Right on cue . . .
Code Enforcement moved in on the Great Taste of the Grove yesterday. They actually went from booth to booth, during the festival, to check for licenses and permits. They had already done that the first thing in the morning, storming into the Chamber office looking for the same licenses and permits. They were quite rude to the staff, I am told. I guess they feel that everyone is breaking the law. You're presumed guilty with them always.
I saw them do the same thing at the Goombay Festival in June. They went from booth to booth, midday, while all the activity was taking place, checking for permits. No class.
It would be nice if they actually went in with smiles on their faces with the attitude and hopes of not finding any violations (which they didn't), rather than going in like gangbusters trying to make everyone's day miserable.
I saw them do the same thing at the Goombay Festival in June. They went from booth to booth, midday, while all the activity was taking place, checking for permits. No class.
It would be nice if they actually went in with smiles on their faces with the attitude and hopes of not finding any violations (which they didn't), rather than going in like gangbusters trying to make everyone's day miserable.
posted by Tom Falco at 12:01 PM
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13 Comments:
Maybe they are trying to make money as a large portion of the City/County are not paying their property taxes and are in foreclosure. Just a thought...
Miami Code Enforcement came to my home, a duplex and entered my tenants unit first without knocking and the female tenant screamed. He then took a picture through my dining room window and when I open my side door he tried to enter and was rebuked harshly. Two days later he issued me six code violations. He then said if I paid him a $5,000.00, up front cash fine I would not lose my home. When I went to the code enforcement board tribunal with my wife they kicked me out of Miami City Hall and found me guilty of all six violations even though I had resolved all violations. I filed an appeal with the court system and the City of Miami had to hire a private law firm who will bill the City of Miami about $65,000.00, which the taxpayers have to pay for. I'm filing a federal complaint asking for $10-million because The City of Miami attorney's office denied me due process and violated 5 constitutional amendements, namely violating my 1st amendment right to practice art at my home in Coconut Grove.
Jobie Steppe
Time to move on THE GROVE SUCKS and the current regime sucks too! Everyone sell their houses then what will they do? My whole hood is for sale no one wants to stay. The local schools are horrible as well, anyone with kids moves so they can send their children to 1/2a decent school.
wow, that's quite a story. as a female who lives alone, if a stranger enters my home without knocking, his ass is getting SHOT. so c'mon code enforcement, bring it!
Holy Crap!
What the local governments are doing in the Grove is Un-American, City of Miami and Dade County are going into private property in a clear mission of extortion. They tell people about violations based on new and old rules and laws legislated. Can you imagine, to build a new business now you are required to install water fountains for people who enter your store, not one water meter, TWO, one regular fountain and another installed lower for the children and handicapped. Can you imagine how many of these machines need to be installed in the Grove if everyone were to put up with this. What do you suppose they are going to require people to install next? How about a defibrillator and then get every restaurant to have a sonogram machines in case a patron chokes. Wake up Coconut Grove we are under attack. This is not American, it is NOT.
Wow, was thinking of moving to the Grove for good and opening up a Bagel store/Deli after reading the Bagel with a schmear article.
Not after reading this article and these post's. I thought it sucked when Mayor Bloomberg(here in NYC) doubled the fine for parking ticket's and added a seperate $15.00 fee on top of that. What's happening to you guy's down there in the Grove is Nothing but Extortion!!!! I feel for the business owner's and wish them luck. If It weren't for you Grape would anyone know about this??
Jobie Steppe
What I have uncovered is this regarding The City of Miami Code Enforcement & Coconut Grove. The average family income begins @ about $5,000.00, monthly if you own your home. Top management @ code enforcement are allowed to pocket a % of fines collected to date upon retirement. They will be hitting everyone or about 80% of all Grove residents with "Parking on Unimproved Surface" or similar "makeshift" regulation fashioned to create revenue via fines and liens that you won't know about until you obtain a reverse mortgage or attempt to sell your home and they are going after the elderly first because when they die first they'll get this extorted money sooner. One man I know has a $200,000.00 lien on his property and people have advised me of about $10-million in similar fines and liens. IF you have been approached or ticketed by Miami Code Enforcement call me @ 305-447-6526 and join me in a class action lawsuit complaint, free of charge at my expense and confront these thugs in a court of law. There is one catch----50% of the award must go to help Coconut Grove, Florida become a place of beauty and art so that people will want to come to the Grove, hang out and spend some of their hard earned cash. This is our community, not theirs.
I, for one, wish they would be more aggressive with all the swale parking. Random people come to the Grove and park several blocks away from the business district and then leave their cars for days. There have even been people who have left boats on the swale. As a homeowner, you have an obligation to keep up the swale outside your property. It's very difficult to do this when trucks and cars park for days, killing grass and shrubs. There are days where the swale up and down my street is littered with vehicles. Sometimes it feels like I live in a used car lot. However, with that being said, code enforcement should find other parts of Miami to bother...surely there are law breakers elsewhere.
Has anyone read "The Other Path" by a well known Peruvian Economist called Hernando De Soto, He puts into simple language the way governments in third world countries create impediments to business by making it difficult for people to make a living, therefore creating incentives for people not to seek government permits. The book was published in the early 1990s and evolved into a new book recently called "The other Path, The Economic Answer to Terrorism" here De Soto draws a link between government policies, corruption and terrorism. The name the other path is at the same time a reference to the Shining Path Guerrillas in Peru. De Soto has a solution, he asks for sane policy making at every government level. I think Jobie's attorneys would be able to use the text as scientific evidence of what our local government is doing is irrational and illegal. I wish our commissioners and local government officials and inspectors would read thew book, it should be required reading for policymakers: http://www.amazon.com/Other-Path-Economic-Answer-Terrorism/dp/0465016103/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231802680&sr=1-2
Sorry I forgot to mention the original book, it is called: "The Other Path: The Invisible Revolution in the Third World" by Hernando De Soto, this book was very well received as revolutionary in its fresh analysis of economic effects of irrational laws, policies by many including some US presidents
http://www.amazon.com/Other-Path-Invisible-Revolution-Third/dp/0060160209
To: The person who mentioned "The Other Path". Thanks. Logic gives the book immediate credibility, however our U.S. common law has been reduced to precedent cases and in my instance code enforcement was clever enough not to mention art on any of the code violations they issued so the issues could not be argued under 1st amendment protections. All of my violations were actually cleared by a supervisor at code enforcement, but were revoked by the Miami City Attorney's Office and my initial brief is now being defended against by a private law firm representing the City of Miami who will be paid about $65,000.00 of taxpayers money and for what? I break some tile and make some murals. All this translates into this reality-----they create a piece of paper called a fine, which translates into a lien, which is not filed for years, i.e., after the lien has reached, say $200,000.00, I go to sell my home, they then make the lien official by filing at the recorders office and I can't sell my home or obtain a reverse mortgate to pay my bills. It's very difficult to stay in front of their methology/business plan/scam/theft etc. Lawyers are perplexed to defend against such activity so going pro se and ignoring all presedent is an option and it's very stressful.
The truth is that your artwork was the center of the dispute. If you do not fight for your rights, then who will? People of the Grove support you, why don't you start a petition?
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