Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Special Master fines repeat violator Robert Ferrera, imposes escalating daily penalty
Loading...
Summary
A Citrus County special master found that Robert Ferrera repeatedly violated county rules on junk and debris and assessed targeted past-period fines plus an ongoing daily penalty until compliance.
Christian Waugh, the special master presiding at a Citrus County code compliance hearing on July 15, found that property owner Robert Ferrera had committed repeat violations of the county’s accumulation-of-junk ordinance and assessed fines for specified past periods and an ongoing daily penalty until the property is abated. The hearing record shows photos and multiple inspection dates that the county used to establish noncompliance.
The county’s code compliance officer presented the case and evidence, including prior findings and photos. The officer said Ferrera had previously been found guilty of the same violation at the same address in February 2025 and that new inspections between June and July showed recurring noncompliance. The county requested fines covering distinct multi‑day periods and a higher continuing daily fine going forward.
Waugh said he matched the county’s photo and inspection evidence to the requested dates and found a repeat violation. He ordered a $150-per-day fine for the earlier discrete periods (June 3–10; June 18–24; July 1–11 and July 15) and set a continuing fine of $250 per day from the hearing date forward until the violation is abated. The special master admitted exhibits of photographs and the prior findings as evidence before issuing the ruling.
Discussion at the hearing centered on the pattern of short-term cleanups followed by reappearance of appliances and other junk, and on the county’s attempt to document when the property was in or out of compliance. The county provided the posting date of June 3 and photo evidence for the subsequent inspections. Waugh said the photographs and testimony supported the requested findings and fines.
The special master’s written order will set the specific dates and amounts as announced at the hearing. The decision includes the county’s administrative costs as authorized by ordinance.
The order is subject to the statutory appeal rights explained at the start of the hearing, and the county’s enforcement options include recording fines as a lien if unpaid.
