Someone must want the property cheap.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
When people say they want more government so they can control their neighbor’s property, this is what more government looks like
The 5th Amendment is dead in Florida, as well as most other states.
OK, though this is absurd, I don’t see how the guy let it go this far. Get out the edger and trim the damn lawn!
He was ordered to attend an August 2019 Code Enforcement Board hearing, but he missed it because he was in South Carolina to manage another issue with his mother’s estate, he said. The board voted on Sept. 4, 2019, that the fines would stand.
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The martinets on the CEB should be publicly shamed.
He could use a better lawyer and some landscaping volunteers. Not much is stated about his background or circumstance. This dispute has been going on since 2015, so the stubborness of the accused may figure into it.
What we have here is a classic power struggle.
did the city mow it for him when he was out of town or unable. 71 is not as young as he used to be... He should have hired someone to mow and keep it mowed. Wonder what his property is worth now? City or someone “important” may want it... cheap.
Oooooh. The grass got over 10 inches. Oooooh.
I hope one day everyone who thinks this guy deserves a $30,000 fine is treated in like fashion.
While this man’s plight is entirely plausible based on what we are seeing here, I’m going to tell you from first-hand experience that this isn’t necessarily the way it played out.
Until you have had the neighbor from hell who is never at fault for anything, you don’t really get it.
This guy was not living in his house but did not arrange for lawn mowing. He was cited and told if he violated again he would be considered a repeat offender and subject to higher fines.
There is a long trail of dog ate my homework excuses, but the guy violated again. Florida law gives him the right to a hearing, which he did not attend. Florida law gives him a right to appeal, which he did not excercise.
So, he waited two years and filed a federal lawsuit claiming due process clause and excessive fines clause violations. Federal courts do not hear zoning code appeals.
He lost the due process claim because he was obviously given notice and a hearing and a right to appeal.
He lost the excessive fines claim because he did not meet the criteria set out by the Eleventh Circuit precedent.
One would think the city might have cut the fine back to something more affordable. But, reading between the lines it seems he really cheesed off the city code people by repeatedly ignoring them and failing to appear at more than one hearing.
he dindunuffin to Dunedin
I lived in a small city (Chamaign, IL) and if your grass got over 12” they’d send out a city crew and charge a minimum of $50, and more if the lot was greater than 1 acre. If you didn’t pay the 50 bucks, they’d attach a lien to your property, similar to a tax lien. They eventually get paid, and send out a second request, outlining all the additional fees if they have to lien your property, before they did, and wanted you to call and make arrangements to pay, if nothing else, before they liened your property. Once liened, I think it was the original $50 plus about $250 in fees, and the $300 accrued interest, so, it was a fair system and the grass stayed cut, because it was cheaper to hire someone than have the city show up and cut your grass.
so many of our courts (including the Supremes with their ignoring the Stolen Election)
have failed us. utterly failed in the justice department
we need new judges, or....??, somehow or other.
Excellent. Perhaps this will keep people out of Florida, and stop the cut and run to southern states.
Sounds like a stubborn, trashy, property value killing ass
My mother-in-law was the head of the HOA in the development she lived in in Dunedin. [sarc] Very pleasant woman [/sarc]
The grass Nazis strike again.
...and it all started with a courtesy notice to abate, then went to a $100.00 fine, then $300.00, then $1,200 then $2,800...
If your yard is a mess, fix the problem. Your neighbors don’t want to look at your messy, unkept yard.
I don’t see why the city should benefit to the tune of $30K from this guy’s ignorance. In my area if you don’t mow your grass the city issues a citation, and if you ignore it they send a crew to mow your property, then send you the bill.
He would have still racked up a serious bill (assuming they had to send a crew out every few weeks), but not $30K, and at least the neighbors wouldn’t have had to deal with the eyesore.