News

By Rich Pollack

    As the town of Highland Beach continues to revamp its code-enforcement process, discussions over whether to bring in a special magistrate to hear code-enforcement cases stalled early this month when commissioners couldn’t agree on what would have been the first step in the process.
    In a 2-2 vote, with Commissioner Lou Stern absent, the commission stopped short of scheduling interviews with three special-magistrate candidates who submitted resumes and proposals to the town.
    As a result, the town’s Code Enforcement Board will continue to hear contested code-enforcement cases — at least for now.  
    That seven-member board, however, could soon be down to just three members. Two members are expected to resign in order to run for Town Commission seats, the board’s chair is resigning to take a seat on another town board and a vacancy remains unfilled.
    While discussing whether or not to move forward with special-magistrate interviews, Commissioner Carl Feldman and Vice Mayor Bill Weitz appeared to favor bringing in a legal professional to hear cases and assess fines when appropriate, while Commissioner Rhoda Zelniker and Mayor Bernard Featherman supported keeping a Code Enforcement Board.  
    “I think what we have is working,” Zelniker said, adding that she thinks problems the town has with code enforcement stem from the process and do not fall on the shoulders of the code enforcement board.
    In an effort to resolve the issues, Interim Town Manager Valerie Oakes is continuing a search for a full-time code enforcement officer, a position authorized by commissioners during budget discussions this summer. For several years, a part-time town employee and more recently, an outside contractor also on a part-time basis, have handled code enforcement matters.
    In addition, Oakes — who has a background in code enforcement — is developing a set of operating policies and procedures to set standards and ensure consistency.
    “We have not had proper code enforcement,” Zelniker said. “I think we should give the new code-enforcement person a chance.”
    Weitz agreed there have been problems with code enforcement for some time but said he thinks the town could be better off having code issues resolved by someone with a legal background.
    “This is a job that requires knowledge and expertise,” he said.
    Discussions over switching to a magistrate, who would be paid on an hourly basis, came on the heels of a Nov. 16 Code Enforcement Board hearing in which the board fined a resident $250 a day for doing interior work on his townhouse without a permit.
    The resident was given two stop-work orders by town inspectors dating as far back as February, but continued to do the work, according to town officials.
    While some members of the Code Enforcement Board wanted to fine the homeowner retroactively to the date when the first stop-work order was issued, the assistant town attorney assigned to the hearing advised against it, saying that the resident wasn’t given sufficient notice of when he needed to be in compliance.
    The townhouse owner has since obtained a permit for the work and paid a $1,000 penalty as well as $8,500 in fines assessed by the Code Enforcement Board.
    As part of its revamping of the code-enforcement process, Highland Beach has discontinued its contract for part-time code enforcement with SafeBUILT, a Colorado-based firm that also provides building-inspection services for the town. While the town continues efforts to fill the full-time position, code enforcement services will be handled by the Police Department in coordination with the building department.