Delray Beach magistrate sets Aug. 1 compliance deadlines and fines across multiple code cases

Special Magistrate Gary Glassman heard a docket of code-enforcement cases on July 2 and found several properties out of compliance, typically setting a 30-day compliance period (to Aug. 1, 2026) or daily fines for failure to correct violations.

City code officers documented unpermitted installations ranging from AC units and extended driveways to fences and landscaping in the public right-of-way. Inspector Jonathan Claus and Officer Chandler Ferguson repeatedly testified that newly installed AC equipment across several commercial and residential addresses lacked approved permits. "This property was cited for installing an AC unit without obtaining an approved permit," Officer Ferguson said during one case. In cases with no respondent present, the magistrate admitted city exhibits and imposed 30-day deadlines with $100-per-day fines if compliance was not achieved.

Outcomes at a glance: the magistrate ordered permits and compliance by Aug. 1, 2026 or assessed the following fines if work is not brought into compliance: $100/day for several properties (including cases involving AC units, fence installations, and driveway extensions), $50/day in one vehicle-encroachment/sodding case, and a $500/day order in a separate high-profile landscaping/right-of-way matter. In a long-running noncompliance matter at 391 Southeast 2nd Avenue, the magistrate authorized filing a previously unrecorded lien and continued the daily fine accrual; staff reported accrued fines of about $151,006.50 to date.

Magistrate Glassman repeatedly emphasized the limited scope of his role: he confirmed when permits were absent and set compliance deadlines; he also deferred narrow legal challenges over which code subsection should have been cited to later motion practice so that parties could submit the relevant code sections and documentation.

Next steps: property owners and contractors whose permits remain pending were ordered to work with Development Services and Building Services staff to resolve reviewer comments and seek final approval; cases will return to enforcement if compliance is not achieved by the Aug. 1 deadlines.