Fort Pierce special magistrate orders property owners to abate nuisances, sets fines and deadlines

Special Magistrate Jamie Borreault on Aug. 13, 2025, found nuisance violations at multiple Fort Pierce properties and ordered owners to bring their properties into compliance within deadlines ranging from seven to 14 days. The magistrate warned owners that failure to comply would result in daily fines (typically $100 per day) and that the city could abate conditions and assess abatement costs against the properties.

The rulings came during a special magistrate hearing in Fort Pierce where city code officers presented notices of violation, photographs and inspection dates for properties cited for nonoperative vehicles, overgrown lots and failed landscaping. The city cited owners under the city code’s nuisance provisions (Section 24-19) and described standard notice procedures, including notices to appear and property postings.

The most immediate order affected a vehicle at 1812 South 20 Seventh Street. City code officer Charmaine Kirkland presented case NOOP2025-185, identifying the violation as a nonoperative vehicle. Borreault found a nuisance and ordered the owner — listed in the file as Katrina A. McGaffey — to ensure “the white Jeep Grand Cherokee is safely and legally operable on the roadway” within seven days. The magistrate said failure to comply would allow the city to tow the vehicle and pursue abatement costs; the owner was told she has 30 days to appeal and was offered additional time by the code enforcement office if needed.

Dollar Tree Stores Inc. was cited in LTCL2025-195 for inadequate landscaping at 4006 Okeechobee Road. Celine Vasquez, representing the property, said the landscaping contractor reached the wrong parcel and that the correct parcel would be cut within days. The magistrate ordered the property be brought into compliance within seven days, warned of a $100-per-day fine for continued violation and said abatement costs would be assessed to the property if the city must act.

At 906 South Seventeenth Street (LTCL2025-156), presented by Manuel Fernandez Jr. for the city, property owner Austin Clifford (who said he owns the lot) acknowledged overgrowth and leftover tires. Clifford said he recently had a newborn and requested time; he told the magistrate, “I had a newborn, arrive 07/14,” and described rain and schedule issues that limited maintenance. Magistrate Borreault extended the compliance period to 14 days for that lot to accommodate weather and personal circumstances, and ordered removal of tires and vegetation trimming to the standards in the notice. The magistrate also set a $100-per-day fine for noncompliance and a 30-day appeal window.

Two adjacent Southern City Development Inc. lots at 1602 and 1604 Pine Hollow Drive (LTCL2025-154 and LTCL2025-155) were each found in violation of landscaping requirements for properties under three acres. Officers introduced photographs dated Aug. 4 and Aug. 11. Both lots were ordered brought into compliance within seven days; the magistrate reiterated the $100-per-day fine for continued violations and that abatement costs would be assessed to the properties.

Two adjoining lots on Damon Avenue — listed as 1219 Damon Avenue (LTCL2025-157, owner(s) Mohammed K. N. Shafi and Abdul R. I. Shafi) and 1217 Damon Avenue (LTCL2025-158, same owners) — were found to be in violation for lot-clearing standards. The magistrate ordered each property to be cleared within seven days, removing trash, debris and cutting vegetation to match the notice standards. The city will assess a $100-per-day fine for continued violations and abatement costs if the city acts; owners have 30 days to appeal.

The magistrate read additional rescheduled and compliance cases and listed multiple nonoperative-vehicle and lot-clearing dockets scheduled for follow-up. The hearing record shows notices of violation were generally issued on July 17 or July 19, 2025; notices to appear (NTAs) were mailed and posted July 22, 2025; and last inspections cited in the record occurred on Aug. 12, 2025. Officers introduced photographic evidence (dates range from July 12 to Aug. 12) for most cases.

Borreault framed the rulings as enforcement of the city’s nuisance abatement program, saying in open court, “It is this court’s finding that a nuisance condition does exist in violation of the code of ordinances,” and outlining the city’s authority to abate and assess costs. She repeatedly reminded respondents they have 30 days to appeal and that code enforcement staff may grant extra time in some circumstances.

The hearing record contains multiple offers by the city to work with property representatives on timelines (for example, Dollar Tree’s representative said a crew was expected within days) and a single case-specific extension to 14 days for the 906 South Seventeenth Street lot to accommodate weather and the owner’s recent family circumstances. For several lots where owners did not appear, officers recorded no contact; the magistrate ordered compliance timelines and warned of fines and abatement costs.

Copies of notices of violation, photographs and inspection records introduced at the hearing remain part of the public file for each case, and the magistrate closed the docket after reading the list of rescheduled/compliance dockets and procedural notices regarding how hearing notices are mailed and posted.