Code board orders multiple property‑maintenance abatements and business‑receipt actions; most owners given five days to comply

The City of Clearwater Code Enforcement Board on Aug. 27 approved a slate of property‑maintenance and nuisance abatement orders across the city, directing owners to correct conditions such as overgrown lots, exterior storage, and inoperative vehicles and authorizing city abatement and lien remedies if owners fail to act. Inspectors presented photographs and site notes on each case and recommended compliance periods, typically asking the board to require corrections within five days of the board’s written order. The board adopted the staff recommendations in multiple cases and included standard lien language that allows the city to charge reasonable abatement costs, record a lien and, if unpaid three months after lien recording, foreclose or settle the lien. Selected examples the board approved include: - 1261 Prince Street (case 75-25): outdoor storage and residential rental business tax receipt absence; compliance ordered by Sept. 27, 2025; fines proposed in staff recommendation were $150/day for storage and $50/day for the business tax receipt if not corrected. Inspector Steven (site inspector) documented piles of stored items, food containers and other debris and presented utility/lease evidence for rental activity. - 692 Springtime Avenue (case 104-25): lot clearing and inoperative vehicle issues; front yard mowed but rear yard and vehicles remain; five‑day compliance ordered with lien remedies. - 1730 Harbor Drive, 1931 Ashland Drive, 1803 Apache Trail, 1341 Fairmont Street and numerous other residential addresses: board entered orders requiring lot clearing, removal of inoperable vehicles or business‑receipt compliance, each typically with a five‑day compliance deadline and standard lien language if the city must abate. The board emphasized that city staff first pursue voluntary compliance and that abatement and lien remedies are the city’s later recourse. Several owners sought to address issues during the hearing and some cases were noted as corrected prior to the hearing; in those the board entered findings of violation but imposed no fine at this time, while warning that repeat violations could result in civil penalties. The board’s orders typically require: cutting grass and vegetation to the curb/sidewalk, removing trash/debris, ensuring vehicles are roadworthy and display current registration, and obtaining required residential‑rental business tax receipts when units are being rented. If owners do not comply within the prescribed time the city may enter the property, abate the nuisance, invoice the property, file a lien, and pursue foreclosure or settlement three months after lien filing.