The Punta Gorda Code Enforcement Board on a repeat violation finding ordered Christopher Chase (24 7 Automotive Performance LLC) to pay a $235 fine and $16.86 in case costs after ruling that multiple-axle trailers were stored on his property in violation of city code.

City code compliance officer Frank Coppinger told the board that a prior compliance order from May required removal of multiple-axle trailers and payment of case costs. Coppinger said he inspected 415 Cooper Street on Aug. 6, 2025 and again on Aug. 11 and subsequently observed trailers parked in the same location for several consecutive days. Photographs submitted for the record, Coppinger said, showed the trailers remained on the property for a period the city counts as 47 days of noncompliance from Aug. 6 to Sept. 22, 2025.

The board heard from owner Christopher Chase, who said he purchased the property in 2020 and described historical commercial use of the lot dating to the Davis family. Chase denied nuisance or harm to neighbors, said one trailer had been on site for repairs, and argued constitutional and due-process objections to the enforcement. He also submitted written opposition and additional photographs, which the board reviewed.

City staff and board members debated whether the city had met its burden to prove noncompliance for the full interval cited by the officer. Code supervisor Nick Bogner told the board prior case costs had been paid and that the photographic evidence covered Aug. 6–11; city inspectors said Chase did not notify the office he had come into compliance until Sept. 22, which the city counts as the date the property returned to compliance.

Zoning supervisor Rachel Berry said the property is zoned Neighborhood Center, a mixed-use district that allows a range of residential and commercial uses subject to conditions; Berry read permitted and conditional uses for the board’s context.

Board member Carl Rich moved the fine; after discussion the motion carried on a 5–1 vote. The board ordered the $235 fine (calculated at $5 per day for 47 days), applicable interest at 8.9% per annum, and payment of $16.86 in case costs. The chair noted Chase may appeal and acknowledged his written and oral statements and photos were considered. The board also recorded that inspectors will continue addressing trailer storage issues across the city as staff pursue additional similar cases.

Chase told the board he was considering litigation and that he had delivered certified copies of his written opposition to city officials. The board’s order notes the property was in compliance at the time of the hearing but enforces the fine and costs for the period of noncompliance cited by staff.

Local context: Cooper Street runs along the Punta Gorda/Charlotte County boundary; staff told the board several similar cases have been opened across the city for dual-axle trailer storage, and that the city is tracking those properties for enforcement. The board set the fine and costs as its formal penalty; failure to pay or comply carries separate enforcement and appeal consequences under city procedures.