Posted on 09/21/2017 7:46:56 AM PDT by JP1201
Mere hours after Hurricane Irma, Miami-Dade County was ticketing residents for building code violations on their wrecked properties.
Celso Perez was helping his neighbors remove some fallen trees blocking their street when a county code enforcer rolled up and issued him a safety notice for having a downed fence. "I laughed," Perez tells WSVN-TV. "I thought he was kidding. 'You are kidding right? We just had a hurricane six hours ago.'"
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Unbelievable....
Residents should grab these people issuing these “tickets” and beat them black and blue.
...and send them back to their offices covered in tar and feathers.
I agree with you both! This is outrageous.
1,ooo UP votes for you.
“The official told Perez that the downed fence—which encloses a pool—was a safety hazard...”
From my previous post:
“think this is a good idea if limited to potentially dangerous situations. It will focus the homeowner’s attention on the important repairs instead of trying to sort out all the cassette tapes with washed out labels, or deciding if the golf bag can be saved. In addition, depending on the neighborhood, there could be a good chance that in a couple of months everything will just look the same. Some people are just that lazy and disorganized. Sometimes the threat of a fine is just the incentive those people need to get things done.
I suspect that there will be few fines levied, and the ones that end up having to pay will deserve it. Most people who are really in trouble will have their fines waived if they can show that they tried.”
Why? I can tell you it was not their idea. There is a legitimate reason for code enforcement going around after a storm goes through. Which is to make sure the property owner is aware of any hazards and the time required to clean it up. Certainly no official action against the property owner should be taken for several months with broad allowances for extenuating circumstances.
It is dumb to be concerned about a blown down fence. I am surprised at that. One of the biggest concerns after storms is owners who leave their shutters on. That can create a dangerous situation. But a downed fence? That sure can wait.
I had not seen it was a pool fence. A downed pool fence is a life-safety concern and it is essential such gets fixed ASAP with immediate steps being taken to mitigate the hazard. The article from Reason is a bit misleading.
Very true. I can tell you that when I worked as a building inspector/plans examiner our concern after a storm was not whether a property fence was down. We would not have had time for such. A pool fence though? That is another matter.
6 HOURS after a devastating storm????
For a downed fence????
Hell, at least give them a couple of days...
They may be spending time getting their house LIVABLE!!!!
Read the very last paragraph. There were no fines levied.
That happened to me in Broward County shortly after Hurricane Wilma.
It was, granted, about a week later, but I had repaired my fence, using the existing poles (4 feet apart) and the town changed its building codes DURING the Hurricane to mandate that the poles be 3 feet apart.
I got fined, and had to rebuild the fence from scratch.
This moron could have easily turned this around to a positive by leaving the citation book in the car and quickly creating a "County Disaster Relief Property Owner Safety Support Form" specifying in writing that it is NOT an enforcement document, but is a safety inventory.
Then list the the safety concern, something like: "Swimming pool safety fence down, hazard to young children, priority repair suggested." Add all the County department contact information, and hand that sort of thing out.
The citizens would look at it as helpful, and the County woud have a record to follow up on after the property owner had a chance to repair the storm damage.
What’s dangerous about keeping shutters on the windows? I would think that in Florida, you’d want to keep the shutters on for the months of August through November. I don’t get it.
The article explains the reason for these warnings-——and it makes sense to alert people to things that should be repaired first.
Why on earth you would want to harm the messenger boggles the mind.
Inflammatory header.
.
Headline writers are paid to get readers and clicks, nothing else. Ad revenue trumps truth, honesty, or accuracy. Headline writers need to be tarred and feathered.
Yup. Unfortunately, the heavy hand of government pulls out the only stick it ever thinks of and threatens fines and other punishments without ever even considering any other alternatives. Personally, I would not shed a tear if the government drone in question had had crap beaten out of him.
It’s al about the money. Makes you wonder if the enforcers are getting a kickback.
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