Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Update on the illegal boarding house

The story about the illegal boarding house at 1303 E. New Orleans Ave has become more interesting.

Their Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) license as a Rooming House has been cancelled. They satisfied all of the fire marshal violations. Their kitchen was closed down.

However they are now licensed by the DBPR as a Transient Apartment #TAP391589 as of June 28, 2005

This is very curious given that they would not seem to satisfy the licensing requirements for a Transient Apartment just as they would not have seemed to satisfy the requirements as a Rooming House.

Namely, as I noted in my prior posting,

In 2002 Clifford Hill Boarding House (AHCA license number 7286) had fines from the AHCA from several years of deficiencies totaling $30,750. (Case numbers 2000-05568, 2001-05487, 2001-055540, 2001-05541, 2001-06530). On 7/12/2002 the Agency for Health Care Administration denied their ALF license renewal.

and that in the DBPR license application for any public lodging (Section 6)
"Has any person interested in the operation of this establishment, whether owner, operator, agent, lessee or manager, had a license for an Adult Living Facility at this establishment denied, suspended or revoked pursuant to section 400.414, FS, within the last five (5) years?."


Give the above, how is it they obtained a Rooming House license to begin with, and now a Transient Apartment? Especially since information was provided on mutliple occassions to DBPR that Clifford Hills was in apparent violation of Section 6 prior to the granting of their Transient Apartment license.

Second. Regardless of which license they have, since 9/23/04 they still are still facing fines of $60.00 a day after being found guilty by the Code Enforcement Board for failing to cease operation of illegal rooming house.

This facility now could be foreclosed by the City. Yet this has not happened. So Clifford Hill continues to operate illegally. Why has the City not shut this facility down?

A new twist. I have received information from neighbors, that the people who operated Clifford Hill may be operating some sort of facility at 811 E. Cayuga. Like 1303 E. New Orleans, this address is also zoned as RS-50, single family residence. Is this the case of another illegal boarding house?


If this information is correct, how is it these people can continue to run these facilities illegally?

2 comments:

RohanaC said...

Hey, blogman, this has nothing to do with your good article. I just wanted to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Hope you eat tons of key lime pie (have a piece for me too since I can't eat it myself).
See you soon, birtday boy!

Anonymous said...

this sounds like a perfect case for some of our local news "investigative reporters". what do you think would happen if there were a house fire there? or say perhaps, one of the 4 or 5 resident sex offenders happens to walk into the neighbor's yard where her 6 year old is playing? as for code fines racking up, big deal. if no one ever forces you to pay or comply why bother? my neighbor has $188,000 in fines...and his house still looks like crap. you can thank judge dominguez for that one.