Board gives 350 Mission Drive owner until next meeting to provide structural engineering report

The New Smyrna Beach building board voted to give the owner of 350 Mission Drive time to produce a structural engineering report and return at the next meeting with the findings.

Committee member (speaker 10) moved that the owner be given until the next meeting to submit an engineering report; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The building official, Steven Woodworth, had told the board that the property's electrical service and panel have been replaced and that permits for drywall repair and a toilet replacement are in place, but that the building department has not received the requested engineer's analysis or general-contractor proposals to confirm habitability.

Woodworth told the board the city had requested an engineering report "so that you can prove that it's either safe and habitable or it has to be removed." The owner, sworn to give testimony, said she has completed electrical repairs, removed debris and temporary shelters behind the building, painted the exterior and obtained a drywall permit, but said she "doesn't have much money to spend" and has not yet contracted or obtained an engineering report.

Board members debated whether progress showed substantive repair or merely cosmetic fixes and asked staff to perform or provide a follow-up inspection. The motion includes a written list of what the board and code compliance expect the owner to bring to the next meeting: an engineering report listing which elements are structurally sound, which are not, and a plan either to remove nonstructural sections or to repair them. The next meeting date was noted in discussion as August 27.