Magistrate cuts two long‑standing Seminole County liens, sets payment deadlines

A Seminole County special magistrate on April 7 reduced two long-standing code-enforcement liens and set payment deadlines that would cause the liens to revert if the owners did not pay.

John Martin, manager of Seminole County Code Enforcement, told the magistrate the county sought a reduction in case 12-31-CESM for property at 1707 Kimmy Kaye Drive, Geneva. The county asked that the accrued lien be reduced to $1,000 to be paid within 90 days; according to the county’s filing, the lien would revert to $1,167,500 if not paid. After hearing from the respondent, Kevin Piper, the magistrate ordered the lien reduced to $1,000 and gave a 90‑day deadline. The magistrate told Piper, “It must be paid within 90 days to the county,” and said the county administrative cost of $79.82 would be waived if the $1,000 payment was made on time.

Piper read a written statement describing how he learned of his ownership interest only recently, the demolition of a pole barn, payments of back taxes, and roughly $30,000 in legal and cleanup costs. In that statement he asked the court to “have mercy and abate all or most of the lien.” The magistrate cited the cleanup steps and the county’s recommendation in granting the reduction.

In a separate case, 25-33-CESM, the magistrate reduced the accrued lien for Dominique de Pena (represented by Raymond Rivera) to $100, with county administrative costs of $86.98, both due within 90 days. The magistrate repeated the same condition: if the reduced amount is not paid in the specified period the lien reverts to the previously recorded amount, $16,086.98.

Both actions were entered as orders of the special magistrate; the magistrate recorded the payment deadlines and warned that failure to pay would reinstate the larger recorded lien amounts.