Magistrate orders Palenzuelas to remove business materials, file floodplain application by July 7

Special Magistrate Amity Barnard found residents Giselle and Leonardo Palenzuela in violation of Town of Loxahatchee Groves code on June 2 and ordered the removal of business-related materials from 2793 C Road and the submission of a Floodplain Development Application (FDA) by July 7, 2025. The magistrate set an issuance deadline for the FDA of Aug. 29, 2025, and warned that a $250-per-day fine would begin to accrue if the FDA was not issued after that date.

The ruling matters because the town’s evidence alleged both an unpermitted change to pond banks and the use of an agricultural-residential parcel to store construction materials and receive daily truck traffic associated with a construction business. Code enforcement witnesses and nearby property owners said the combination of storage, truck traffic and unpermitted pond work created ongoing neighborhood impacts.

John Suarez, the town’s code officer, told the magistrate the property was posted with notices and inspected multiple times and that photographs in the case file showed outdoor storage and structures not documented in town records. D'Angelo Campo, a code compliance officer, and Craig Lauer, public works superintendent, testified that crews observed piles of construction pipe and roof tiles placed around pond banks and that some storage and dog kennels originally cited had been relocated but that pond work and undocumented structures remained.

Patrick Barthelemy, the Palenzuelas’ representative and a civil engineer, said he had been retained as an owner’s representative and described a schedule he believed was realistic for completing the FDA submission: about 30 days to obtain a survey, roughly 30 days to prepare plans and calculations, and another 60–90 days for town review. Barthelemy asked the magistrate for 120 days to complete the process; the town’s public works testimony said a 90-day total was feasible for their review timeline.

Neighbors who testified said they observed daily truck traffic and material deliveries. Ranch owner William Yahn, who said he lives kitty-corner from the property, told the magistrate, “There are trucks coming in out of this property daily.” John Reynolds, an attorney representing an adjacent property owner, said moving storage out of public view does not change the operation if trucks and material deliveries continue.

After hearing testimony, Barnard issued the compliance schedule: the prohibited-use compliance (removal of business materials and cessation of business truck traffic from the parcel) must be completed by July 7, 2025; failure to do so will trigger a $250-per-day fine beginning July 8, 2025. The Palenzuelas must submit a complete FDA application by July 7, 2025; the FDA must be issued by Aug. 29, 2025, or fines of $250 per day will be assessed for each day the violation continues. The magistrate scheduled a status/fine-assessment hearing for Sept. 8, 2025, to review compliance and any town-caused delays.

The town requested administrative costs in the amount of $234.05; the town recorded that request in the case file. The magistrate directed the parties to bring documentary proof of actions taken between June 2 and the Sept. 8 hearing to demonstrate due diligence. The magistrate also told the respondent’s representative that the town expects the owner to request reinspection when they believe compliance has been achieved.

The case remains open pending submission and review of the FDA and inspections to verify removal of business materials.