Magistrate orders cleanup, sets March 26 closing deadline for 9407 Indian Bluff Road

Bay County Special Magistrate Tiffany Sarto ordered the front-yard appliances and overgrowth at 9407 Indian Bluff Road removed by midnight on Sunday, March 23, and set a deadline of midnight on March 26 for the property to transfer ownership, during a March 20 compliance hearing.

The magistrate said the county would inspect the property and wants the front yard cleaned and the structure secured before the transfer. "My thought is that on March 26, by midnight, this needs to have closed," Sarto said, and she said she wanted "the appliances and the overgrowth in the front yard taken care of by the end of Sunday at midnight." The magistrate scheduled a follow-up compliance hearing for April 10 at 1:00 p.m. and said staff would inspect the property on March 24 to confirm progress.

Owner Kelly Dyer told the magistrate she had a signed offer and expected a closing on March 26 and said she had provided the requested proof. Prospective buyer Austin Savage said he and a contractor had begun removing debris and planned a dump trailer for further cleanup that weekend; he said interior work and permit applications would follow after the purchase. Neighbor Steve Zantz, who lives across the street, told the magistrate he and other neighbors welcomed a buyer willing to renovate the house but wanted assurance the sale would close so code compliance would not be indefinitely delayed.

Sarto told the parties she expected the yard cleaned and unsecured items (notably appliances and loose garage doors) removed or made secure to avoid liability from injury or trespass. She said that if the property did not transfer by March 26, the previously issued magistrate order would be found to be not complied with and related enforcement actions could follow. The magistrate invited the parties to call code enforcement with questions and said owners or the current property representative should provide an update at the April 10 hearing; she permitted a phone appearance for that check-in.

The record shows code enforcement will perform an inspection after the weekend deadline and that staff is authorized to abate nuisances and place costs as liens if violations remain. The magistrate explicitly required whoever owns the property on April 10 to report on permits, engineering involvement and the status of securing and cleaning the front yard.