Code Enforcement Violation question

[KKZ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL

South Florida,Broward County.We are facing a Code Enforcement violation due to numerous vehicles (15-25) parked at our house as well as box (moving) trucks and tow trucks.(Yard is fully fenced in with a 6ft privacy fence.So no one would even know they are there if it wasn't for the moving trucks sticking out over the fence or bleeping Google Maps which the city loves so much.I think it's violation of privacy but that's a diferent topic).It is in violation of the city's Code of Ordinances and they have issued us a Civil Infraction with a fine of $250 per day and a request to remove all vehicles form the property.Well...easier said than done.
My question is what happens if we do not comply? Can the city place a lien on our house or force us to sell it or otherwise take it away from us?
As far as I know even if a lien is placed on our property it only matters if we decide to sell the house in the future and even then the lien could be greatly reduced.Recently there was a case in a nearby city where a lien was reduced from $3.3 million to $2,500.Is that always the case though? What if the city decided not to reduce the lien amount? Can they do that and Is there anything else the city can do? Take us to court?What are our options? What should we do?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

 

[FlyingRon]

Yep, they can lien not only this property but anything else you own in that county. They will not force the sale of your property, but you will never be able to sell it unless you dispose of the liens (potentially from the sale proceeds).

Lien reduction policies vary by locality. They're set by the local boards. Generally, they're not even going to consider an adjustment until you abate the violations.

What they can do if they wish to go that far, is enter your property and REMOVE those vehicles themselves and you'll then be on the hook for the towing and storage charges.

I see no excuse for you not to immediately remedy the violation. It would be far cheaper in the long term to secure parking elsewhere for your commercial vehicles and move them rather than allowing the fines to accumulate.

 

[adjusterjack]

What should we do?

Get the vehicles out of your back yard.

You're a blight on the neighborhood.

$250 a day is about $3000 per month.

Yes, you could very well end up in court and once the city gets a judgment it'll have a variety of painful ways to collect. A lien on your home will be the least of your worries.

If you use the vehicles in business and you can't afford a place to keep them then fold the business and take all the vehicles to a dealer and sell them.

You're not going to win this.

 

[KKZ]

I don't own any other properties & I'm not planning of ever selling this house but if I do I'll definitely correct the violation of course and apply for the "Amnesty" program to reduce the lien.
I checked and they cannot remove the vehicles because we live in the house.

I see no excuse for you not to immediately remedy the violation. It would be far cheaper in the long term to secure parking elsewhere for your commercial vehicles and move them rather than allowing the fines to accumulate.

Well...the "excuse" is called money ,u know...and unfortunately they don't grow on trees.
I don't think it will be cheaper in the long term.I gave the example of the homeowner in a nearby city that had her lien of $3.3 million ($700 per day for over 10 years) reduced to $2,500.
So if we do the math that's about $20 per month which is nothing!
If I have to rent a commercial lot of a similar size I'm looking at at least $1,500 - $3,000 per month! That's at least $18,000 per year or over $180,000 for 10 years...and that's a lot of dough!!!
It's all about the money,honey!
The exact same reason the city has enacted that Code so they can collect money from the very same people paying their sallaries. It's nothing else but abuse of power. They do it 'cause they can! I've lived in places before where there was no code enforcement. You park 10 cars on the grass - no problem.You wanna build a shed -you simply do. No permit ,no BS...here you need a permit to wipe your behind off.It's ridiculous!
We own the property & pay taxes but we cannot park our own cars in our own yard.
Simply ridiculous !

 

[Zigner]

I don't own any other properties & I'm not planning of ever selling this house but if I do I'll definitely correct the violation of course and apply for the "Amnesty" program to reduce the lien.
I checked and they cannot remove the vehicles because we live in the house.




Well...the "excuse" is called money ,u know...and unfortunately they don't grow on trees.
I don't think it will be cheaper in the long term.I gave the example of the homeowner in a nearby city that had her lien of $3.3 million ($700 per day for over 10 years) reduced to $2,500.
So if we do the math that's about $20 per month which is nothing!
If I have to rent a commercial lot of a similar size I'm looking at at least $1,500 - $3,000 per month! That's at least $18,000 per year or over $180,000 for 10 years...and that's a lot of dough!!!
It's all about the money,honey!
The exact same reason the city has enacted that Code so they can collect money from the very same people paying their sallaries. It's nothing else but abuse of power. They do it 'cause they can! I've lived in places before where there was no code enforcement. You park 10 cars on the grass - no problem.You wanna build a shed -you simply do. No permit ,no BS...here you need a permit to wipe your behind off.It's ridiculous!
We own the property & pay taxes but we cannot park our own cars in our own yard.
Simply ridiculous !

Why, pray tell, do you have many cars on your residential property?

 

[KKZ]

Why, pray tell, do you have many cars on your residential property?

I happen to be in the car business. I have a commercial location too but not enough space

 

[CdwJava]

You may think it ridiculous, but if the city is serious about enforcing the law and the fines, they will find a way. There ARE ways to exact their pound of flesh. One should NEVER take an isolated example out of context from another jurisdiction as an example of what will happen to them. There are very likely facts present in that case that do not apply to you or to your city. You MAY be right that they cannot force you to do anything other than place the lien. But, they might be able to go to court and get a judgement against you or the business, and may even be able to shut your business down until such time as you correct the problem.

It all depends on how eager they are to purse the violations, and how much money you are willing to risk in thumbing your nose at them.

 

[FarmerJ]

Cities can and do often regulate things such as how much of a lot with a home on it in a residential neighborhood can be used for parking, they often regulate how much of a lot can be used for say garages, pole shed, other storage, they can and often do spell out how much of the parking can be hard surface vs gravel , Many cities also have nuisance type ordinances to address things like cars with out current plates or that are obviously not running but parked off street. SO it sounds as if you might consider relocating to a more rural area where you are able to buy enough land to do as you need to with few or no so called city ordinances so that if the ordinances come later on you would have a valid argument that new ords should not apply.

 

[FlyingRon]

Alrighty then. You don't want to hear the information we provided about the law. Again, EVERY COUNTY/LOCAL JURISDICTION sets it's own rules on the fine amenesty. Do not believe that something that happened in another county will apply to you.

You're rants are totally off the wall and really unwelcome here. The fact that you pay taxes doesn't give you the right to violate the law. Placing large business trucks in your yard in residential areas is a reasonable ordinance and you're not going to invalidate it by stomping your feet and crying. It's not an abuse of power.

Again, "money" would be well spent moving the vehicles. I suspect that it's not as bad as you are claiming. Many of the facilities in your area will even waive the first month's rent.

 

[Eekamouse]

I happen to be in the car business. I have a commercial location too but not enough space

And are all these vehicles properly registered and running and ready for sale or is this more of a hoarder situation with you having a bunch of junky cars that no one in the neighborhood wants to live next to? Is your property in otherwise pristene condition or is it a fenced in eye sore?

 

[LdiJ]

I don't own any other properties & I'm not planning of ever selling this house but if I do I'll definitely correct the violation of course and apply for the "Amnesty" program to reduce the lien.
I checked and they cannot remove the vehicles because we live in the house.




Well...the "excuse" is called money ,u know...and unfortunately they don't grow on trees.
I don't think it will be cheaper in the long term.I gave the example of the homeowner in a nearby city that had her lien of $3.3 million ($700 per day for over 10 years) reduced to $2,500.
So if we do the math that's about $20 per month which is nothing!
If I have to rent a commercial lot of a similar size I'm looking at at least $1,500 - $3,000 per month! That's at least $18,000 per year or over $180,000 for 10 years...and that's a lot of dough!!!
It's all about the money,honey!
The exact same reason the city has enacted that Code so they can collect money from the very same people paying their sallaries. It's nothing else but abuse of power. They do it 'cause they can! I've lived in places before where there was no code enforcement. You park 10 cars on the grass - no problem.You wanna build a shed -you simply do. No permit ,no BS...here you need a permit to wipe your behind off.It's ridiculous!
We own the property & pay taxes but we cannot park our own cars in our own yard.
Simply ridiculous !

Find a cheap piece of land out in the country somewhere. Fence it in and store your extra vehicles there.

 

[Eekamouse]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL

South Florida,Broward County.We are facing a Code Enforcement violation due to numerous vehicles (15-25) parked at our house as well as box (moving) trucks and tow trucks.(Yard is fully fenced in with a 6ft privacy fence.So no one would even know they are there if it wasn't for the moving trucks sticking out over the fence or bleeping Google Maps which the city loves so much.I think it's violation of privacy but that's a diferent topic).It is in violation of the city's Code of Ordinances and they have issued us a Civil Infraction with a fine of $250 per day and a request to remove all vehicles form the property.Well...easier said than done.
My question is what happens if we do not comply? Can the city place a lien on our house or force us to sell it or otherwise take it away from us?
As far as I know even if a lien is placed on our property it only matters if we decide to sell the house in the future and even then the lien could be greatly reduced.Recently there was a case in a nearby city where a lien was reduced from $3.3 million to $2,500.Is that always the case though? What if the city decided not to reduce the lien amount? Can they do that and Is there anything else the city can do? Take us to court?What are our options? What should we do?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

What you should do is remove all these vehicles from the residential property you've illegally stored them at and relocate them to a commercially zoned location like any good business owner would all ready know he should be storing them at.

 

[adjusterjack]

I happen to be in the car business. I have a commercial location too but not enough space

You asked what the consequences were and we told you.

No need for you to waste any more of our time since you apparently going to continue to break the law anyway.

 

[KKZ]

You asked what the consequences were and we told you.

No need for you to waste any more of our time since you apparently going to continue to break the law anyway.

I've been trying to respond to you and couple of other people for a long time now but I guess the moderator doesn't like my response...

 

[Zigner]

I've been trying to respond to you and couple of other people for a long time now but I guess the moderator doesn't like my response...

No, you likely posted links or something along those lines.