Magistrate gives First Baptist Church time to pursue raising trailer after floodplain violation

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — The Fort Myers Beach Special Magistrate found on Tuesday that a temporary structure at First Baptist Church, 134–138 Connecticut Street, is noncompliant with town floodplain rules and set a compliance schedule that allows the church additional time to seek a remedy.

The magistrate, John Van Laningham, said he would set a compliance date in August and hold a status review at the Sept. 2, 2025 hearing to determine whether to impose fines; he made clear he would likely suspend fines while the church showed “diligence and good faith” toward compliance.

The finding follows code-enforcement inspections that began Oct. 28, 2024, and a notice of violation the town issued on Nov. 13, 2024. Thomas Yazzo, the town’s compliance/emer gency services director, told the hearing the subject property sits in a coastal AE flood zone and that the temporary unit was not elevated to the finished-floor elevation required by the town’s land-development code and the referenced ASCE 24-14 standard.

Town floodplain manager Kelly DeFedericis testified that the property is in a base flood elevation (BFE) of 11 and that the required finished-floor elevation is one foot above BFE — 12 feet in this location. “Without this elevation certificate, we cannot determine how much higher it needs to go, to make it compliant,” DeFedericis said, adding that an elevation certificate must be prepared by a surveyor.

Pastor Sean Critzer, who identified himself as the church’s pastor and spoke for the respondent, said the church is not seeking to “contest the violation” but urged the magistrate to consider the town’s permitting history and the financial burden on the congregation. Critzer said the temporary unit and related expenses cost about $121,000 and asked the town or the magistrate to consider sharing responsibility for removal or remediation. “We would ask for the whole hundred and 21,000 back,” Critzer said.

Town staff noted that the town revoked temporary-placement permits in December 2024 at FEMA’s request while the town works to come back into compliance with FEMA floodplain standards. The town presented FEMA letters dated July 19, 2024, and Nov. 12, 2024, and a town post-disaster compliance status update report documenting identified permitting failures and placements of temporary structures in coastal high-hazard areas.

Magistrate Van Laningham said the hearing record shows a violation and that his authority is limited to determining code compliance and assessing administrative remedies; he told the church he could not award monetary damages for the pastor’s claimed costs. The magistrate said he would accept town exhibits and photographs into the record and would set a compliance date in August with a status review on Sept. 2 to decide whether fines should begin.

Town staff told the magistrate they preferred to pursue compliance rather than immediate removal and asked for a longer compliance period to work with the church on either removing the unit or bringing it into compliance, including options to elevate the structure. DeFedericis offered to meet with the church after the congregation obtains an elevation certificate to determine how much elevation — if any — is required.

The magistrate’s order will be issued to the parties; it will confirm the violation, set the August compliance date (specific date to be provided in the written order) and schedule the Sept. 2, 2025 status review. The magistrate retained authority to start fines as of the compliance date if the respondent does not make timely, good-faith progress toward compliance.

The town and the church were directed to coordinate on obtaining an elevation certificate and on permitting steps needed to raise the unit if that option is chosen.