Magistrate finds JK Daytona LLC noncompliant on fire systems; fines accrue at $250 per day

Special Code Enforcement Magistrate Steve De La Roche found JK Daytona LLC’s property noncompliant for fire-alarm and sprinkler deficiencies and ordered fines to accrue at $250 per day until the city inspects and certifies compliance.

City counsel introduced evidence that the property missed its compliance deadlines: the fire alarm system was ordered restored by Feb. 18 and the sprinkler system by July 16. The city’s affidavit of noncompliance shows the alarm system was provisionally compliant in March but later returned to a nonoperational state during an April 11 inspection, prompting the city to seek fines for the initial 28-day post-order period and all days since April 11 at $250 per day.

Lieutenant Norman Meadors of the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety testified he inspected the property multiple times, last on May 7, and described the property’s use of a third-party company to conduct a 24/7 fire watch and to provide logs to staff each morning. Meadors said a likely cause of recurrent alarm failures is mixing new equipment with old wiring, but he deferred technical root-cause findings to alarm contractors.

The property’s manager, Shamira Mohammed, testified the building suffered flood damage during the 2022 hurricane season, leading to replacement of carbon-monoxide devices and identification of wiring problems during renovation work. Contractor Sean O’Connor said rewiring is roughly 50% complete, with some floors finished and others not, and estimated completion “maybe within the next 2 or so weeks” if work proceeds without delay. O’Connor also acknowledged work had proceeded without a current permit, and he said his company would prioritize permit submission.

De La Roche issued order number 11, finding the property not in compliance for the initial 28 days plus from April 11 onward and imposing a $250-per-day fine until the city inspects and confirms compliance. He assessed administrative costs of $79.93 and set the administrative-cost payment deadline (asked if payable within 30 days). He also reminded the parties that fines “run until you’re brought into compliance” and that inspection by city staff is the trigger to stop accrual.

The magistrate emphasized that while he could remove days from an owner’s accrual where the owner was demonstrably not responsible for delay, he needed documented day-by-day reasons before excusing specific days. City staff offered documents and photographs into evidence and confirmed availability of logs and affidavits of compliance for the record. The transcript shows that the property must seek city inspection after repair to halt further fines.