Magistrate pauses $100-per-day fines for 210 North 20th Street for 90 days while owners pursue permit

The Fort Pierce special magistrate ordered a 90-day stay of accruing fines for the property at 210 North 20th Street after the owner told the court the contractor did not pull a required permit for truss work.

City staff presented the case (23-2413), citing multiple International Property Maintenance Code provisions for unsafe and dangerous structures. Staff recommended a 90-day stay to allow permit submittal. The owner, who identified herself as Lee Tucker, told the magistrate the contractor took payment and said the work was complete but did not pull the permit for the truss that triggered the city enforcement. "He didn't pull a permit. We paid him for all of that," Tucker said in the hearing.

Tucker asked whether accumulated fines could be waived or dropped; the magistrate said he would stay accrual for 90 days and invited the owners to return after the issue is cleared to discuss fines in total. The magistrate accepted staff's recommendation and ordered that fines not accrue for 90 days, subject to the condition that the owners submit the necessary permit and comply with inspection requirements. The order leaves open future discussion of the total fines once compliance is achieved. The magistrate also noted the owners have 30 days to appeal the decision.

City staff recorded that an affidavit of noncompliance and fines had been recorded previously and that the owner had requested an extension and contested the accrual. The magistrate specifically noted the $100-per-day accrual had been charged since the 17th of the previous month, according to the owner's statements.