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09-29-1988 . .t~ ~ ~ o , Q CITY OF EDGEWATER CITIZEN CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD September 29, 1988 7:00 p.m. CITY HALL MINUTES The meeting was called to order at 7:07 p.m. by the Chairman, Mary Ciccarello, in the Conference Room of City Hall in Edgewater. ROLL CALL Members present were: Janice McGhee, Ella Ledger-Adle, Maureen Borner, Delores Cucanich, Paul Biggerstaff, Phil Williams and Mary Ciccarello. Also present were: Mr. Frank Garrity, Mr. Ken Bucher, Mrs. Agnes Rymza and neighbors, Mr. C. E. Clark, Mr. Frank Morris, Mr. Pat DiLeva, Assistant Code Enforcement Officer/Safety Inspector, Mr. Dennis Fischer, Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer, and City Attorney Jose' Alvarez, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Harmon and Mr. & Mrs. Carmen Montesano. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mrs. Ciccarello called for approval of the minutes of August 25, 1988 meeting, and Mr. Williams moved the minutes be accepted, seconded by Mrs. Cucanich. Motion CARRIED 5-2, Mrs. Adle and Mrs. Ciccarello having been excused from that meeting. Mrs. Ciccarello announced there was no Old Business and the Board could move along to New Business, and read the three cases to be heard this evening. The secretary affirmed she had advertised these cases and proper notice was given to all concerned. Mrs. Ciccarello announced the Board would now hear Case No. 88-CC-39, Edgewater Cemetery Association, Inc., Violation of Section 717.00, Bottles, Cans and Other Debris in Pond, Parcel #7433-10-00-4360, near W. Connecticut Avenue, Complainant, Frank Garrity. Mr. DiLeva was sworn in and informed the Board he checked the area and found there were tires, bottles and all types of refuse in the pond. Mr. Swoope, Trustee of the Cemetery, said he would clean up the debris but it was not done. Mr. DiLeva presented pictures and a film of the area. Mr. Frank Garrity was sworn in and gave testimony as to this case being an on-going problem. He also stated he had approached the School Board, Mosquito Control and others, concerning this problem. He presented pictures of the neighborhood and said people were throwing garbage, old bicycles, etc. and this has attracted rats and snakes. Mr. Garrity exhibited a memo from Mr. Dennis Kelly, Interim City Manager, to Mr. Carl Overstreet, Public Works Director, requesting the pond and ditch be maintained. Mr. Ken Bucher, of 131 W. Connecticut Avenue, drew a diagram on the chalk board showing the position of his house and where the ditch is placed, which is now plugged, and said the cemetery does not want to clean it up and doesn't want mosquito control. Mrs. Agnes Rymza of 126 W. Connecticut Avenue was sworn in and presented scenes of the area, stating a child could fall into the ditch and asked if the City couldn't help with drainage. Mr. DiLeva answered not if it is not City property. Mr. Williams continued questioning Mr. Bucher as to the contents of the pond at this time and Mr. Garrity stated the debris and everything in the pond is a hazard as kids cut through there and the pond drops off four feet; if someone should fall in, you don't know what you would do if you dived in. It should be cleared. Mrs. Ciccarello said this case is now open for discussion by the Board and wanted to say as to the original complaint, the debris in the pond should be decided first. Mrs. Borner said Mr. DiLeva stated Mr. Swoope is in compliance as far as cleaning the debris is concerned. Mrs. Cucanich asked if this was a cemetery problem a school problem or a City problem and Mrs. Ciccarello said it is strictly on cemetery property and they have refused to let the mosquito control come in. o ~ o After an in-depth discussion, Mr. Williams moved a letter be sent to Mr. Swoope informing him he is in compliance as to the debris in the pond at. this time, but Mr. DiLeva is to check the ditch on both. sides as to lack of drainage which comes out of the pond, and bring a report to the Board at their .October meeting as to the approximate length of time it will take to do this. Motion was seconded by Mrs. Cucanich and Mr. Williams then moved to amend the original motion to include Mr. Swoope is to come into compliance. The amendment was seconded by Mrs. Cucanich and the original motion and amendment was CARRIED 7-0. Mrs. Ciccarello announced the Board would now hear Case No. 88-CC-40, Robert Harmon, Violation Section 706., Foliage over six feet in height. Mr. Pat DiLeva gave his name and position and was sworn In. Mrs. Ciccarello asked how this case came to the attention of Mr. DiLeva and he explained he had received a letter from Mr. Gar.men Montesano, charging Mr. Harmon with violation 706.00 which states walls and hedges cannot be over six feet in height, and Mr. DiLeva read this section to the Board. Mr. DiLeva siad he did go to the property, took pictures, and cited Mr. Harmon. Pictures of the property were shown to the Board at this point and Mr. DiLeva stated he had spoken to Mr. Harmon and Mr. Harmon said he was reluctant to cut this brush or whatever you want to call them, saying he did not want to cut a living thing and asked if he could move them from the property line to transplant them. Mr. DiLeva stated he did not know the answer to this and thought he should bring this before the Board. Mr. Harmon did sav he planted them as a buffer and to cut down the noise from Mr. Montesano's property. Mr. DiLeva said he would like the Board to decide if Mr. Harmon could move these back six or eight feet, cut them down, or what is the decision of the Board. Mr. DiLeva was asked to explain the pictures further, which he did. There being no further City representatives to testify, Mr. Montesano was sworn in to testify. He stated his main complaint was people coming up U.S. I could not see his garage until they went past Mr.Harmon's property, causing people to put on their brakes and come back. Mr. Montesano displayed pictures to the Board, explaining each one. He continued saying Mr. Harmon had refused to cut them down, but Mr. Montesano's garage is hidden. and they should be cut down. Mrs. Ciccarello asked if Mr. Montesano had any other evidence and he replied he believes the pictures speak for themselves. ~ Mr. Robert Harmon was then sworn in and testified he was confused, as he had trimmed the hedges every other time Mr. Montesano came to him. He continued he has bought property and is moving these plants; that they are all trees; they are not shrub, they are not hedges, and they were planted for one reason, a wind breaker from toxic fumes coming from Mr. Montesano's garage and they will be moved very shortly. He stated if Mr. Montesano had come over he would have informed him of the situation. Mr. Williams asked how long this will take to move these plants and Mr. Harmon said in about thirty days, but he would like to root and prune them before moving. Mrs. Ciccarello as ed if there were any other questions by the Board and Mr. Wiiliams said he had one more question; if they were trimmed back to six foot, would this hurt the bushes, and Mr. Harmon said yes, they would become tender and would become frozen, that he has about fifty trees worth $25 to $50 whole- sale, which would double retail. Mrs. Ciccarello then moved the case be closed; asked_ for deliberations by the Board and would like to suggest the Board determine the number of days or a date by which Mr. Harmon should have these trees removed, and he is willing to move them. Mrs. Borner asked if it would be possible to move them by December 15th and issue a penalty after that date of $25. per day. Mrs. McGhee seconded the motion. Mr. Montesano then explained to Mrs. Ciccarello that he would be satisfied if the trees in the back of the house of Mr.. Harmon's would be taken care of he would be satisfied, but he was concerned about the poison ivy. There ensued a discussion concerning poison ivy, which Mr. Harmon said was not poison ivy. After further discussion, Mrs. Adle moved this case be tabled until the next meeting, and Mr. DiLeva is to then inspect and see:; if the foliage has been removed Motion was seconded by Mrs. Borner and CARRIED 7-0. Citizen Code Enforcement Board Minutes of September 29, 1988 Meeting -2- o o Mrs. Ciccarello announced the next case to be heard by the Board would be Case No. 88-CC-41, Frank Morris, Alleged violation of Sec. 717., Trash in rear of yard and Section 603, Junk car in front of home and appliances on North side of home. Mr. DiLeva was sworn in and stated Mr. Morris's case came to his attention when Mr. C.E. Clark came to his office to file a complaint against Frank Morris, stating there was a junk car in front of the house, appliance and trash in the yard. Mr. DiLeva said he investigated and found the car with flat tires and an appliance and trash in the back yard and presented pictures as exhibits for the Board to see. He also stated he and Mr. Fischer/went down together as Mr. Morris said he was in compliance but Mr. DiLeva didn't think so. Mr. DiLeva did go back to Mr. Morris's just today and stated the tires are no longer flat and a license is on the car, so he can no longer say it is a nuisance,/ and the appliance is behind a six- foot fence and is no longer in view of the public. Mrs. Ciccarello asked if Mr. DiLeva believes Mr. Morris is now in compliance with Section 603., and Mr. DiLeva said in his opinion it is, as far as reading the Code.and interpreting it. Mrs. Ciccarello asked his opinion as to Section 717., trash, etc., and Mr. DiLeva said that is still in existange; there is a fence in front of it but it is still there, and that is the only violation at this time. Mr. C. E. Clark was then sworn in and, after reading from sections of the Code, stated Mr. Morris seems to think he can have a junk yard in the neighborhood; it provides a breeding ground for rats, mice, mosquitoes, roaches and other types of pests and vermin. Mr. Clark also stated Mr. Morris has a fence around everything but it is illegal to store building materials, etc., or maintain storage in the City. Mr. Clark continued Mr. Morris has four trailers in his back yard, concrete blocks, building materials, fencing materials, chain links and otherwise; that everything is fenced in. Mr. Clark produced twenty one pictures for exhibit. Mr. Clark said he also has a petition signed by neighbors in the block to get this cleared up. Mr. Morris was then sworn in, looked at Mr. Clark's pictures and said some of them were six months old and displayed pictures of his own, saying he has been harrassed for four years. He also stated his trailers are all registered and are inside the yard; that his fence is a six foot high fence which he had lifted up off the ground so as to trim the hedge underneath the fence. Mr. Morris said he does not know what Mr. Clark wants. Mrs. Ciccarello then asked Mr. Morris to present any evidence and he exhibited pictures in his own defense and Mrs. Ciccarello said Mr. Morris is in compliance as far as the car is concerned and to go on from there. After further discussion, Mrs. Ciccarello asked for any questions from the Board and Mr. Williams asked Mr. DiLeva what is in compliance. Mr. DiLeva said the appliance and the car but as to 717.00, he is not in compliance. The trailers of legal but things in it are not. Mrs. Borner asked how many sheds and their size. Mr. Morris said there are two sheds and he has permits for them. Mr. Williams then asked Mr. DiLeva if he had stated Mr. Morris has to remove everything from his trailers and clean his backyard to be in compliance. Mr. DiLeva said he doesn't know what is in the trailers; he does not want to invade his privacy. Mrs. Ciccarello then closed the hearing for this case and opened the floor for deliberations by the Board. Mrs. Ciccarello then read from the Florida Statutes, dealing with cases of a reoccurring nature and read same to the Board, which states if the same violation has been repeated by the same violator, the violator may be ordered to pay a fine not to exceed $250.00 for each day the violation continues past the date of compliance; or, for each time the violation has been repeated, and a hearing shall not be necessary for the issuance of this order. Mrs. Ciccarello stated technically, the Board did not have to hear this case this evening because it is a repeat of the same violation by the same violator, but the Board did decide to hear this case so she could bring this statute to their attention and asked the Board to consider this when making a motion as to what to do about this case. -3- Citizen Code Enforcement Board Minutes of September 29, 1988 Meeting. o o .0 Discussion continued in regard to the Frank Morris case. Mr. Biggerstaff then moved that Mr. Morris is in violation of Section 717.03, public nuisance; that he be given until the 27th day of October, 1988 to correct this condition; iif, at that time"he is not in compliance, a $200.00 per day fine will be levied; that if this violation reoccurs in the future, a $250.00 per day fine will be assessed immediately. Mr. Biggerstaff also asked that Mr. Morris sign a receipt when he receives a copy of this motion. The Motion was seconded by Mrs. Cucanich and CARRIED 7-0. Mrs. Ciccarello then informed the Board that Mrs. Ella LedgeL-~dle has been reappointed to the Board by Council and also informed the Board that much to her sorry, a man who had been appointed to the Board passed away very suddenly and Mrs. Adle was immediately appointed to replace him. There being no further business before the Board, Mrs. Adle moved the meeting adjourn, seconded by Mr. Williams. The Board then adjourned at 9:35 p.m. Minutes submitted by Dorothy C. Garrity, Secretary i__------- Citizen Code Enforcement Board Minutes of September 29, 1988 Meeting -4-