discussed was the issue that there are no Architects available in the City of Sebastian. It was noted that Mr. Goelz, who resigned recently from this Board, was not aa Architect, but filled that slot while a member. MOTION by Generazio/Connelly I recommend Joseph E. Flescher for the permanent position as regular member to fill the place of Mr. Al Goelz, the position expires 5/98. CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 17, 1997 Discussion: Mr. Flescher noted that he will attending the Police Academy on October 13, 1997, to get certified for Florida Law Enforcement, and being there for twenty (20) weeks would interfere with his attending three (3) Code Enforcement Board meetings, in succession. All Board members agreed that this would not be a problem, and Mr. Flescher could arrange for excused absences. Mr. Neglia asked the City Attorney, Ms. Settles, what her thought would be about a member of this Board going out and investigating another Board member. Ms. Settles felt it was inappropriate and referred to a section of the Florida Ethics Code about misusing public office. She noted that the Board could request additional information on an applicant, but as a group, not by an individual member. She also noted that depending on how it was done, it could be a violation of the Ethics Code. Roll call: Chron. Generazio - yes Mr. Neglia - yes Mr. Oliver - yes Mr. Cosco - yes Mr. Connelly - yes Mr. Flescher(a) - yes Mr. May - yes The vote was 7 - 0. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 P.M. (9/25/97 AB) City of Sebastian 1225 MAIN STREET [] SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA 32958 TELEPHONE (561) 589-5330 [] FAX (561) 589-5570 SEBASTIAN CODE ENFORCEMEN.T. ~OARD MINUTES OF MEETING HELD APPROVED AT MEETING HELD E. ANN BP. ACK, RECORDING SECRETARY