City may hike fines for code violators
That grass that’s more than a foot high and the green, stagnant water in the swimming pool at an abandoned house are getting more expensive.
The Palm Beach Gardens City Council this month expressed its desire to increase the maximum fines a special magistrate can impose for code violations. Once the change gets final approval from officials, the $250-a-day maximum fine for a firsttime violation will increase to $1,000 a day, Unified Services Director Ansley Marr said. That fine can be levied by the magistrate if a first-time violation isn’t fixed by the deadline.
It’s not uncommon for the city to have to trim overgrowth at foreclosed properties, only to have to do it again when it grows back, Marr said.
“They’re a problem for everyone in the neighborhood,” she said.
If a repeat violation occurs, the maximum fine the magistrate can assess will increase from $500 a day to $5,000 a day. State law allows the city to increase the fines because its Have a Palm Beach Gardens issue you’d like to see The Post tackle, or a story idea? Contact Sarah Peters at 561820-4715 or speters@pbpost.com.
population has surpassed 50,000.
A bank might have a mortgage on a home and sell it to another bank, making it difficult to trace ownership, Marr said. The city sends a notice to whatever owner is on the tax rolls. Sometimes they respond and sometimes they don’t, she said.
That’s when the city finds itself with repeat offenders. The new bank that owns a property will sometimes appear when paperwork is processed transferring ownership.
Resident Kevin Easton said the change seems “more punitive than it is helpful.”
“If somebody’s violated the code, I’m sure they’re trying to get the violations fixed, and if you impose a greater fee on these people, it’s not going to help anything,” he said.
Vice Mayor David Levy said there are some people who are negligent, but he believes the vast majority of people want to comply with the code. Often, the city needs to get the attention of out-of-town banks, he said.
“I think sometimes, we need to give the special magistrate as many tools as we possibly can,” he said.
Common violations include overgrowth, which encourages vermin and invites crime, and pools that aren’t maintained, Marr said. They become a threat for mosquitoes. It becomes stressful for the neighbors and isn’t something the city wants, she said.
Banks might have property management companies, but the city can’t wait for them to get to the job if conditions are posing a health or safety issue, Marr said.
“It’s not fair to our residents to make them wait,” she said.
The council should take a final vote on the proposed change to its code of ordinances at the 7 p.m. Nov. 5 meeting at City Hall, 10500 N. Military Trail.