(WSVN) – A South Florida woman was cited for a code violation and another and another. Some were legit, some were not. So she asked to see who filed the latest complaint. The answer left her looking for answers from Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Pembroke Pines with many beautiful neighborhoods. Peaceful, comfortable–most of the time.
Ruby Freire: “I would like to know what’s going on.”
Ruby’s problems started with her next-door neighbor, who was a Pembroke Pines police officer. Ruby’s dog nipped his dog.
Ruby Freire: “Nobody came to investigate, nobody came to ask us questions, and we were cited $500.”
Ruby thought it was strange the city would only interview the officer and not her, but she didn’t complain and paid the fine.
Things were quiet for a while, till Ruby and her husband’s roof leaked and they put a tarp on it while they battled the insurance company.
Ruby Freire: “And we start getting code violations for the tarps.”
Not legal, Ruby told code enforcement.
Patrick Fraser: “The tarp was OK?”
Ruby Freire: “Right, because it was under litigation.”
But code enforcement wasn’t done.
Ruby Freire: “I got a code violation for my windows, a pergola, and a supposed concrete slab on the side of my home.”
Ruby removed the pergola and got a permit for the windows, which she took the blame for.
Ruby Freire: “My husband was about to be deployed for a year, so I took it upon myself in order to secure my home and feel safe.”
Ruby also removed the strip of concrete that was used to anchor her artificial turf, but…
Ruby Freire: “Then it became about, ‘Your artificial turf is eroding his yard.’”
By now, Ruby had had enough and wanted to know who was filing complaints about her property. She requested the turf complaint from the city.
Ruby Freire: “And they said, ‘Well, we can’t give you that information. It’s redacted.’”
The city said the person who complained was a police officer.
Ruby suspected it was her neighbor who was no longer a Pembroke Pines Police officer.
Ruby Freire: “You have to disclose who the complainant is, so come to find out, it was him.”
When the redaction was removed, it said, “Police Officer complainant: Timothy Cockrell.”
Now, a former officer who is employed by a company that works for Pembroke Pines.
Ruby Freire: “It’s targeted enforcement is what it feels like to me. It’s not just random.”
Turns out the artificial turf her neighbor complained about is legal, but Pembroke Pines believes rocks were installed underneath it, making it illegal.
Ruby Freire: “You’ve elevated the ground on your side, so now this is going to have to go to engineering. And I’m thinking, ‘Well, when does it stop?’”
Some violations were legit. Ruby says some were not. Howard, what can she do?
Howard Finkelstein: “First of all, Pembroke Pines did not follow the law that forces them to reveal who filed the turf complaint against Ruby. They have to do it even if it’s a cop or a former cop. As for the violations, you can’t do anything if they are legit. But how do you prove the city is targeting you for non-violations? It’s darn near impossible.”
I spoke to the head of Pembroke Pines Code Enforcement. Larry Diaco told me they were not targeting Ruby and her husband, that his officers were doing their job.
When I asked why they redacted the name of her neighbor and claimed it was a current police officer, Diaco said it was a mistake and they corrected it.
Ruby’s next-door neighbor, the former officer Tim Cockrell, said, “I don’t care about their violations. I only care about the artificial turf and the water flowing into my yard.”
Ruby then got a third property survey showing their yard had not been elevated. The city then declared they were in compliance.
Ruby Freire: “It’s a big relief to finally be at peace in my own home.”
With everything cleared up, Ruby hopes her battles with her neighbor and the city are over–permanently.
Ruby Freire: “It’s taken a long time for us to get here, and it shouldn’t have taken that long.”
Hopefully, no more headaches for Ruby.
And if code enforcement won’t tell you who filed a complaint against you, contact the city or county manager or attorney. If that doesn’t work, contact us.
Feeling violated? Got no enforcement ability? Come over to our turf cause we have the codes for solutions.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
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