Lakeland hearing officer finds violations at about 50 properties; compliance dates and daily fines set

Hearing Officer Kelvin Reddy presided over a City of Lakeland code enforcement hearing in which he found violations and adopted code-enforcement recommendations for about 50 separate cases, imposing compliance deadlines and daily fines for properties with outstanding housing, overgrowth, derelict-vehicle and sign violations.

The hearing covered a docket of property-maintenance and related code matters, including housing-code violations, overgrowth/junk/open-storage cases under chapter 86-2, derelict-vehicle citations under ordinance 41-34-1, and historic-district certificate-of-review and building-permit infractions. Most cases resulted in an order that the property come into compliance by a city-specified date or pay a daily fine until compliance is met.

Why it matters: these enforcement actions set firm deadlines for property owners and are the primary administrative mechanism the city uses to address public-health, safety and neighborhood-maintenance concerns. The orders also create continuing monetary penalties that can accumulate if owners do not remediate the violations.

At the start of many docket items code enforcement officers presented photographs and reinspection notes. For example, Angela Kaiser, Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Lakeland, told the hearing that certified notice had been received in multiple cases; Daniel Povey and Charles McClellan similarly presented interior and exterior violations and photographs for other properties. Hearing Officer Kelvin Reddy repeatedly stated, "I will adopt the recommendation of code enforcement in this case," before announcing the compliance date and fine schedule.

Votes at a glance (selected docket items and outcomes): - LCE24-06697 — 1017 Griffin Road #320 (Griffin Park Apartments Trust): housing-code violations; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-05-05 or $50 per day until compliance. - LCE24-06709 — 405 W. Myrtle Street (TNT Novak Family Trust): housing-code violations; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-05-05 or $50 per day until compliance. - LCE24-06716 — 1637 Crystal View Trail (AmeriProp SFR Property Owners LLC): interior violations (electrical problems noted); order adopted. Compliance by 2025-05-05 or $50 per day until compliance. - LCE24-06722 / LCE24-07272 — 712 Garden Street E (Shai Traster): interior and exterior violations; orders adopted. Compliance by 2025-05-05 (earlier docket entry) and/or compliance by 2025-03-16 in a later readout depending on the item on the docket; $50 per day fine standard was imposed where noted. - LCE24-06843 — 709 Adams Street (Robert Pinkston): housing violations; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-05-05 or $50 per day. - LCE24-06844 — 459 Kansas Avenue (Martin and Esra Turan Taylor): interior electrical and other violations; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-05-05 or $50 per day. - LCE24-07158 — 1022 W. Marjorie Street (presenting officer Alex Gomez): overgrowth/junk/open storage under chapter 86-2; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE24-07167 — 3030 New Tampa Highway (Lakeland Storage and Logistics LLC): overgrowth/open storage/junk; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE24-07169 — 4190 Churchill Street (Robert Simpkins Jr.): overgrowth/open storage/junk; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE24-07203 — 315 Memorial Boulevard W (Lakeland Masonic Lodge 52 Inc): overgrowth/open storage/junk and alley/streets junk (chapter 86-3); order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE24-07210 — 113 Bluefield Avenue (Christian Vocangra): historic-district certificate-of-review violation (exterior window installed without review/permit); order adopted. Compliance by 2025-04-05 or $50 per day until compliance. - LCE24-07314 — 1149 Parkhurst Avenue (New Life Outreach Ministry Inc): prohibited banners/signs without permit; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00011 — 115 Bluefield Avenue (Rachel Killen and Neil Johnson): derelict-vehicle (expired tag): order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00056 — 1023 Jewell Avenue (Alex Williams): case continued because the property is scheduled for rehab by the Housing Department; continued to the May 27, 2025 code enforcement hearing. - LCE25-00091 and LCE25-00094 — 748 Parkview Place (Barbara Negron): derelict-vehicle and overgrowth/junk/open storage; orders adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00103 — 1237 Parkhurst Avenue (Parkhurst Land Trust): overgrowth/junk/open storage; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00107 — 1935 E. Main Street (RealPro Investments LLC): derelict-vehicle; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00114 — 1223 Parkers Avenue (E H S Construction Services LLC): violations as listed; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00154 — 12828 Petty Way Drive (Jimmy B. McKnight): prohibited parking of a boat; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00216 / LCE25-00218 — 840 N. Missouri Avenue (Valerie D. Smith): building-number posting and overgrowth/junk/open storage charges; orders adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. - LCE25-00229 — 1225 Lincoln Avenue N (ABV Holdings LLC): derelict-vehicle; order adopted. Compliance by 2025-03-16 or $50 per day. (Separately, an amendment on a related docket entry changed a summary disposition to compliance by 2025-04-05 with a $30-per-day fine where noted.) - LCE25-00247 / LCE25-00253 / LCE25-00254 / LCE25-00257 — 1019 Rose Street E (Jury Real Estate Holdings LLC): multiple related cases continued to the April 22, 2025 code board hearing at the city's request. - LCE25-00310, LCE25-00315, LCE25-00328, LCE25-00332, LCE25-00335, LCE25-00336, LCE25-00379, LCE25-00404, LCE25-00424, LCE25-00425, LCE25-00426, LCE25-00452, LCE25-00468 and other docketed items: orders adopted with standard compliance dates around 2025-03-16 and $50 per day fines where indicated. - PER24-00163 — 1015 Ruby Street (Myrna Rios): Florida Building Code (105.1) permit-required violation; officer reported an application was started but no plans submitted. City recommended compliance by 2025-04-05 or a $50 per day fine; Hearing Officer Reddy adopted the recommendation.

Several items were continued or amended on the record. For example, the board amended the order on LCE25-00050 (119 W. Robson Street, owners Amparo Rosas and Maria R. Rosas) to a summary disposition with compliance by April 5, 2025 and a $30-per-day fine if not complied with. On multiple cases presenting certified-mail evidence, officers noted that the property had been posted and that owners or managers had acknowledged the deadlines.

The hearing procedure was administrative and evidence-based: officers presented reinspection photographs and certified-mail receipts; the hearing officer either adopted the officer's recommendation (finding a violation and setting a compliance date and daily fine) or continued the matter to a future hearing when rehabilitation or additional review was pending.

Hearing Officer Kelvin Reddy summed up the procedural outcome repeatedly: "I will adopt the recommendation of code enforcement in this case." Angela Kaiser and other officers noted receipt of certified notice and that reinspections dated from February 26–27, 2025 supported the findings.

Looking ahead: most affected owners were ordered to comply by mid-March 2025 (many by March 16), several health/safety or housing-code items were given May 5, 2025 deadlines (notably several interior housing violations), and a subset of cases were continued to April 22 or May 27 for further action or because properties are subject to city rehabs or pending permit applications.