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Magistrate upholds 'unfit for human habitation' finding for Fort Lauderdale house; hearing set to impose fines
Summary
A magistrate maintained an earlier finding that a house at 2680 Northwest 21st Court is unfit for human habitation and scheduled a follow-up hearing to consider fines after inspectors said the property remains unsafe and operated as an illegal boarding house.
A Fort Lauderdale special magistrate on April 17 upheld a prior finding that the home at 2680 Northwest 21st Court is unfit for human habitation and set the matter for a hearing to impose fines after inspectors said the property remains noncompliant.
The magistrate said the prior order stands and that the purpose of the day’s reappearance was to determine whether the previously identified violations had been cured. Inspector Jose Saragusti for the city told the magistrate the property remained noncompliant and described conditions the city said created safety risks, including clutter, padlocked doors and bars on some windows.
Mabel J. McCoy, the property owner, told the magistrate, “I don't know why you keep saying the house is unfit. There's something wrong with this picture because the house is not unfit. That's my house. We know this. And the house has been I've been there 57 years.”
The magistrate said the earlier finding of unfitness could not be revisited at the reappearance and criticized the owner for declining to speak directly with city inspectors when asked previously. The magistrate ordered that the case be set for a hearing to impose fines if compliance is not achieved and said the owner would have time before that hearing to work directly with city staff to cure the violations.
City inspector Katie Williams confirmed that staff had attempted outreach and that inspectors had made follow-up visits; Detective Stilani accompanied a follow-up inspection noted in the record. The magistrate said that, based on pictures and staff reports, compliance would require removing padlocks from doors, removing bars from windows reported to be a life-safety issue and clearing extreme trash and clutter from the property.
The magistrate encouraged the property owner to coordinate directly with the inspector to identify outstanding items and to allow city staff access so the building department could confirm compliance prior to the fines hearing.
A follow-up Massey hearing was scheduled; the magistrate warned that the matter involves life-safety issues and that fines could be imposed if the violations remain uncorrected.
