Citrus County special master hears dozens of code-enforcement cases, levies fines and sets compliance deadlines

Christian Wah, the special master presiding over Citrus County's code-compliance hearing on April 15, opened the session with procedural instructions and a reminder that a verbatim record is required for any appeal. The hearing, which ran from 9:11 a.m. to 1:33 p.m., covered more than 50 docketed matters ranging from one-time site-modification fines to repeat junk-and-debris enforcement actions.

The most immediate outcomes were a mix of consent resolutions and contested rulings. Several respondents entered no-contest pleas and accepted agreed fines, including a $3,000 onetime fine for Michael Gerard Cartz Jr. for site modification without a permit and a $2,500 onetime fine agreed by Adams Homes of Northwest Florida. The special master entered those orders after the county presented evidence and the respondents confirmed the resolutions.

Other cases involved contested facts or procedural objections. In a widely discussed contested matter, property owner Rex Blake objected to what he described as late service and limited access to photos used by the county in a junk/debris case. Blake argued that he had only recently received certified mail and that some material may have been posted rather than personally served. County code officers pointed to posting and certified-mail records; after reviewing the statutory standard for notice, Wah continued the case to the next hearing to preserve Blake's procedural objections while noting there was evidence of an on-going violation.

Another multi-item matter involved property owner Karen Clayber, who had three related cases tied to two adjoining parcels. Clayber told the special…