A special magistrate adjudicated Mariners Bay Condominium Association guilty on a 40‑year recertification violation on Oct. 1, 2025, but paused financial penalties while directing the association and the incoming owner to provide updated safety documentation and to appear at a follow-up hearing.

Magistrate Smith said the association had not filed the paperwork required for final approval following the building’s 40‑year recertification process and that the case dated back to filings in 2021. “I find the property owner guilty of violating the 40‑year recertification section,” Smith said, citing the city’s code section for 40‑year recertification and related county code provisions.

The magistrate ordered the association to deliver a signed, sealed engineer’s “safe to occupy” letter confirming there are no life‑safety defects within 48 hours of the hearing, and required any subsequent engineer’s affidavits every 180 days while residents remain on site. Smith emphasized that the city’s building official retains full authority under the Florida Building Code and county rules to impose measures up to red‑tagging and mandatory evacuation if the building official determines an immediate safety risk exists.

Lianna Kozlowski, attorney for Mariners Bay Condominium Association, told the magistrate the association obtained an engineer’s letter dated Sept. 30, 2025, stating that the building is “reasonably safe for continued occupancy” and that the association expects to close a sale to Continuum on Oct. 30. Kozlowski said the buyer has agreed to allow current residents to stay up to eight months after closing to give residents time to relocate.

Based on the schedule Kozlowski offered, Smith ordered Continuum — as the incoming owner — to appear at a November 5, 2025, hearing so the magistrate can make any orders binding on the new owner; Smith said orders entered against the association alone would be “worthless” after a change of ownership without such follow‑up. The magistrate made clear that fines will resume if the property is not vacated according to the timeline: Smith said the association (or, if applicable, remaining property owners) will face $1,000 per day in fines should the occupants remain beyond the agreed eight‑month relocation period.

Smith also explicitly instructed the building official to require an updated, stamped engineer’s affidavit that the property is safe to occupy and to take any immediate action she deems necessary under the building code. The magistrate suggested the engineer who prepared the Sept. 30 letter add specific commentary addressing balconies and other elements inspectors had questioned.

Why this matters: The ruling resolves a dispute that mixes code enforcement, ongoing redevelopment and residents’ housing security. The magistrate balanced enforcement of the 40‑year recertification rules with an accommodation tied to a pending sale and the engineer’s safety affirmation, while preserving the building official’s power to act on immediate life‑safety concerns.

What happens next: The association must deliver required safety documentation to the building official within 48 hours; Continuum is required to appear before the magistrate on Nov. 5, 2025. If Continuum does not appear or the building official determines life‑safety work is required, the magistrate said he may impose fines, authorize liens or allow the building official to tag units for vacation.

Speakers quoted in this account were present in the hearing record and are identified as follows: Special Magistrate Smith; Lianna Kozlowski, attorney for Mariners Bay Condominium Association; Building Official (name given in the file).