Real Estate depression in the State of Florida will prevent a recovery as long as the voters continue to put morons like these into office……
Amid outcry, North Port eases up on fines
By John Davis
Published: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 8:25 p.m.
NORTH PORT - Nicki Timmons' pleas did not help her cause before city leaders Monday night. She owes them more
than $40,000 -- an inconceivable sum for her family -- for violating city codes.
But the stories of Timmons and other embattled residents who owe huge sums for code infractions had some
impact: City commissioners decided they would not sue residents anymore for minor code violations.
And they will revise the fees they charge to make them more proportionate to the infraction.
"We've got to get to the point where we take the ridiculous out of the picture," said Commissioner Jim Blucher, who
is leading efforts to change the system.
But they offered no mercy to Timmons and others they have already taken to court. The commission is divided on
how much to ease up.
The city's get-tough approach with residents was designed to boost the city's image by addressing unsightly
property, junk in yards and worse. Much of the city is not subject to neighborhood deed restrictions that govern
appearance, so city officials stepped in, aggressively pursuing violations large and small, imposing steep fines and
suing those who did not pay.
But as the city's fortunes sank with the economy, North Port's approach seemed too punitive and provoked a public
backlash. The commission decided not to actively look for violations and offered settlements to those already
ensnared by the code system.
But the city did not quit pursuing lawsuits against those who failed to pay. This month, the city's lawyer asked a
judge to force single mother Diane Pearson to pay more than $27,000 for failing to have a valid license plate on a car
in her driveway -- even though the car has been gone for more than two years.
Her case could be decided by a judge this week, and, whatever the outcome, she does not have the money to pay.
She offered to pay North Port $10 a month toward the violation, but was rebuffed by the city's lawyers.
North Port offered to settle the case for $6,000, payable in a year, but Pearson, like many others, could not afford it.
City leaders now say that $6,000 for a parked car is no deal.
"It's just gone too far," said Commissioner David Garofalo.
Timmons was never offered the amnesty deal because North Port had already gotten its court judgment against her
when the program started.
"There was no help given to me," she said. "I asked several of the different commissioners at the time to please help
me, and there was nothing anyone could do for me."
She told commissioners Monday that the city had "completely ruined my credit."
Besides the fine, she owes 11 percent annual interest for driving and parking on city right-of-way and failing to
finish a fence on time, she told commissioners.
"My house is in foreclosure all because the city's attorney wouldn't remove the lien so I could refinance," she said.
Christine Marfut is facing $123,000 in fines on two properties for failing to get permits for roof work, a temporary tent
and other violations. North Port is pushing to liquidate the houses to get its money.
After years of fighting and the current recession, Marfut says she is broke.
"My entire net worth, my life savings of hard work is being lost because I patched my roof," she said.
City staff will work on changes to the system. Options include capping fines and turning the cases over to a special
magistrate instead of the resident panel that currently doles out fines of up to $250 a day.
Code Enforcement Board chairman Nick Bonsky said Monday that some of the code cases have gone too far.
"Even $2,000 is ridiculous," he said of a fine for having mailbox numbers that were too small, a common violation in
North Port until the commission changed the law last year.
The running fines in North Port were leading to dozens of new lawsuits, until the commission pulled the plug
Monday.
Not everyone in North Port supports softening the code.
"The irresponsible citizen is getting all the breaks," said Barbara Gross, a former commissioner. "And I think it's
about time you put the responsible citizen first."
heraldtribune.com
North Port code net snags another
By John Davis
Published: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:26 p.m.
NORTH PORT - The used car was a blessing, a gift from her church to help Diane Pearson, a single mother with
three children and a long commute to work. And after receiving the 1998 Mercury from her church, Pearson found
her drive to Sarasota a bit less stressful.
But Pearson lives in North Port, a city that has targeted citizens for violating rules regulating everything from how
often you mow your grass to the cars in your driveway.
North Port took Pearson to court this month over fines of more than $27,000 for keeping her old car in the driveway
without a license plate. If the city wins its case, Pearson could be facing bankruptcy.
"It's been a nightmare," said Pearson, 49, who works two jobs to stay afloat as she raises three teenagers.
Pearson is one of dozens of North Port residents caught in the city's crackdown on code violations. Officials
promised to ease up last year, following complaints that the get-tough approach was too heavy-handed in a
community slammed by the recession.
But North Port has been anything but soft on Pearson and others. It recently sought to foreclose on one
homeowner for unpaid fines. And it has many more court cases scheduled besides Pearson's. Almost 30 new code
cases -- those reaching $15,000 in fines -- had been forwarded to North Port's lawyers as of November.
More could follow as daily fines of up to $250 accrue against homeowners who fail to show up to hearings or
responded to North Port's citations. There is no cap on the amount the city can fine; according to the city, one
property owner owes $183,000 in fines for a house that went into foreclosure in 2007.
Pearson's run-in with city codes dates back to 2006. She was driving an unreliable 1986 Oldsmobile when the
Lighthouse Baptist Church gave her the Sable. She parked the Olds in her driveway for four months until the church
picked it up as a donation.
But it did not have a valid license plate, and the city's code enforcement panel cited her for breaking a rule requiring
cars in driveways to have a current plate.
The city began levying a $50-per-day fine in early 2007, retroactive to the previous December, for the infraction. And
North Port kept the meter running for more than a year after the car was gone.
City officials blame Pearson -- like other homeowners in other code cases -- for failing to accept settlement offers or
heed warnings.
Pearson, the city's lawyer said, did not notify officials when the Olds was removed.
Last year, North Port offered to settle the case for $6,200, but Pearson said she could not afford to pay that amount
within a year, as was required.
Instead, she is fighting the suit with attorney Robert Lincoln, who has taken the case for free.
North Port tried to cut down on code fights last year, offering to reduce charges for those who had racked up steep
fines. But most -- 79 out of 117 -- ignored the deal, prompting North Port to sue.
The city initially imposed the tough-code approach to improve neighborhood appearances and quality of life. It
adopted a policy in 2006 to take code violators to court, if necessary.
Last year it agreed to back off a little by responding only to complaints, rather than actively seeking violations.
Still, the get-tough approach pumped up the caseload for Sarasota law firm Nelson Hesse.
City commissioners say they were unaware of the Pearson case, even though North Port has paid Nelson Hesse
more than $9,000 to sue her.
And while Pearson's case may be extreme, officials say the city must make an effort to maintain community
standards, as it faces a raft of homes abandoned or in foreclosure.
"This is another example that has perhaps gone too far," Commissioner David Garofalo wrote in an e-mail to the
Herald-Tribune. "But this boils down to quality of life in North Port. If we are completely lax then property values
will even deteriorate more."
Commissioner Tom Jones was more sympathetic. "We don't want to sue somebody like this or drag her through
court," he said, encouraging Pearson to contact him and other city leaders.
Pearson bought her house in 2002 for $95,500, moving her family here for the affordable housing. She said she did
not know about the immense fine until June 2008, when the city decided to sue her. Once she found out that she
was being sued for tens of thousands of dollars, she was in a state of disbelief.
"Nobody had the courage to call me," she said, noting that the city never told her putting the car in her garage
would have solved the problem.
North Port said Pearson should have asked for an official reinspection after the car was removed. Pearson wonders
why that would be necessary, given that North Port had sent code inspectors out six times leading up to the fine.
The city contends Pearson had ample notice, by mail and by way of postings on her door.
"This is a classic case of the defendant putting her head in the sand," said Dan Guarnieri, a private attorney
representing North Port in county court last week.
Pearson's attorney disagrees. "It's a futile action," Lincoln said of the city's suit. "And I've pointed this out to the
city, but they want to proceed."
Last week, Lincoln asked Judge Charles Roberts to throw out the fines because North Port failed to meet some of its
notice requirements and did not take into account the severity of the violation when the city began charging
Pearson.
He blames the problem in part on the fact that North Port's lawyers bill the city hourly and get paid whether they win
or lose.
"If they were doing this on a contingency, there's no way they would be pursuing these cases," Lincoln said.
Roberts is expected to rule in the next few weeks. Even if North Port wins, Pearson said she will be unable to pay.
Instead, North Port could put a lien on her largest investment, her house, limiting any gain she could make from
selling it in the future.
At this point, though, Pearson sees no reason to give the city the satisfaction.
"I'll die in this house," she said.
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