IF YOU’VE GOT THE TIME, WE’VE GOT THE PROGRESS — From left, Michael Wojtuniak, professional engineer, and Pete Ferrentino and Paula Outzen, owners of City Limits Taproom & Grille, tell the Volusia County Code Enforcement Board more of the shortcomings found by code-compliance officers will be corrected. Code officers cited Ferrentino and Outzen for several building and zoning violations last year, but the number of infractions has been reduced to four. Code staffers conceded additional violations will be resolved with the creation of a final site plan, which may be finished in a few months.
Acknowledging progress by the business’s owner to comply with building and property standards, the Volusia County Code Enforcement Board has once again given the owner of City Limits Taproom & Grille more time to cure violations or face stiff fines.
“It’s like a herd of elephants lifted off me,” Pete Ferrentino, owner of the business, told The Beacon. “There’s nothing worse than going to work and being fined for it.”
The board voted April 17 to allow City Limits owner Ferrentino at least until June 19 before acting to impose fines of as much as $1,000 per day for four outstanding code violations. The fines were set to be levied beginning April 18, had the Code Enforcement Board not granted more time to correct the problems.
“I’m here to actually request a little bit more time before more and more fines continue,” Mike Wjtunick, an engineer hired by Ferrentino to draw a site plan for the business, told the panel.
Wojtunick said a delay in getting a survey of the property had hindered him from creating and submitting a conceptual site plan. The conceptual site plan, he added, has already been submitted, and it is awaiting review and comments from county staffers.
County code-enforcement officers had cited Ferrentino for several alleged violations of the county’s building and zoning regulations on City Limits, located at 4425 North U.S. Highway 17. The county had originally accused Ferrentino of violating at least seven rules, but the number of outstanding violations is now down to four, and those counts may be reduced or eliminated in the coming weeks and months.
The four counts remaining include:
— Erecting a fence without a permit
— Construction of a stage and shed without securing building permits and inspections
— Not having an approved site plan for the business’s premises
— Having a truck as an “accessory structure”
“That truck has been since removed,” Wojtunick said.
He and Ferrentino promised the other violations will be resolved with the completion and submission of a final site plan. The board agreed to extend Ferrentino’s time to come into compliance.
“Fines definitely tended to spur action. You’ve done everything you can do,” Code Enforcement Board Member Pete Zahn said to Wojtunick. “A concept [site plan] puts it into review with the county to give you comments. One of them is most likely going to be about the final site plan. That’s going to bring in all the stormwater, everything else associated with it. … The site plan’s going to clarify issues for everybody.”
“My feeling is the conceptual is a great first start,” Zahn added, “and it’s a way to start talking about it, but the final site plan is going to be where you’ve got specific items … I think you need more [time].”
Code Compliance Officer Chris Hutchison reminded the board there could be other violations at City Limits in the offing.
“Events are still taking place on the property. They’re still using an area on the property for parking, an area that they’re not supposed to be parking in,” Hutchison said.
“They did move the truck,” he conceded.
The county’s enforcement arm voiced support for the board’s action toward Ferrentino’s and City Limits.
“Staff is fine with the decision the board made. It’s taken us a while to get here, but we are making progress,” county Building and Zoning Director Kerry Leuzinger said.
Ferrentino promised to work harder to correct any violations sooner than mid-June, if possible. On past occasions, he has complained about unclear, unspecific and changing comments from county code officers regarding possible violations on City Limits’ property.
“We’re guilty of running a business,” he said.
These code people are Nazis, enjoy their petty control over others.
“On past occasions, he has complained about unclear, unspecific and changing comments from county code officers regarding possible violations on City Limits’ property.” Which brings up the idea suggested by Mr. Ferrentino to Volusia County Chairman Jeff Brower regarding body cameras for all CE officers. When is that going to start happening? Also, why are the CEB hearings not streamed and archived like the Council meetings are, Planning, ECHO and other taxpayer-funded public meetings are? There is only one archived CEB hearing on YouTube and it is quite frightening to hear how aggressively they treat and summarily dismiss property owners. I guess they don’t want the public to see that.