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ci~ Commission, Sanford, ~ofida
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The City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, met in an Emergency Special
Meeting on Wednesday, March 13, 1996 at 3:30 o'clock P.M. in the City Manager's Conference
Room, Sanford City Hall, 300 North Park Avenue, Sanford, Florida.
Present: Mayor-Commissioner Bettye D. Smith
Commissioner Whitey Eckstein
Commissioner Robert B. Thomas, Jr.
Commissioner ~Lon K. Howell
Commissioner Kerry D. Lyons
Assistant City Attorney William Reischmann
City Manager William A. Simmons
City Clerk Janet R. Dougherty
Absent: City Attorney William L. Colbert
The Chairman called the meeting to order.
Properties owned or controlled b~ Violetta Williams, including 718 West First Street, 210
Laurel Avenue, 615 Oak Avenue~ 612 Park Avenue~ 611 Oak Avenue~ 621 Oak Avenue~ 101 West 9th
Street, and vacant propert~ on West 9th Street.
city Manager Simmons reviewed and discussed six (6) different areas relative the
above-referenced properties, including: 1) determination of appropriate legal number of units
in a given structure, 2) NFPA fire code safety, 3) minimum building and housing codes, 4) due
process, 5) approved procedure for requesting discontinuation of non-conforming uses, and 6)
Historic Preservation Board Certificate of Appropriateness Applications. Also, a matrix of
licensing information dated March 12, 1996 relative the number of units in each building, and
the number of units approved under the non-conforming use program, as follows: Resolution
1364, which was adopted in 1983, facilitated and established the procedures for handling the
non-conforming uses under the rezoning which was approved for the Historic Residential
District in the same year, whereby the property owner(s) could upgrade multi-family units to
meet City Codes. Also, licensing does not directly tie to a non-conforming use or the
appropriateness of a non-conforming use. Further, 612 Park Avenue was originally licensed
for six (6) units, then erroneously dropped to 4 units, and recommend that the licensing for
this property revert back to six (6) units. Further, after additional research, he has
determined that 718 West First Street and 101 Holly Avenue came before the City Commission
for a Right-Of-Way Use Permit, which approved August, 1992, as well as site plan approval
by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and that the most that could be required is a
Conditional Use Permit.
In response to Commissioner Howell's question as to whether 621 Oak Avenue is non-
conforming, the City Manager reported that three (3) of the six (6) units are non-conforming,
however, the remaining three (3) units, as long as they meet codes, constitute conformance
as originally issued, and reviewed Administrative Procedures for Determining Discontinued
Non-conforming Uses adopted by the City Commission August 24, 1992, and stated that no such
documentation has been filed on any of these properties.
In response to Commissioner Lyons' question as to whether these properties should
be converted back to single-family dwellings in accordance with Resolution No. 1364-A,
Assistant City Attorney William Reischmann reported that Paragraph 2 of Resolution 1634-A
states that all existing multiple-family residential dwellings located within the designated
area shall be required to be in full compliance with all of the building and other technical
codes i.e. floors, heating systems, etc. within two (2) years of the date of the rezoning;
that it does not say these properties must be brought into compliance with all the Land
Development Regulations, that "grandfathering" and non-conforming uses are different
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City Commission, Sanford, Florida Emergency Special Meeting
March 13 19 96
in volume or intensity of the same type of use that it is not deemed to be a change in us~
sufficient to disallow the grandfather status.
The City Manager reported that six (6) units does not constitute a boarding house
a boarding house has rooms with a common bathroom and meals served in a common kitchen;
rooming house has the same features excluding meals. Further, Code Enforcement is the
for enforcing violations of City codes, and that licensing, in most cases, is a
generated for the City; not an enforcement mechanism. Further, over the past six (6)
there have been approximately three (3) nuisance complaints relative one property and one (1)
complaint regarding another.
The Assistant City Attorney reported that the newly adopted Nuisance
Procedures would not apply in this situation because you have to establish arrests
convictions, which is not the case. Further, Florida Statutes Chapter 823.01 deals
public nuisances; and Section 823.05 talks about places declared public nuisances,
might be a vehicle/remedy to correct this problem.
Item 92 NFPA: The City Manager reported that a letter dated March 13, 1996,
sent by Certified Mail to Ms. Williams, that hand delivery of same was effected today,
that said letter identifies specific deficiencies under the fire safety code, which
reviewed.
Tom Greene, attorney for Violetta Williams, reported that it was his under
that the apartments were inspected several'Weeks ago, that all violations/deficiencies were
addressed and corrected, and that the new list of items/complaints were a result of the re-
inspection on March 11, 1996. Further, he is not sure why/how the new complaints were
generated, and that he and his client are concerned with consistency and fairness on these
inspections.
Assistant Fire Chief Ron Neal reported that the issue was accessibility to all the
apartments.
93 Building Minimum Housing Code Violations: The City Manager reported that
Notices of Violation, as a result of the last inspection were sent February 22, 1996, and
will be heard by the Code Enforcement Board in April, 1996. Also, some additional limited
items were found in the last inspection, which fall within the general direction provided in
the original citation, and that we are proceeding in accordance with City Codes and State
Statutes.
Director of Community Development Charles Rowe reported that of the violations
found, only two, "trash" and "licensing", are citation eligible.
The Assistant City Attorney reported that land use violations and building codes
can be handled through citations and code enforcement; that fire code violations are
addressed under Chapter 9 procedures, that criminal infractions are handled by the Police
Department, and that there is a city ordinance for nuisance abatement, the condemnation
process, and nuisance under Chapter 842.
Mr. Greene reported that the two-issues that could result in citations are
licensing and trash; he attempted to obtain a license on each building that was cited,
however, the City refused to accept his money; and the trash could be alleviated by a larger
trash receptacle.
Mr. Rowe reported that Staff received and started processing the applications, but
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City Commission, Sanford,'Floridav'mer~enc3' special MeetJ_n~ ~arch 13
~6 Historic Preservation Board: The City Manager reported that the Historic
Preservation Board is presently 'Considering Applications for Certificates of Appropriateness
for exterior repairs to be done under the Notices of Violation, and therefore, the owner is
taking serious steps to correct the violations/deficiencies, as directed by Code Enforcement.
#4 Due Process: The Assistant City Attorney reported that there are two concepts
of due process "Notice" and "Hearing", that the procedures used to effect someone's rights,
in this case property rights, has specific Notice and Hearing requirements that have been
found to satisfy due process. Further, legally enforceable tools exist to balance the
constitutional rights of property owners and the needs of tenants, and neighbors. Also,
there are a number of penalties for violating due process, that the nature of the penalty
imposed is dependant upon which tool was used and the procedural protections that were not
followed, and recommended that if it is the wish of the City Commission to direct Staff to
investigate all appropriate remedies, and that if said remedies are folloWed, no penalties
will come into play.
At the request of Commissioner Howell, the Assistant City Attorney explained that
City Ordinance and Florida Statutes allows inspectors to insure that the codes are not being
violated; that if there is reason to believe codes are being violated, and entry is denied,
the City has the ability to go to court to seek an Administrative Warning.
Commissioner Lyons asked that one person in the audience explain what he/she would
like the City to do to resolve the problem.
John Mercer reported that in 1983, it was the intent of the Commission to change
everything downtown into single-family dwellings, that anyone grandfathered in would be
subject to inspection twice a year, to insure conformance, which has never been done.
In response to Commissioner Lyons' question as to whether Ms. Williams is willing
to make this a more neighborhood like structure, Mr. Green reported that Ms. Williams is
willing to correct the violations and bring the properties up to code.
After 'discussion, the Commission concurred that Staff determine whether 621 Oak
Avenue has ever been licensed as a hotel or rooming house; that Staff continue to follow-up
with the NFPA letter and Code Enforcement action; to investigate whether citations can be
used in tandem with Code Enforcement Board action; that the Police Department be vigilant
relative complaints received; and that the City Attorney research the impact of an increase
in non-conforming use, to determine whether or not there is any type of a penalty in terms
of loss of non-conforming use status by exceeding the number of approved units or going in
a different direction.
adj ou~rned~n
There being no further business, the meeting was
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Attest:
~ City Clerk ~/
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