City of Miami Code Enforcement Appeal Hearings - July 16, 2026
City of Miami Code Enforcement Appeal Hearings - July 16, 2026
Hearing Officer Dawn Grace Jones presided over appeal hearings for code enforcement violations on July 16, 2026, in Miami. The hearings allowed alleged violators to contest inspector decisions. The hearing officer explained she would determine whether the violation occurred and whether the respondent was responsible. Most cases were resolved by settlement, with one contested trial and many no-shows.
Consent Calendar
The majority of cases were resolved through settlement agreements. The hearing officer affirmed the violation and ordered payment of the agreed fine. Settled cases included:
- 1284 NW 51st St: $200
- 420 NW 3rd Ave: $500
- 1249 NW 78th St: $250
- 1884 NW 52nd St: $250
- 1365 NW 60th St: $250
- 3250 W Trade Ave: $250
- 1721 S Bay Shore Lane: $250
- 1531 NW 62nd Terrace: $250
- 2945 Bridgeport Ave: $250
- 3204 Bird Ave Unit 117: $250
- 6728 NW 4th Ct: $100
- 31 NW 58th St: $250
- 553 SW 8th St: $250
- 3165 Jackson St Unit 3: $250
- 1490 NW 69th St: $250
- 353 NE 61st St: $250
- 1833 NW 45th St: $250
- 1740 NW 41st St: $250
- 1822 NW 45th St: dismissed (violation did not occur)
- 3106 NW 23rd Ave: $100
- 2727 SW 26th Ave: $250
- 3201 Elizabeth St (second ticket): $75
- Plus many other cases with similar $250 fines.
Discussion Items
Contested Case – 3201 Elizabeth Street Inspector Stephen Haynes testified that on May 19, 2026, he issued a $75 ticket for overgrown grass encroaching into the public right-of-way at 3201 Elizabeth Street. The city introduced a composite exhibit (pages 1–39) including photos, the ticket, notices, and property records. The respondent, Randy Carbaio, argued that certified mail notice arrived after the violation date and that they would have cured if given time. The hearing officer noted that the property was posted on the violation date, providing initial notice. She found the violation occurred and the respondent was responsible. She upheld the ticket and imposed an additional $100 in court costs, totaling $175.
No-Shows and Other Rulings Numerous respondents failed to appear. For each, the city confirmed proper notice via posting, certified mail, and email (where applicable). The hearing officer ordered these tickets upheld, including one case where the respondent initially appeared but left before completing the process (1748 NW 58th St). One case (page 102, 946 SW 4th St) was called as a no-show after a property manager indicated the owner was delayed; the hearing officer said she would consider a motion to reconsider if the owner arrived later. Page 21 was reset to September 16, 2026.
Key Outcomes
- The contested ticket for 3201 Elizabeth Street was upheld with a $175 total penalty.
- All settlement agreements were approved, with fines ranging from $75 to $500.
- Dozens of no-show cases resulted in tickets being upheld due to proper notice.
- One case (1822 NW 45th St) was dismissed because the violation did not occur.
- The hearing was adjourned after all cases were processed.
Meeting Transcript
So I agree with you, I don't want to be right. So everyone, we're going to stay as quiet as possible. And if you go over to speak with the code enforcement person to try to work things out if you can, and if that's your desire, um, quiet, quiet with it, please. Thank you. We're gonna start. I'm just signing some documents, but we'll go ahead and start. Good morning, everyone. My name is Dawn Grace Jones on this July 16th, and I'm the person assigned to hear these cases, and we usually start with the pledge of allegiance. I'm going to ask that we all stand and do the pledge, please. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you're given today is the truth, the whole truth, and a nothing but the truth. Thank you. You may be seated. Carefully, please. So I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you to this meeting or the city of Miami appeal hearings. My name is stated is Dawn Grace Jones, and I am the hearing officer assigned to hear these cases today. These hearings are conducted by the City of Miami, and I'm the officer to hear this. The purpose of these hearings is to give the alleged violators the opportunity to appeal the decision of the code enforcement inspector of the issuance of that violation. Right? And that's why we're here. And if I find that it's reliable, regardless of any common law, I will admit that evidence. And these are that's for those who are having a full hearing. Because a lot of you may have settled your cases. And when I do that, I'm looking at two things, whether the violation occurred and whether the person named is responsible for that violation. So those are the only two things I really look at, and that's what you'd have to disprove, right? Failure to comply with once I make a determination would be a problem. I will give the amount of the civil penalty. Failure to comply within the time or will result in referral to the code enforcement board, which may cost additional fines per day. That's when you have that per diem fine and it goes up every day. That's when that happens. Okay. So after the code enforcement inspector has put on their case at this podium, everyone here will go to this podium one at a time, and you'll put on your case. Now that's provided you have a full hearing again. If you are settling, we'll do the settlements first, and they'll you'll be called one at a time and you'll go to this podium. That's how that works. And the reason we do that is I need to make sure this is what you've agreed to. And so after you agree, if you agree, or after you do your case, whatever you do there, you're going to come up to the clerk here. There are two copies of each order, and you're going to sign both, and then you're going to take one, and that's yours, and the city keeps one. So that's just the order of things. We can start now, everyone. You can call the first case. Okay. That's 821. I'm sorry, would you not? No, that's the baby. So we're trying to do that first. Oh, you want this? Yeah. Okay, my question. Okay. First case page 82.
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