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12-07-1995 Regular Meeting• CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD REGULAR MEETING December 7, 1995 A regular meeting of the Miami Shores Village Code Enforcement Board was held on Thursday, December 7, 1995, at Miami Shores Village Hall. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Asmus at 6:30 P.M., and the opening statement was read. Present: Barry Asmus, Chairperson Prospero G. Herrera, II, Vice Chairperson Margaret Burch, Member John Sydow, Member Douglas Garber, Member Absent: Ivor Hegedus, Member Also Present: William Nelson, Community Affairs Director Richard Trumble, Senior Code Enforcement Officer Amos Pierre, Code Enforcement Officer • APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice Chairperson Herrera moved to approve the Minutes of November 2, 1995. Mr. Garber seconded the motion. Chairperson Asmus called for discussion. Member Sydow asked that the spelling of his name be corrected from "Sidow" to "Sydow." The motion to accept the Minutes, as corrected, passed unanimously. HEARING 1. Case No. 4649 Weathertight and watertight structures 188 NW 104 Street Owner: Francisco G. Quinonez Section 1.2-128. Weathertight and watertight condition. Every structure used for human habitation shall be so maintained that it will be weathertight and watertight. Exterior walls, roofs and all openings around doors, windows, chimneys and all other parts of the structure shall be so maintained as to keep water from entering the structure and to prevent undue heat loss. Damaged materials must be repaired or replaced. All parts of the structure that show evidence of dry rot or other deterioration shall be repaired, replaced and refinished to be in • conformity with the rest of the structure. Window panes permitting entrance of water shall be replaced. • Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting December 7, 1995 Page 2 Mr. Pierre stated this case concerned a weathertight and watertight roof. He passed a picture for Board review. Mr. Pierre reported he had spoken with Mr. Quinonez on several occasions concerning the roof, and Mr. Quinonez had advised him that he was having difficulties fixing the roof. He assured Mr. Pierre the roof would be repaired. Mr. Pierre advised that his first conversation with Mr. Quinonez was on July 27; on August 8, he wrote an Order to Correct; on August 15, he gave an extension; on August 31, he issued a Notice of Violation; and, finally, on October 3, a continuance was granted. Mr. Pierre stated Mr. Quinonez had verbally told him he was in the process of getting a permit which should be secured on Friday, December 8, and he was still having difficulty securing a loan to pay for the work. Mr. Quinonez advised that the permit would be pulled tomorrow and the work would begin sometime between December 15 and December 20. The delay was due to his having to secure a loan and pay a $5,000 down payment. Chairperson Asmus stated that stripping the roof, preparing the roof, stacking tiles, and so forth, would mean another two to three months before the job could be finished. Mr. Quinonez reported that he had suffered severe financial and personal difficulties. He had been out of work for seven months and his mother had died while in Nicaragua which forced him to go to Nicaragua as well as pay her funeral expenses. Mr. Quinonez stated he • now had another job, a loan had been granted, and work would begin between December 15 and December 20. Chairperson Asmus asked how long this roof problem had been going on and how long the roof tiles had been missing. Mr. Trumble stated Mr. Quinonez had repaired his own roof and had been verbally cited on July 27. He also reported once the work began, it should not take more than a week to complete. Mr. Quinonez advised his roofer had promised him to have the job completed in two to three weeks. Chairperson Asmus asked Mr. Quinonez if the Board granted him 30 days to complete the work, it could be done. Mr. Quinonez stated it would be. Chairperson Asmus replied that having the work completed in one month was next to impossible. Member Sydow recommended Mr. Quinonez be given a continuance. Chairperson Asmus advised that Mr. Quinonez had had a four month delay since his first verbal warning and he had also received two continuances. He stated the Board's position was to determine if a violation had occurred and to determine a time period in which the violation must be corrected. Mr. Trumble advised that the Board could not tell Mr. Quinonez to have his roof completed within thirty days. The Board's function was to have Mr. Quinonez obtain a permit and try to complete the work as soon as possible. A deadline from the Board • could not be given. If the work was not done, Mr. Quinonez would be cited again and brought before the Board. • Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting December 7, 1995 Page 3 Vice Chairperson Herrera moved for a finding of fact and conclusion of law that a violation does exist to Section 12-128 of the Miami Shores Code and an administrative fee of $100.00 shall be assessed. If the violation is not corrected within sixty days, a $30.00 a day fine shall be levied. Member Garber seconded the motion. Chairperson Asmus clarified that the sixty days included obtaining a permit and having the roofing work completed. Chairperson Asmus called for discussion. Again, Mr. Trumble advised the Board that they could not tell Mr. Quinonez to have his roofing work completed within sixty days. Mr. Nelson advised that the life of a permit after it was pulled was six months. Chairperson Asmus replied that he understood this. However, if Vice Chairperson Herrera's motion gave Mr. Quinonez sixty days to pull a permit, then six months plus sixty days would be a total of eight months to complete this roofing work. This meant that a year would have gone by since the initial verbal violation was given. Mr. Nelson stated the Board could force Mr. Quinonez to obtain his permit by tomorrow. Giving him sixty days was not necessary. Chairperson Asmus asked to have the violation clarified. Was it a lack of permit or was it the condition of the roof? Mr. Nelson advised the violation was the roof was • not weathertight and watertight. He stated putting a deadline on completion of the job would be against Code administrative policy of the permit life. Vice Chairperson Herrera withdrew his motion and Member Sydow withdrew his second to the motion. Vice Chairperson Herrera moved for a finding of fact and conclusion of law that a violation exists to Section 12-128 of the Miami Shores Village Code and an administrative fee of $100.00 shall be assessed. A permit is to be pulled by Friday, December 8, 1995. If the permit is not pulled by that date, a $25.00 a day fine shall be levied. Member Sydow seconded the motion. Chairperson Asmus called for discussion. Member Garber asked if the Board was bound to assess the $100.00 administrative fee or could it be waived. Mr. Trumble stated the administrative fee was always $180.00 and could not be raised or lowered, but it could be waived. Member Garber recommended waiving the administrative fee: Vice Chairperson Herrera withdrew his motion and Member Sydow withdrew his second to the motion. Vice Chairperson Herrera moved for a finding of fact and conclusion of law that a violation exists to Section 12-128 of the Miami Shores Village Code and the • administrative fee be waived. If the violation of not pulling a permit is not corrected by Friday, December 8, 1995, a $30.00 a day fine shall be levied until the permit is pulled. • Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting December 7, 1995 Page 4 Member Sydow seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Case No. 4706 Unauthorized construction/alterations 925 NE 92 Street Owner: Jose F. Alvarez -Alfonso Section 6-4(a). Required; Permits - Applications generally. No person shall erect or construct or proceed with the erection or construction of any building or structure, nor add to, enlarge, move, improve, alter, convert, extend or demolish any building or structure, or any group of buildings and/or structures under one (1) or joint ownership whether on one or more lots or tracts of land; or cause the same to be done where the cost of the work is one hundred dollars ($100) or more in value; and on any remodeling or alteration job of any value; without first obtaining a permit therefor from the building department. Mr. Trumble read a letter written to Mr. Tom Benton, Assistant Village Manger, • Public Works Director, from Elsie Masiovetchio, requesting a continuance. She stated she and her husband would be out of town and that they were working with the insurance company to have their roof replaced. Chairperson Asmus recommended granting a thirty day continuance. Member Garber moved for a continuance on this case until the next Board Meeting. Vice Chairperson Herrera seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Case No. 4725 Unauthorized construction/alterations 474 NE 95 Street Owner: Susie Lawson Tenant: Donald Larson Section 6-4(a). Required.; Permits - Applications generally. No person shall erect or construct or proceed with the erection or construction of any building or structure, nor add to, enlarge, move, improve, alter, convert, extend or demolish any building or structure, or any group of buildings and/or structures under one (1) or joint ownership whether on one or more lots or tracts of land; or cause the same to be done where the cost of the work is one hundred dollars ($100) or more in • • • Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting December 7, 1995 Page 5 value; and on any remodeling or alteration job of any value; without first obtaining a permit therefor from the building department. Mr. Trumble requested dismissal as the permit had been obtained. Vice Chairperson Herrera moved for dismissal. Member Garber seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Case No. 4729 Unsightly fascia, soffit, house exterior 101 NW 107 Street Owner: Leroy Wilson Section 12-133. Depreciation of surrounding property. The exterior of every structure shall be so maintained with reasonable attractiveness so as not, in the case of excessive scaling or paint or excessive mildew, to cause a substantial depreciation in property values in the immediate neighborhood. The exterior surfaces shall be kept free from materials, objects and conditions which will have an adverse effect on adjacent premises. Mr. Pierre requested dismissal as the permit had been obtained. Vice Chairperson Herrera moved for dismissal. Member Sydow seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Case No. 4755 Maintaining a nuisance 10 NE 97 Street Owner: Donna Properties, Inc. Tenant: Donna Properties, Inc. Section 10-5. Maintaining source of noxious odors or gas, disturbing noise, or other nuisance. It shall be unlawful to maintain any source or cause of noxious odor or gas or of any loud, disturbing noise or other nuisance, or to cause the same to exist. Mr. Pierre reported this case involved a dirty swimming pool. He passed a picture for review. Mr. Pierre stated he responded to a complaint on October 19 that the pool was dirty and issued an Order to Correct. Chairperson Asmus asked if the sliding glass door screen was part of the violation. Mr. Pierre stated it was not and Code Enforcement would attack that problem at a later date. • Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting December 7, 1995 Page 6 Member Garber asked Mr. Pierre for clarification of the violation. Mr. Pierre stated he responded to a complaint on October and issued an Order to Correct. On October 27, he contacted Prudential Reality and Lydia promised to have the pool cleaned. To date, the pool has not been cleaned and remains a health hazard. Mr. Trumble advised this case has been before the Board on numerous occasions for other violations including the pool. It is a vacant home, and it appears the owner does not care to comply with Code. Chairperson Asmus advised the Board to take into consideration that this is a repeat violation when assessing the daily fine. Member Garber moved for a finding of fact and conclusion of law that a violation exists to Section 10-5 of the Miami Shores Village Code and an administrative fee of $180.00 be assessed. If the violation is not corrected within ten days, a $50.00 a day fine be levied. Vice Chairperson Herrera seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 6. Case No. 4763 Unsightly fascia, soffit, house exterior 130 NE 98 Street Owner: Maria and Jose Grosso Section 12-133. Depreciation of surrounding property. The exterior of every structure shall be so maintained with reasonable attractiveness so as not, in the case of excessive scaling or paint or excessive mildew, to cause a substantial depreciation in property values in the immediate neighborhood. The exterior surfaces shall be kept free from materials, objects and conditions which will have an adverse effect on adjacent premises. Mr. Pierre requested dismissal as the permit had been obtained. Vice Chairperson Herrera moved for dismissal. Member Garber seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: Code Enforcement Board Rules and Regulations Mr. Nelson stated he had met with Chairperson Asmus concerning his desire to formulate Code Enforcement Board Rules and Regulations largely due to the high absenteeism at scheduled meetings. A draft had been prepared and given to • Chairperson Asmus. Mr. Nelson advised that the Village Attorney and City Manager had read the draft. He stated the Village Attorney had given him the reference material • Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting December 7, 1995 Page 7 for the letter sent to each Board member concerning absenteeism and grounds for removal from the Board. Mr. Nelson strongly suggested each member be present at all meetings and to review the drafted Rules and Regulations which gave precise directions on what to do if a member needed to be absent from a meeting. Chairperson Asmus passed out a copy of the Rules and Regulations to each Board member present. Member Burch advised that she had missed three meetings because she had been out of the country on vacation and not because she had not wanted to come. If three consecutive absences were considered grounds for removal, she stated she would have to resign. Member Burch reported that the absences during her vacation were the only times she had missed meetings. She had been present at all the other scheduled meetings. She believed Chairperson Asmus had taken this action because of her three absences. Chairperson Asmus advised this was not the case. He was concerned about having to cancel a meeting for lack of a quorum on two occasions and had compiled an attendance record from past Minutes during the last twelve months. He stated only three members had missed 25% or less of the meetings. Ms. Burch stated the City Council Board members could miss three meetings. Chairperson Asmus stated grounds for removal from this Board would be two out of three . consecutive meetings, or a maximum of 25% of the meetings missed. He advised that Mr. Harke had resigned from the Board due to his job traveling schedule which would keep him away from some meetings. Mr. Nelson advised that the Village Attorney would be available to come to the January Board meeting to discuss any questions members may have with the Rules and Regulations before they are finalized. He stated the Village Attorney would appreciate each member's input on the drafted Rules and Regulations. Chairperson Asmus stated that any person applying to this Board would be required to fully understand the Rules and Regulations and how important attendance to every meeting was. He requested members review the draft and give any comments to Mr. Nelson before the January meeting. Hopefully, the draft could be revised, if necessary, prior to the meeting and thus voted on. Mr. Nelson discussed the opening statement and sample motions attached to the draft copy of the Rules and Regulations. Chairperson Asmus asked that a copy of these be placed at each member's chair at each meeting. Member Garber stated he understood the need for the Rules and Regulations, but asked how the "two consecutive meetings" was justified. Mr. Nelson reported this . was justified under Florida Statutes and this information could be provided to any Board member interested. • • Code Enforcement Board Regular Meeting December 7, 1995 Page 8 ADJOURNMENT: Vice Chairperson Herrera moved for adjournment. Member Garber seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 RM. Barry As ) , Chairperson Carol Ann Ra oneretary