Palatka magistrate orders removal or repair of four inoperable vehicles at Country Club Terrace; $25 daily fine if not fixed

Special Magistrate Ron Brown found on July 15 that property at 2011 Country Club Terrace in Palatka contained four untagged or inoperable vehicles and entered an order requiring the owner to bring the property into compliance by the close of business on Aug. 14, 2025. If the vehicles are not brought into compliance, Brown said, fines of $25 per day will begin to accrue on Aug. 15, 2025.

The city’s code-enforcement officer, Melissa Dreyer, testified that the city’s violations were for “the untagged and inoperable vehicles.” Dreyer said two of the vehicles lack current registration and two show physical defects that she described as flat tires and missing parts. Dreyer identified four vehicles in photographs and said the city observed the same vehicles on site during a July inspection.

No owner appeared at the hearing. Dreyer told the magistrate that a certified notice of violation had been sent to the owner of record and that the property had been posted in accordance with state statute; she said the city received a green-card receipt for the initial notice and that posting affidavits are in the record. Dreyer said the owner’s daughter spoke with her by phone the morning of the hearing and that the owner was out of the country.

A neighbor, Taylor Matthews, who identified herself as living at 2021 Country Club Terrace and was sworn, told the magistrate: “This has been going on longer than this. It goes back 5, 6 ever since they’ve been there.” Matthews said she sees the property daily and estimated there have been times with more than four vehicles on the site.

Brown said the city had presented “substantial and competent evidence” under Section 30-32(b) of the Palatka code regarding prohibited conditions and nuisances and entered an order finding the violation. The magistrate specified the compliance deadline of end of business Aug. 14 and that fines would commence on Aug. 15 if the vehicles were not brought into compliance by then.

The hearing record shows the city’s evidence included photographs taken by Dreyer and earlier photographs provided by a prior case officer, David Green. Dreyer testified she verified the vehicles were in the same locations shown in the earlier photographs and on her July inspection. The magistrate noted that new fines do not start on the hearing date but may begin if the property remains out of compliance at the deadline.

Anyone with information about compliance was told to notify City of Palatka code enforcement; the magistrate specifically asked that Dreyer be informed if the vehicles were not removed or repaired by the owner’s deadline.