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Magistrate orders immediate guardrail and paperwork deadline for Reich Trust property
Summary
The special magistrate ordered the owners of 340 Crescent Street (Eugene E. Reich Trust and Doris F. Reich) to install a temporary 36-inch guardrail within 10 days for a second-floor doorway and to complete permit paperwork within 60 days or face $250-per-day fines.
At a June 2 Fort Myers Beach special magistrate hearing, code compliance officer Terry W. presented evidence that the dwelling at 340 Crescent Street, owned by the Eugene E. Reich Trust and Doris F. Reich, showed unsafe conditions after post-hurricane unpermitted changes, including a second-floor door with no railing.
Officer Terry said inspections and photographs from March and April 2026 documented new doors and windows installed without permits and a second-floor opening that posed a fall hazard. He asked the magistrate to assess an administrative fee of $250, require a temporary 36‑inch guardrail within 10 days, allow 60 days to finish permit paperwork for permit 260954, and assess $250-per-day fines beginning after the compliance deadline if the owner did not comply.
Magistrate John Van Lingham agreed the photographic evidence showed an unsafe doorway and set a 10‑day date (June 12, 2026) to install a guardrail and a 60‑day deadline (about Aug. 1, 2026) to complete permitting paperwork. He said fines of $250 per day would begin after the 60‑day deadline if the owner had not secured permit issuance, and that fines could be applied retroactively to the compliance date if appropriate.
The town will issue a written order with details; the owner was already working with a contractor, according to a participant at the hearing.
