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Magistrate Reduces Requested Vacation‑rental Suspension to 180 Days After Owner Notes Compliance Steps
Summary
A Fort Lauderdale magistrate imposed a 180‑day suspension on a vacation‑rental certificate after finding multiple violations; the city had asked for a 365‑day suspension but the magistrate reduced the penalty citing earlier magistrate leniency.
A special magistrate on March 11 suspended the vacation‑rental certificate for a property at 1440 Northwest 7 Terrace for 180 days after the city demonstrated multiple qualifying code violations and the property’s owner acknowledged previous orders.
Leonard Champagne presented the city’s case, saying the property had a string of violations dating to October 2024 and that the files contained multiple enforcement actions. Champagne said the four qualifying violations required consideration of a suspension under the city ordinance and that the city sought a 365‑day suspension.
Alina Smoller and co‑owner Gian Franco Patron told the magistrate they had complied with prior orders and had obtained a renewed certificate in December. Smoller said the November magistrate hearing had resulted in 15 days to renew and that the earlier magistrate had waived fines; she argued a 365‑day suspension now would be inconsistent with that resolution.
The special magistrate noted the prior magistrate’s waiver of fines and the procedural history and declined to impose the full 365‑day suspension the city requested. Instead, the magistrate ordered a 180‑day suspension of the vacation‑rental certificate. The magistrate said the record included findings of violation but took the earlier waiver into account when choosing a reduced suspension period.
The hearing record shows the city enforces vacation‑rental rules through a progressive suspension schedule tied to the number of qualifying violations; three qualifying violations trigger a shorter suspension, four can trigger a year‑long suspension under the ordinance. The magistrate’s order reduces the maximum requested suspension while imposing a significant enforcement consequence.
