More than a Nuisance

I was at the city commission chamber room Wednesday night and someone on the dais actually voted “no” on an issue before them. Do not fear--it was not a member of the City Commission. We already know how they vote. It was a member of the Planning & Zoning Board and a nuisance abatement case was in front of them for the property at 1109 & 1115 S. Federal Highway.

In a nutshell there has been extensive drug dealing and prostitution at the premises. I was told by a P&Z member that this property was a "nuisance" back in July 2008 when it came to their attention. Another member told me that it never came before the Board. (Minutes of that meeting are still not on-line) Larry Karns cut them a deal. Nothing has ever improved. Two years later after multiple police/Sheriff visits to the premises for drug dealings, prostitution and even an incident involving an AK-47, this property came before the Board. As someone said to me, “The Russian’s made the AK-47, the choice of dictators, terrorists, drug dealers and GOP loons.” I threw that one in there for my gun toting friends!

The properties are owned by Scott and Cynthia Schaefer. With a look of disdain, they were there along with their counsel, Jeffrey Berin of West Palm Beach. They never spoke to the issue. They never apologized. They never uttered one word and sat there stoic and expressionless until the end. Our city attorney, Elaine Humphries was at this meeting as were several Sheriff’s deputies there to give testimony if needed.

The outcome? I guess attorneys just love to cut deals. It really was a slap on the wrist to the owners and hardly worth mentioning and certainly not worth the time of our Nuisance Abatement Board. The slap was really felt when we learned that a deal had been cut, again, by the 2 attorneys involved and PBSO agreed. The owners got an administrative fine of $100 and if this property is not cleaned up within 75 days when the eviction of his last tenant should be in effect, they will get fined at $200 a day. He is fencing one section of the property and has installed outside lighting. The Board could have rejected the negotiated agreement but on a 6 to 1 vote, with Lynda Mahoney dissenting, they went along with Staff’s recommendation.

There were For Sales signs posted on the building so it would behoove the Schaefer's to clean up their act.

Planning and Zoning’s Nuisance Abatement board was not allowed to hear testimony from the July 2008 case, and this "new" case, as presented on Wednesday night, was as if the owner only had known about the situation at his property since September 2009 and has been Mr. Nice Guy and trying to do everything to evict his tenants and become a responsible landlord within the City of Lake Worth.

These owners have not been responsible in the past and have not been responsible up to now. The suggested fines are too low for any deterrent. We should let these slum landlords know that we mean business. The administrative fine should have been 20 times the amount imposed and the fine per diem should have been upped to $500 a day. Any more screwing around, we close it down. Actually I would like to see them all thrown in jail, tenants and landlords alike.

We sometimes do the most stupid of things...give away the farm for a promise that never comes. We did it with the PB County Water deal allowing them to take over our wells that we had already sunk $15 million into and then pay them another $23 million so that we could buy water. We did it with the flim flam man at our beach...his promise of something wonderful. Thank God we had a responsible Commission that overturned all of that. We think of giving a robo man lease control of our pool to get 10 cents on the dollar from his scheme and we get to maintain the pool and heat it with the promise of maybe this guy will make a lot of money at our expense. We give away our buildings on ridiculous leases while we have no room for our own city employees, some of whom work in a basement. We change zoning on S. Federal Highway to allow cooking in motels that will open up more of this crap. The list goes on.

I am happy to know that at least one member of a major Board can say "no" and has damn good reason for doing so. Here is what one member of the Board has to say who voted "yes:"

Here are my thoughts for NAB cases:

In the case of a local landlord I will be inclined, only if they are cooperating with all involved, to do an agreement and hold them to it. In the case of an absentee landlord I don't think I will give any type of initiative if they have not complied with our local ordinances and are basic slum lords. In the event, as the last case, if the homeowner is the guilty party and resides in the property and the charges are as serious as this case I'm "close it down" guy. Keeping in mind each case is treated fairly I will not have a lot of tolerance and will do what it will take to get rid of Drugs and Violence in our city.