Daytona Beach magistrate gives Eagle Light Real Estate until April 2 while company says permit holds hinge on unpaid fees

At a March 11 special-magistrate hearing, a representative for Eagle Light Real Estate LLC told the City of Daytona Beach that physical repairs at the property were complete but the permit could not be closed because fees remained unpaid; the magistrate nevertheless found the respondent noncompliant and ordered compliance by April 2, 2025.

Erica Timbs, identifying herself as business manager for Eagle Light Real Estate LLC, said the company "has been working with the city, over the last, I think, like, 9 months" and that engineering documents and updates had been submitted. Timbs told the magistrate the hold-up was payment for permits and fees: "The fines were about $18,000 more than we were quoted originally," she said, and told the magistrate the total unresolved bill and impact fees were substantially larger. Timbs said her understanding was the remaining step was payment and scheduling of inspections.

Magistrate: "I heard enough to gather or to find the respondent noncompliance." After hearing Timbs, the magistrate set a compliance date of April 2, 2025, and warned that the matter would be returned for consideration of fines of up to $1,000 per day if the property remained out of compliance. The magistrate also invited Timbs to notify the inspector if she sought additional time to pursue financing or other remedies, saying, "If there are alternatives that you're trying to pursue and you need a reasonable amount of time to do so, then once I know what they are and once I see you taking action in that direction, then I will take that into consideration."

Timbs told the magistrate the company had paid some amounts and planned to pursue refinancing to cover the remaining fees but asked whether the city could place a lien that would be paid at refinance. The magistrate declined to answer legal or policy questions on the record, saying those matters were "over my pay grade," and urged Timbs to document any recourse she planned to pursue so the magistrate could consider it on or before the April 2 cutoff.

The case record includes inspector testimony that the violation was a field-generated case and that staff recommended a finding of noncompliance with compliance by the next cutoff. The magistrate's order mirrors that recommendation, and the magistrate reminded Timbs to keep the inspector informed if she needed more time to pursue payment options or other remedies.

Next steps: Eagle Light Real Estate must appear to demonstrate compliance or seek an agreed extension before the magistrate on or before April 2, 2025. If the property remains out of compliance, the magistrate indicated the case will return for potential civil fines and continued enforcement.