Special magistrate sets compliance deadlines, daily fines and reduces several historic liens at West Palm Beach hearing

Special Magistrate Keith Davis presided over a City of West Palm Beach code-enforcement hearing on April 2, 2025, and issued orders setting compliance deadlines, daily fines for continued violations and several lien reductions for longstanding code liens.

The hearing covered a docket of property cases in which city code officers presented inspections and photographs and most respondents either appeared or were given additional time to comply. For short-term compliance issues such as overgrowth, outdoor storage, pressure-washing and fence permits, the magistrate typically granted 60 days (setting June 2, 2025 as the compliance date in several cases) and ordered daily fines—most commonly $100 per day—if the properties remained out of compliance after the deadline. For other matters the hearing set different deadlines and fines as described below.

Why this matters: The magistrate’s orders create enforceable deadlines and financial penalties that can become liens on property tax records if unresolved. The hearing also disposed of several large, long-running liens through negotiated reductions or magistrate orders that will affect future collection efforts and property-owner obligations.

Key outcomes and orders

- 1123 Freshwater Lakes Drive (Case 11CE25013328): Code compliance officer presented photographs and testimony documenting multiple citations (landscaping, outdoor storage and clean-and-sanitary violations). Owner Aaron Brian requested 60 days; Magistrate Davis granted compliance through June 2, 2025, and ordered daily fines of $100 per day after that date if violations persist. The court found compliance with city code 74-4-c-3 (overgrowth) and left the remaining sections outstanding.

- 4105 Greenwood Ave (Case 10CE25023352): Respondent Claudette McFarland requested 60 days to finish remediation. Magistrate Davis set June 2, 2025 as the compliance date and ordered daily fines of $100 per day thereafter; the decision noted some cited sections were already complied with and others remained.

- 4101 Greenwood Ave (Case 12CE25013303): The property owner asked for 60 days to finish landscaping, pressure-washing and to obtain a fence permit. The magistrate set June 2, 2025 as the compliance deadline and ordered $100 per day in fines after that date.

- 203 and 215 Alpine Road (Cases 7CE24092734 and 8CE24092735): The city presented long-running building-condition violations at both addresses. The magistrate granted the city’s requested relief; the city had asked for extended compliance periods (60–90 days in the files) and $200 per day fines for the most serious structural matters and demolition-related compliance, and the magistrate approved the relief the city requested.

- 2619 South Street (Case 1CE25013331): The city reported obstructing vehicles, trash, outdoor storage, business-license and rental-license deficiencies. Magistrate Davis granted the city’s requested relief, giving the property 30 days to comply and imposing a continuing fine of $150 per day if unresolved.

- 732 Tuscaloosa Street (Case 2CE25023386): City testimony documented multiple property-maintenance violations including domestic livestock and an attached camera “nailed into a tree” the city characterized as tree abuse. The magistrate found notice proper, accepted the city’s evidence and granted the relief requested (60 days; $100/day noted in the file).

- 418 16th Street (Case 3CE24112982): Most work was complete; the magistrate granted the city’s request for 15 days to secure a certificate of use and rental license or face $100 per day fines; the city’s inspection indicated other issues had been complied with.

- Rental/AC complaint case (address as presented to the court): The city documented a nonworking air-conditioning unit supplied with a rental dwelling and reported the HVAC motor needed replacement. The city requested 12 days or a $300-per-day fine thereafter; the magistrate found proper notice and granted the city’s requested relief.

Lien reductions and stipulated agreements

- 941 Allendale Road (Case CE22050211): The city and the lienholder submitted a stipulated agreement to reduce a long-running $46,900 lien. The parties’ agreement reduced the lien to $2,345 (5% of the original lien), payable within 30 days; Magistrate Davis ratified and approved the stipulated agreement on the record.

- 1003 Allendale Road (Case CE19070247): The city presented a previously litigated lien that ran at $200 per day for 2,387 days ($456,000). The city and the applicant agreed to reduce the lien to $22,800 (5% of the lien), payable within 30 days; the applicant’s representative, Austin Lowry of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, confirmed agreement and the magistrate approved the reduction.

- 732 West Lakewood Road (three historical liens: CE04050674, CE22060230, CE23080409): The magistrate reviewed three separate liens under the same ownership and declined the city’s initial 25% reduction proposal. Citing factors including the presence of an unsecured pool in one file and long periods of noncompliance, Magistrate Davis issued the following reductions and terms: reduce the 2004 lien (original $6,850) to $1,000; reduce the 2023 lien (original $22,000) to $2,000; and reduce the 2022 lien (agenda listed $39,006.75) to $10,000. The magistrate allowed six months for payment before the reductions would revert to the original lien amounts.

- 4300 Spruce Avenue (Cases CE19110325 and CE23100903): The magistrate reduced the 2019 building-permit lien (original $134,900) to $7,000 and the 2023 lien (original $32,800) to $3,000 and allowed 60 days for payment. The reductions were granted after the new/continuing owner documented efforts to locate archival permits and to secure required documentation demonstrating prior approvals.

What respondents said

Owner statements were brief in most cases; several respondents told the magistrate they had taken corrective steps or were working with contractors and permitting staff. Madeline Nisley, the property owner at 732 West Lakewood Road, told the magistrate about severe illness and a prolonged period of property disruption by a neighbor, saying, “I got so ill, and I end up in Cleveland Clinic,” and described third-party damage and lengthy efforts to recover property and repair the home. The magistrate acknowledged hardship but emphasized public-safety priorities, saying, “there is not a more grave violation than anybody can commit than an unsecured swimming pool,” and explained that pool-related violations receive particularly little leniency.

Procedural notes

- For nearly every case the magistrate found proper notice in the file (posting and certified mail) before entering an order. - The court admitted officers’ testimony, case files and inspection photographs into the record in each matter unless a respondent objected (few did).

Ending

Magistrate Davis closed the hearing after disposing of the listed matters. Compliance deadlines, daily fine amounts and lien reductions are reflected in the court files and will be enforced per city procedures. Properties that fail to meet the compliance deadlines risk the daily fines becoming part of a city lien and potential further collection steps.