Posted on 09/19/2017 5:42:52 PM PDT by TigerClaws
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.'"
It wasn't a joke. The official told Perez that the downed fence—which encloses a pool—was a safety hazard, and that if it wasn't fixed by the time he returned, Perez would be hit with a fine. The official then hung the safety citation on the portion of Perez's fence that remained standing, leaving him and his neighbors to finish clearing the debris from their street.
According to WSVN, the county has handed out 680 safety notices for downed pool barriers, and another 177 electrical hazard safety notices. Reason reached out to the county to confirm those numbers, but has not received a reply.
From what can be gleaned from the WSVN story and from county code enforcement procedures, these safety notices appear to be just warnings, meaning no fines have been handed out as of yet. Reason tried to confirm this with the county as well, but was again rebuffed.
Still, these warnings carry with them a duty to correct the violation within a specific window of time. That might not even be possible for some residents, given how many businesses are still out of operation.
As Perez said of the day he got his ticket, "All the stores were closed. It's not like I can go to Home Depot and find some temporary barrier."
Even if he could, it's quite possible that Perez and the other people handed citations might have more pressing things to do right after a hurricane than bring their homes back up to code. You know: clearing the streets, seeking medical attention, checking in on family members, trying to find food. You might think the county would have higher priorities too, like getting the lights back on for Miami-Dade's 16,510 homes and businesses still without power.
County officials don't see it that way. "It is important that we reach residents in the immediate aftermath of the storm," one tells WSVN, "because that is when conditions are most dangerous, and taking steps to protect life is a critical part of the recovery process."
Boiling oil.
He might disappear never to be seen again.
Gosh.
That seems kind of harsh.
“Dumb asses”?
But you are the expert on the subject.
All about the money. Got to fund those public pensions.
Something about lampposts rings a bell.
“Code Enforcer” most have a death wish!
I don’t know what your problem is, but that story checks out. Dumas.
Fake News. You dumb asses.
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This was on the local news.
That would make too much sense.
“Dumb asses”?
I believe you owe me and everyone else here an apology for your error:
http://wsvn.com/news/help-me-howard/warning-notice-from-miami-dade-county-after-irma/
The story is accurate.
DemocRats suck reason #12 ...
Maybe some of those “code enforcement” people will vanish.
Just saying.
L
You said it was “fake news and now you’ve been exposed as a moron as the story was true.
So you won’t man up and admit you’ve made an error?
This story is illustrative of government peons harassing people during a time of tragedy. That’s extremely relevant to FR as the folks here are opposed to excessive government intruding on our lives.
This is the type of story Rush, Hannity, or Tucker Carlson picks up from here (their researchers visit this site regularly).
Finally, you are not obligated to visit posts here which don’t interest you. Just keep surfin’....
Dade county is the giant tumor on the beautiful state of FL.
I 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.
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