Lake Clarke Shores council clears $0 lien for 7990 Westlake Drive after contested code board findings

The Town Council of the Town of Lake Clarke Shores voted unanimously to reduce a code-enforcement lien on the property at 7990 Westlake Drive to $0 after an attorney for the owners challenged the evidence and procedure used by the Code Enforcement Board.

Paul Shalhoub, representing homeowners Michael McKenzie and Jessica Hazard, told council members that the Code Board’s finding that the owners had begun a kitchen remodel without a permit lacked evidentiary support and stemmed from hearsay and assumptions based on a single photograph. He urged the council to reverse the fines and lien imposed after the owners repeatedly attempted to secure the permit the Code Board had directed them to obtain.

Shalhoub told the council his clients submitted a demolition/owner-builder application on Dec. 5 and that the town’s permit portal later showed the application “complete” on Jan. 17; he said technical problems and follow-up requests delayed final processing. He argued the controlling ordinance language (Town Code section 10-91(a)) required completion of an application and that his clients had complied. Shalhoub asked the council to reduce the outstanding lien, which he said had grown past $18,000 into the low $20,000s, to zero.

Town building staff and code enforcement witnesses described the initial complaint and the photograph of interior work taken by a building official on the property. Joe Kajak, the town’s building official (who conducted a later courtesy inspection), told the council he inspected the site after the Code Board hearing, advised the owner which permits were needed and issued the electrical permit once safety issues were addressed. Code officer testimony at the Code Board hearing and photos were the basis for the initial notice of violation, staff said.

Council members discussed whether completing an application satisfies the compliance standard in the town code, and whether the Code Board’s motion at the December hearing was sufficiently specific. Some council members voiced concern about the Code Board’s process and the town’s permitting portal problems but said the council’s role on a lien reduction request is to weigh fairness and compliance rather than retry the prior Code Board evidentiary hearing.

A council member moved to grant the lien reduction to $0; another council member seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

The council’s action clears the recorded lien imposed after the Code Board’s fines and the later lien imposition hearing on April 23, 2025. Shalhoub said his clients were “very appreciative.” The council did not reverse the Code Board’s recorded findings but exercised its authority under the lien-reduction request to remove the financial encumbrance.