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Special magistrate finds town did not meet burden in disputed culvert/imminent-threat case
Summary
After a daylong hearing, Special Magistrate Amity Barnard found the Town of Loxahatchee Groves had not proved a code violation tied to a culvert and roadway washout, citing gaps in the town's pre-notice evidence and conflicting testimony.
Amity Barnard, the special magistrate for the Town of Loxahatchee Groves, ruled Feb. 3 that the town had not met its burden to prove a code violation tied to a damaged culvert and roadway washout at 14090 North Road.
Barnard cited a lack of contemporaneous photographic evidence showing the culvert condition before the town posted its notice of violation on Oct. 28, 2025, and said testimony and documents in the record were conflicting. "I have not found the town to meet its burden," Barnard said when announcing her findings and entering an order finding no violation in case CE2547.
Public Works Superintendent Craig Lauer testified that the pipe serving the roadside culvert was "completely rusted out" and that the town's emergency repairs followed a roadway collapse on Nov. 6, 2025 that left a large cavity under the pavement. Lauer described evening repairs by town crews and showed timestamped photographs of the November washout and the subsequent repair work.
Respondents Thomas and his son testified that earlier work on or adjacent to the canal — including a May activity the respondents attribute to town or contractor operations — altered the grade and cover over the culvert, and they disputed the town's account of the timeline. Respondent Thomas told the magistrate, "I didn't do any of this. I wasn't even here when it was done," describing efforts he later took to restore flow through the culvert.
The hearing record included homeowner declarations, an email chain and an exhibit the magistrate admitted from the town concerning the town manager's determination of an imminent threat. Barnard said that although the town had shown a roadway failure on Nov. 6, the town's notice and the evidentiary photographs admitted on the record did not establish the culvert's condition at the time the notice was posted. For that reason and because testimony conflicted about who performed work and when, she declined to sustain the alleged violations for maintenance of culverts and the town's imminent-public-health-threat ordinance.
Barnard directed both parties to preserve the case file and exhibits for any future proceedings and noted that separate enforcement or permit issues could proceed if presented with different evidence.
