BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Starke doubled the number of new code enforcement cases in 2024 and is ready to start foreclosing on several noncompliant properties.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Jimmy Crosby, Starke opened 72 new cases for code violations last year, including overgrown yards, dangerous structures, unsafe electrical connections, fire damage, accumulation of trash and debris, hazardous lands, and working without a permit.
Crosby showed the commission several before-and-after examples from completed cases.
“We’re seeing real progress happening on these cases. In fact, of the 72, I think half of them have already been resolved one way or another,” he said. One case he highlighted resulted in an Orange Street property being purchased and developed. Many will remember it as the site of an extravagant annual Christmas display. The long abandoned property was acquired and cleared, and two new homes were constructed.
“How you get there gets it to be a little bit tough sometimes, but that’s the goal,” Crosby said of the outcome.
There were 12 code enforcement cases in 2022, 36 in 2023 and 72 in 2024. This will continue is there is a lot more to be done, according to Crosby. Complaints from the public get first attention, but the city is also zeroing in on the most egregious cases, he said. They will be moving through the town so no one section is targeted.
“We can’t do it all at one time. It’s kind of like eating the elephant. We’re going to take a piece at a time, work our way through the town and systematically try to make the corrections needed,” he said.
Crosby and Attorney Danielle Adams then went over four properties that have been through the code enforcement process without resolution, and so the city intends to begin foreclosure procedures to get the properties auctioned, or to take the properties, clean them up and sell them.
Adams explained that first the properties will go to auction to see if anyone is willing to purchase them and clean and them up. They will have to exceed the amount of the accumulated fines to satisfy the city’s lien. If there isn’t a bidder who exceeds the amount of the fines accumulated, then the city is the top bidder. It can then sell the property to recoup its liens and other costs.
The first property is 725 E. Laura St., which was damaged by a tornado prior to the owner passing away. Crosby said the bank never saw value in dealing with it, and now the $107,000 in accumulated code enforcement fines surpass the value of the property.
Also on the list is 221 W. Lafayette St. — the old Checkers restaurant — which was first cited in 2019. It was demolished in 2023, but site cleanup was never completed, leading to an additional citation. Fines are now more than $174,000.
The case for 1004 S. Water St., and old convenience store at the corner of Stansbury Street, was opened in 2020. Fines are now more than $145,000.
Finally, there is a mobile home at 1435 Grove St., the subject of two cases opened in 2020 and 2022. Fines are now more than $60,000.
“Hopefully folks will start responding positively to our codes that we have by ordinance, and work with us and getting them in line. But I can tell you, we bend over backwards to work to try to get it first cleaned up and appropriate to the neighborhood, and this is only a last resort,” Crosby said.
Adams said the city is looking for code compliance, not an excuse to take properties, but the city is also responsible for eliminating dangerous properties. The properties need to be in the hands of someone who can to something productive with them.
Mayor Andy Redding highlighted these points.
“We have other adjacent taxpayers [and] they deserve to have their property protected, and they can’t really do it, and it falls on us to protect them as taxpayers. And it is an exhaustive process, and people have been given every opportunity to be compliant. So, there is no land grabbing. There is no ‘we are taking’ anything. It’s the city of Starke for the benefit of the greater good,” he said.
Commissioners gave their blessing to enter these four lawsuits and approved the additional attorney fees of $5,000 per case, which the city could recoup if the properties are sold.
To enhance its efforts Starke Code Enforcement will bring measures for the board to approve, including an update to the city’s abandoned vehicle ordinance. Crosby said they also want to reestablish registration of vacant and abandoned property owners.
“The purpose in that is so we have somebody to contact and say, ‘Hey, look, you’re leaving us with a bad piece of property. I know you might live in Timbuktu, but you need to come here and clean this up, or get somebody to clean it up for you, because it’s an eyesore for the rest of us,’” he said.
They also plan to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code. This would establish minimum maintenance standards for existing buildings, regulating appearance, upkeep and sanitation to ensure public health and safety.
