Magistrate reduces $297,000 code-enforcement lien to $206,250 for South Atlantic property owner

Special Code Enforcement Magistrate Steve De La Roche on the record reduced a $297,000 accrued code-enforcement fine against the owner of 2120 South Atlantic Avenue LLC and ordered payment of administrative fees within seven days.

The magistrate said the owner, present as Joseph Ernest, had been found noncompliant under the city’s code-enforcement case (Case CDEF2020-95) and that the standard formula for fines — days out of compliance times the daily penalty — produced the $297,000 figure the city presented. De La Roche said he would subtract days when the owner showed he could not be responsible for delays and acknowledged material and labor shortages after multiple named storms.

“Legally, if your agent has notice, you have notice,” De La Roche said during the hearing. But he continued that because the property’s efforts to bring the building into compliance coincided with four named storms, he would deduct an entire year from the accrual. “So what I’m going to do is for those 4 named storms, I’m gonna deduct an entire year of 365 days. So the fine will be $206,250,” he told the parties and directed that administrative costs be paid.

The magistrate’s decision removed a stated $90,750 from the accrued fines (as reflected in the hearing record) and ordered that $149.09 in administrative fees plus $79.69 (total $314.31) be paid within seven days. He also noted an outstanding administrative fee entry earlier in the record of $149.09.

Owner and counsel presented a lengthy factual timeline and sought day-by-day credits tied to events including hurricanes, contractor delays and lapses in professional services. The owner’s representative argued the owner lacked personal knowledge of some violations until late 2022 and described repeated hurricane-related work that diverted resources away from repairs. The magistrate said he needed a concise, day-by-day summary showing which days should be excused to remove specific days from the fine calculation, but he exercised discretion to partially credit storm-related delays instead of denying relief outright.

The magistrate also noted that some earlier notices and inspections were documented in the file, including a November 2022 inspection that listed interior deficiencies and outreach to the owner’s registered agent. The magistrate observed that statutory service and mailed notices were part of the case record but did not alter his conclusion about partial relief for storm-related delays.

The hearing record shows the owner purchased the property for $475,000; the magistrate referenced that figure while weighing proportionality of the fine. De La Roche said the purpose of enforcement is compliance rather than punishment and that he sought to balance that purpose with the need to hold owners accountable.

The magistrate closed the matter by directing payment of the stated administrative fees within seven days and continuing the underlying enforcement order as adjusted; he also reminded the parties of appellate options available at the circuit court level.

The transcript indicates several continuances and requests for additional documentation; the magistrate urged counsel to provide a clear chart of dates and days for any future requests to remove days from the accrual calculation.