Several Florida communities are increasing the issuance of code violations and proposing new regulations pertaining to vacant and abandoned properties. The following report in The News-Press discusses some of these proposals including attempts to prioritize code violations liens above all others.

Unpaid fees grow like weeds in Lee County

Fines, liens stack up at abandoned homes

Fines and liens are mounting on properties throughout Lee County as officials scramble to find a way to collect the money and take the burden off the taxpayer.

Abandoned homes hidden behind tall grass, reeking of stagnant water from unpumped pools with collapsed patios — all a byproduct of a sinking economy — are mostly to blame.

In other cases, fines have accrued daily for everything from having expired permits to junk cars in the yard with individual bills piling up to more than $250,000.

Cities and the county are considering everything from laws allowing code liens to be given higher priority in foreclosures — and thus having a better chance of being paid — to settling cases for a fraction of the total amounts.

And the amounts of unpaid code enforcement fines and maintenance costs are enormous:

• $9.1 million in Cape Coral.

• $29 million in Fort Myers.

• $5.3 million in unincorporated Lee County.

• $4.7 million in Bonita Springs.

Suzanne Van Buren, 69, a widow living near Syracuse, N.Y., said she had no idea her property made Cape Coral’s top 10 code enforcement lien list, owing $114,294 on two vacant lots at 818 N.W. 2nd St.

“That’s more than the property is worth. There’s no way in the world they’re getting that kind of money,” she said.

Van Buren said she hasn’t visited the property, which she bought as an investment, in years. She said she’ll be contacting the city.

The problem with daily ongoing fines is that some amounts are so huge — such as in Van Buren’s case — they’ll never be paid in full.

Also, collecting on code liens for items such as lot mowing is low on the list of debts paid in foreclosures, meaning local governments rarely see any of the money.

Local governments are trying to get the money.

Cape Coral

Code officials are proposing adoption of a law — either by city ordinance or having legislators amend the state law. That would make code enforcement liens equal to tax liens and mortgages, which have the highest priority, said Frank Cassidy, head of the city’s Code Compliance Division.

The ordinance or state law amendment would cover the costs the city incurred to maintain abandoned property, he said.

In Cape Coral, that amounts to $153,000 the city paid to mow 2,700 lots from June 2007 through the first week of October this year, Cassidy said.

The law would also help recover another $6,700 the city spent in boarding up or putting fences around 28 swimming pools at abandoned homes.

Code Compliance is also considering an ordinance in which banks would need to tell the city when they file notices of intent of foreclosing on homes.

This will help the city find people responsible for the property so that they, or the banks, will pay for lawn mowing before the foreclosure goes through, Cassidy said.

“It may cause banks to assign maintenance companies to take care of the properties” before foreclosures, he said.

There are also 1,500 liens outstanding for $9 million in fines, including foreclosed property and property owners who just let the fines accumulate at rates of $75 and up a day, Cassidy said.

The city has a three-phase amnesty program that allows people to pay back a fraction of the amounts owed, Cassidy said.

So far, the city has gotten back $129,500 under the program, said Michael van Deutekom, a Code Compliance manager.

Under the three phases, from May 1 through Jan. 31, property owners are allowed to reduce their code lien debts from 75 percent to 25 percent, or pay amounts of $5,000 to $15,000.

Fort Myers

In Fort Myers, the Code Enforcement Board has the same discretion as the Cape Coral City Council in reducing the 622 cases involving $28.5 million in liens for unpaid, ongoing fines, said Michael Titmuss, chief code enforcement officer.

Fort Myers, meanwhile, already has an ordinance that gives it a better chance in collecting maintenance costs and the costs of demolishing derelict buildings.

“We’ll get back most of our hard costs in these cases,” Titmuss said.

That amounts to $630,000 in such costs as of Oct. 1, Titmuss said.

He said courts have ruled that taxpayers’ shouldn’t be stuck with the bills for maintaining abandoned property.

Bonita Springs

The problem in Bonita Springs is growing. More than 120 homes in Bonita Springs have more than $4.67 million in liens against them.

The problem in Bonita Springs is brand new, said code enforcement officer Danielle Helmick.

“It was rare that you would see any property vacant in the city, let alone completely unmaintained,” she said.

Most of the calls about abandoned properties come in from neighbors who are tired of overgrown grass or the stench of a pool full of stagnant water because there is no electricity to run the pool pump.

If the bank has already foreclosed on the property, the city is a junior lienholder and therefore second in line. They only get paid if there is money left over after the bank is taken care of.

“We’re in a subordinate position,” said Bonita Springs assistant city attorney Joe Faerber.

Helmick said some banks have been cooperating with the city in order to get homes back into sellable condition.

Even if the city does eat the cost, Helmick said it’s worth it to keep neighborhoods, and especially the city’s children, safe.

To view the online article, please click here.

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