Fort Lauderdale code enforcement board grants short- and mid-term extensions, orders compliance and trims fines across dozens of property cases

The Fort Lauderdale Code Enforcement Board on Sept. 23 heard a full docket of property cases involving alleged work without permits and other local code violations, ordering compliance deadlines and assessing or reducing fines in dozens of matters.

Across the session the board repeatedly found violations under the Florida Building Code, Section 105.1 (work performed without required permits), and most frequently granted respondents time to submit plans and obtain permits rather than immediately escalating to larger penalties. Extensions of 51 days and 126 days were most commonly approved; several cases received longer deadlines when renovation scale or permitting complexity was discussed.

Why it matters: The board’s routine enforcement decisions affect homeowners, landlords, condo associations and businesses across Fort Lauderdale by setting deadlines to legalize renovations, repairing safety issues and in some cases creating recorded fines or administrative costs that can become liens on property titles.

What the board did

- In many cases the board found violations as the city requested and set compliance deadlines: a large number of respondents were ordered to obtain permits and finish corrective work within either 51 days (short-term) or 126 days (longer-term), depending on the inspector’s recommendation and the parties’ representations about permit status or work remaining.

- Where respondents showed active permitting or substantial progress, the board often paused fines while the permit review continued. In cases where work was already completed and permits later obtained, the board sometimes reduced per‑diem fines to administrative-cost levels.

- The board reduced or restructured fines in several contested matters after discussion between counsel and staff. In one multi-unit case (an assisted‑living property matter discussed at length), the board negotiated a reduced total fine rather than keeping the original per‑day penalty at the maximum level.

Selected quotes from the hearing

- “I plan to have the whole project completed,” said Jonathan Braetz, the owner in one driveway/stormwater case when asking for a 51‑day extension.

- “He tried to extort money out of me,” Sandra Dalton said, describing how an ex‑partner handled a previous renovation and led to the current unpermitted‑work citation; the board ordered the property into compliance and allowed 126 days for permits and corrections.

- Senior Assistant City Attorney Ronald Montoya Hassan summarized legal limits on fines and process: he referenced Florida statutory and city code authority when discussing options to vacate prior…