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West Palm Beach magistrate approves reduced liens in multiple long‑running code cases
Summary
Special Magistrate Amity Barnard approved negotiated reductions to large outstanding code‑enforcement liens for six properties, setting payment deadlines ranging from 30 to 180 days and leaving final lien releases contingent on payment.
Special Magistrate Amity Barnard on Sept. 3 approved negotiated reductions to longstanding code‑enforcement liens for multiple West Palm Beach properties, trimming six large fines and setting deadlines for payment.
The reductions affect properties with fines that accrued from prior code‑enforcement orders; the magistrate reduced the cumulative lien amounts after the city and property owners presented settlement figures. "I will grant the mutually requested reduction," Barnard said during the hearing, formalizing the settlements and the payment schedules.
Details of the certified reductions announced in court: - 2326 Edgewood Drive (case CE21050014): lien reduced from $58,100 to $8,715, payable within 90 days. - 63850 Third Street (case CE19080466): lien reduced from $51,500 to $5,150, payable within 120 days. - 1016 Fourteenth Street (case CE23050076): lien reduced from $11,900 to $2,975, payable within 30 days. - 1020 Francis Street (case CE23080508): lien reduced from $14,200 to $2,130, payable within 180 days. - 321 LA Kirksey Street (case CE21030551): lien reduced from $68,300 to $10,245, payable within 90 days. - 1401 Village Boulevard, unit 2116 (case CE22060140): lien reduced from $78,900 to $15,000, payable within 90 days.
City code‑enforcement staff and the property representatives told the magistrate they had negotiated the reductions in advance of the hearing and that owners or their agents were prepared to accept the reduced amounts. For example, property representative Viviana Pelaez told the magistrate, “we appreciate your help reducing this lien as much as possible,” after the panel described a settlement for 1016 Fourteenth Street.
Barnard said she would enter orders reflecting the agreed amounts and timelines; lien releases will follow after the city records payment and processes release paperwork. Several owners and agents asked about the administrative timeline for getting lien releases recorded; city staff advised processing typically takes additional days after payment and that an official release is issued once the payment has posted.
Orders were entered in open hearing and magistrate copies of the signed orders were distributed to the parties before they left.
The reductions follow the city’s process for negotiating settlements of longstanding fines, in which staff may reach reduced figures to resolve aged liens. Each order includes the reduced payoff and a deadline; if owners fail to meet those deadlines, the original enforcement posture — including the possibility of resumed fines or enforcement — could return.
The magistrate closed the docket items after issuing the orders and instructed parties to follow the payment instructions printed on the orders.
