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Special magistrate orders Coco Restaurant to install grease trap, sets May 31 compliance deadline
Summary
In Case 25‑282, the Cocoa Beach special magistrate found Coco Restaurant LLC and the property owner in violation for operating without an approved grease trap and unpermitted accessory structures, ordering compliance by May 31, 2026 or daily fines to be imposed.
Lonnie Groot, the special magistrate overseeing Cocoa Beach code‑enforcement cases, ordered respondents in Case 25‑282 — the property owner listed as 329 Railroad Avenue, Inc., and tenant Coco Restaurant LLC — to correct multiple violations and install an approved grease‑trap interceptor by May 31, 2026 or face daily fines.
City staff presented a chronology and photographic evidence showing that Coco Restaurant began operations in January 2025 without a Certificate of Use, installed an unpermitted accessory structure, and was discharging grease, fats and oils to the city sewer system. Staff reported that utilities personnel had advised the business that a 750‑gallon grease trap interceptor was required and that a civil citation had been issued for operating without an approved grease trap. The city informed the magistrate the Certificate of Use could not be issued until permits and the grease trap were approved.
“This is a code enforcement process. This isn't a public hearing process,” Groot said in explaining the procedure and the standard for the hearing. The magistrate admitted the city's PowerPoint into evidence and announced an oral order, to be followed by a written order: the respondents must bring the property into compliance by May 31, 2026; if they do not, the magistrate will establish a per‑day fine for each day of continuing violation.
The city's recommended remedy included payment of the issued civil citation(s), obtaining building permits for the accessory structure and the grease trap, passing final inspections and obtaining the Certificate of Use. The magistrate’s order implements that timeline and preserves the city's ability to levy daily fines if compliance is not achieved.
The written order will be distributed to the city and respondents and will state the effective date and any fines to be applied should the respondents fail to comply by the deadline.
