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Okeechobee special magistrate sets compliance deadlines, recommends reductions of accrued fines
Summary
Special Magistrate John Van Laningham on Feb. 17 set compliance dates for multiple property-code violations (mostly March–May 2026), ordered daily fines to begin if owners fail to comply, and recommended that the Board of County Commissioners consider reducing several accrued fines to the county's recorded hard costs at its March 26 meeting.
John Van Laningham, Okeechobee County's special magistrate for code enforcement, presided over a Feb. 17 hearing that produced compliance deadlines for more than two dozen properties and recommendations to reduce accrued fines to county hard costs for board consideration.
The hearing opened at 9 a.m. with the pledge of allegiance and the swearing-in of code officers. County staff then presented multiple new- and old-business cases, describing violations that ranged from unpermitted plumbing and accessory structures to outdoor storage of unlicensed or inoperable vehicles.
For several cases the magistrate set March 12, 2026 as the compliance deadline. Examples include Carol Tyson (4711 Northwest 11th Drive), where Officer Salinas said the county was seeking a plumbing permit; the magistrate set a 03/12/2026 compliance date with a status review on 03/17/2026 if the permit was not obtained. For a separate case at 4649 Northwest 30th Street (unpermitted accessory structure), the magistrate set the same…
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