Magistrate orders Lake City owner to pull permit, complete repairs or demolition at 742 NW Campbell Terrace

Special Magistrate Stephanie Marchman on June 5 ordered Christopher Thompson, owner of 742 NW Campbell Terrace, to pull a permit within 30 days and complete either demolition or renovation within 90 days after the magistrate's written order, or face a $50-per-day fine that may be placed as a lien on the property.

The magistrate granted the city's request after the code enforcement officer presented photographs and a history of notices that, the city said, showed the house met multiple violations of the International Property Maintenance Code, including unsafe structure provisions and that the structure was unfit for human occupancy.

City staff described delivery of notices and inspections: the initial certified mail and a subsequent posting on the property and the city website per Florida Statute 162. The officer said the structure was boarded, had sections of rotting wood, missing front steps, and a deteriorating metal roof damaged by wind. The city asked the magistrate to require a permit within 30 days and completion within 60 days; the magistrate settled on 90 days to complete work after the order is issued. The city was awarded $18.33 for postage costs.

Marchman told Thompson the order would be issued in writing within five days and mailed to the PO Box he provided. She said that if the work was not completed within the time ordered, the $50 daily fine would begin to accrue and could be enforced as a lien that the city might foreclose on.

No additional remedies, appeals, or further scheduling were announced at the hearing.