Special Magistrate Scott Kleinman reduced a certified code-enforcement lien against Ace Real Estate Group LLC to $15,000, plus a $150 administrative fee, and ordered the amount to be paid by July 1 or at closing, whichever occurs first. The magistrate made the decision after hearing testimony from the property owner, Alberto Fernandez, and presentations by city staff about service of notice and the history of the violation.

Kleinman said he was offering a settlement below the reductions allowed in the city ordinance and described his aim as enforcing compliance rather than collecting revenue. "I'm not a big fine person. I believe code enforcement is intended to create compliance, not revenue," Kleinman said during the hearing. He told Fernandez he would reduce the certified amount to $15,000 and set a payment schedule tied to a closing date or a July 1 deadline.

Fernandez told the hearing he and his family have lived in Cooper City since 1987 and that Ace Real Estate bought the property in 2012 as an investment. He said the tenant built a pergola on a dock without a permit and that the owner did not receive proper mailed notices because mailings had been sent to addresses the company no longer used. Fernandez said the pergola had been removed on Feb. 16, 2024, and that the lien was blocking a current sale. "We did our best to resolve this situation as soon as we were properly notified," Fernandez told the magistrate.

City staff presented photographs of the structure on the dock and said certified notice had been mailed to the owner of record listed on the Broward County Property Appraiser website. A city representative stated that, for code enforcement cases, properly mailed notice constitutes notice even if the owner did not actually receive the mail. The city also noted that the lien remains a record against Ace Real Estate LLC and can affect other properties the LLC owns in Broward County.

Kleinman described two options previously on the table: (1) a partial release limited by city code, which staff said likely would not qualify for this case, or (2) a reduction beyond the ordinance's standard reductions. Kleinman said he was going beyond the ordinance's standard authority in this instance to offer an exceptional reduction. He allowed Fernandez to consider whether to accept the settlement or have the backup assistant magistrate, Angel Rosenberg, rehear the case at the April docket.

Fernandez asked whether Kleinman's settlement would be final or subject to appeal. City counsel clarified that there is no appeal to the city commission from the magistrate's reduction hearing; any appeal would be to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. City counsel also noted the city could cross-appeal if a party sought judicial review. Fernandez ultimately accepted the magistrate's proposed terms.

The magistrate's order will include the $150 administrative fee and any filing fees owed; Kleinman said the total due would be reflected in the written order. The magistrate also noted that if the reduced amount is not paid by the deadline, the lien and associated enforcement remedies remain available to the city.

The hearing record shows the magistrate considered the length of time the violation existed, the property's ownership and mailing-address history, and the impact of the lien on Fernandez's ability to sell the property. The case was recalled near the end of the docket and resolved with the ordered payment terms.