Bay County hearing finds several properties in compliance; fines and liens remain for uncorrected site

Bay County code enforcement held a compliance hearing on Thursday, April 17, where county staff reported that most properties on the agenda either were brought into compliance or were in the process of being corrected, while one property remained subject to fines and a possible lien.

The most immediate action involved parcel 0139-800-0000 (letter B on the agenda), where county records show a magistrate previously ordered an initial fine and daily fines for ongoing violations. Kevin Fortson of Code Enforcement told the hearing that the magistrateordered an initial $300 penalty and a $50 daily fine to begin March 19, 2025, with a potential total of $1,550 if the property was not brought into compliance. Fortson said reinspections showed the property remained in violation on multiple dates in March and April and that code enforcement recommended the magistrateenforce that order; the record shows the hearing officer took up code enforcementrecommendations during the April 17 session.

Two properties were found in compliance and had their matters closed. For 6721 Sunrise Drive (case CE 2024-2330), Catherine Ashman, Bay County Code Enforcement manager, said photos taken March 25, 2025, showed the property in compliance; the hearing officer stated, "I will accept the recommendation of code enforcement and find this property. Property is in compliance," and closed the case. For 4437 Garrison Road (case 2024-3333), Ashman told the board that the owner had cleaned the property after the initial hearing; the officer said she…