A city magistrate on Aug. 14 ordered Compassion Love Center, represented at the hearing by its pastor, to submit a written plan within 30 days to address code violations at a property the ministry controls and to complete repairs or demolition within 180 days, or face financial penalties.

The order follows testimony from the pastor that he and the ministry paid more than $200,000 toward acquiring and renovating the building and that the property had suffered storm damage and ownership disputes. The magistrate said the city would accept a plan that included a sale if a buyer agreed to complete repairs.

Why it matters: the magistrate’s order creates enforceable deadlines and potential daily liens on the property, which the city says will move an outstanding property-safety issue toward compliance.

At the hearing, the pastor described a dispute with an owner named David Stamper and said he had filed a contract to prevent the property from being sold out from under the ministry while legal questions were resolved. The pastor told the magistrate the group had paid “over $200,000” toward the transaction and that a storm had “tore the top off” the building.

City staff told the magistrate they expected a plan in 30 days and repairs completed within 180 days. The magistrate said she would grant the city’s request and warned that a daily $50 lien would begin to accrue if no plan was filed on the 30th day; she also ordered payment of the city’s mailing costs as recorded at the hearing. The magistrate said, “I’m going to grant the city’s request for a written plan that will address the violations on the property.”

The magistrate directed city staff to send a written order to the address provided at the hearing, 211 Taylor Street, Live Oak, Florida. The pastor said he would work with his attorney and consider offers he had received to sell the property if that resolved the dispute.

Discussion versus decision: the record shows discussion about the ownership dispute and cleanup steps; the magistrate issued a formal order (decision) granting the city’s request for a plan and setting the 30- and 180-day deadlines and the $50-per-day lien if deadlines are missed.

Next steps: the property owner or representative must file the 30-day plan with the city; if the plan is not filed, the cited lien and daily fines begin to accrue as described in the hearing record.