UPDATED 01-11-13*

We already know that the City of North Miami Beach has a Zoning and Land Development Code.  It’s in the City Code Part II, Chapter XXIV, entitled Zoning and Land Development.  Under Article I, Section 24-12*, there used to be language stating what family members may or may not dwell in a single family home.  Once upon a time, I was able to find this section online, which defined the word “family” as:

Family:  One (1) or more persons occupying a dwelling, not more than three (3) of whom are unrelated to each other by birth, adoption, or marriage, and who are living and cooking as a single household. (Ord. No. 92-9, § 2, 6-16-92)

I just went to try to look it up again on the city’s website and found this curious insert:

Secs. 24-8 – 24-20  Reserved

Reserved?  REALLY?  Reserved for what???

SOMEONE REMOVED SEC. 24-12 FROM THE CITY’S WEBSITE!  What’s up with that?

[NOTE: I have been advised by the city’s IT Department that the Ordinance in Question is under Article I, Sec. 24-22, and that 24-12 was a typographical error.  I check and it is on the city’s website.  YAY!]

Now, you may ask where I’m going with this.  Well, here goes.  This is long, so bear with me.

According to the most recent voter registration records I have from the State of Florida, there are eight (8) registered voters claiming to live at 2120 NE 171 Street, North Miami Beach, Florida 33162, which happens to be the residence of North Miami Beach councilman Frantz Pierre.  As you know, “registered voters” must be at least eighteen years of age.  If there are eight (8) registered voters living in one house, with a combination of five (5) different last names, what are the chances that every single one of them are “related by birth, adoption, or marriage?”

Considering that the owner of the property, Frantz Pierre, was born on January 7, 1965, and considering that he is probably married to one of the other seven (7) registered voters, what are the chances that he is the parent, either by birth or adoption, of the remaining six (6) voters?  Considering that it’s common knowledge that all of Frantzie’s five children are younger than eighteen and probably not registered to vote, then logic would lead us to believe the remaining six voters are NOT his children.

DUH!

Using my powers of deduction, it sure seems to me that councilman Frantz Pierre is in violation of the Code of the city in which he is an elected official!

Trying to get the Code Enforcement Department of the City of North Miami Beach to actually enforce the city’s Code is a lesson in futility.  Unless, of course, you happen to NOT be an elected official.  Then it seems all bets are off.

On December 3, 2012, I filed a formal complaint with City Manager Roslyn Weisblum, stating:

Dear Ms. Weisblum,

This letter will serve as a formal complaint that Mr. Frantz Pierre may in violation of City Ordinance No. 92-9 by having “more than three (3) of whom are unrelated to each other by birth, adoption, or marriage, and who are living and cooking as a single household. (Ord. No. 92-9, § 2, 6-16-92)” According to the most recent voter rolls from Miami-Dade County, there are eight (8) registered voters living at 2120 NE 171 Street, North Miami Beach, FL 33162.  You can see all the details on my column from this morning at https://www.votersopinion.com/?p=7021.

If, in fact, you do determine that there are more than three individuals living at his home “who are unrelated to each other by birth, adoption, or marriage,” I expect that you and/or the Code Enforcement Officer will take appropriate action by citing the violation and making sure the violation is corrected within a reasonable amount of time. Please notify me immediately once you determine whether or not a violation has been committed so that I may take further action, if necessary.Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Stephanie Kienzle

No response.

On December 18, 2012, I sent the following email to Ms. Weisblum:

Still waiting for a response to this complaint.  An acknowledgement would be nice.

Stephanie Kienzle

On December 19, 2012, Roz wrote back:

I am not certain as to what is required to receive a voter’s registration at a particular address.  I called the City Clerk’s office and it appears that in addition to a government photo ID, another document such as utility bill or bank statement with the name and address is also required.  However, I am not sure how a child of the owner of the property who has reached the age of majority would obtain a voter’s registration if they could not provide a bill.

I have not obtained any information that indicates that the Ordinance you mentioned below has been violated.

Sincerely,

Roz

WTF?  Did I ask her about registering to vote???

I, of course, immediately wrote her back:

Ms. Weisblum,

You did not answer my question.  How many people live in Frantz Pierre’s house?

As I researched:

Under “Article II, Sec. 24-12 Language,”  which deals with the definitions of terms used in the the “North Miami Beach Zoning and Land Development Code.”  One of the items defined is the word “family” as:

Family:  One (1) or more persons occupying a dwelling, not more than three (3) of whom are unrelated to each other by birth, adoption, or marriage, and who are living and cooking as a single household. (Ord. No. 92-9, § 2, 6-16-92)

If Frantz has more than three unrelated adults, as described in the ordinance, living in his house, he is in violation of the Code.

Therefore, I ask again, How many people live in Frantz Pierre’s house?

Thank you,

Stephanie Kienzle

To which she responded on December 20, 2012:

I am sorry to say that I have no means of an answering your question.  Other than the knowledge that Mr. Pierre has a large family, I have no way of knowing the number of people residing in the home.

Roz

I promptly responded with:

Apparently, then, the City of North Miami Beach has no way of enforcing its building Code.  Therefore, I am contending that any resident or business owner who receives a Notice of Violation need not comply.  If a CITY COUNCILMAN can allegedly violate the City Code with no consequences, everyone else is now feel free to do the same.

Thank Frantz Pierre for setting the precedent for the rest of us!  I’ll be spreading the word.

Roz ignored me, so on January 9, 2013, I sent the Formal Complaint to the Code Compliance Manager, Eric Wardle, with the following email:

Dear Mr. Wardle,

As you can see by the below email chain, I have been trying to ascertain whether or not councilman Frantz Pierre is in violation of City Ordinance No. 92-9.  At the present time, there are eight (8) registered voters residing at 2120 NE 171 Street, North Miami Beach, Florida 33162, which is the house of Frantz Pierre.  To my knowledge, Mr. and Mrs. Pierre represent two (2) of those eight (8) registered voters; however, none of the remaining six (6) registered voters are related to Mr. or Mrs. Pierre by birth, adoption, or marriage.”  Our City Ordinance No. 92-9 states that there shall be not more than three (3) persons living in a single family home in North Miami Beach that are not related by birth, adoption, or marriage.  To my knowledge, in addition to these eight (8) registered voters residing at the house located at 2120 NE 171 Street, North Miami Beach, Florida 33162, Mr. and Mrs. Pierre also have five (5) minor children, none of whom are registered to vote.

Mr. Wardle, I have been advised by Rhonda Sibilia of the Miami-Dade County Commission on Ethics and Public Trust that the enforcement of our city’s Code is the responsibility of the Code Enforcement Officer.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to:

1.  Determine if Frantz Pierre is in violation of City Ordinance No. 92-9 by having more than three persons living in his home who are not related by birth, adoption, or marriage; and

2.  If you determine that there are more than three persons living in his home who are not related by birth, adoption, or marriage, it is your responsibility to issue a Notice of Violation to the owner of the property; and

3.  If the owner of the property does not bring his property into compliance with the Code, you must do whatever is within your jurisdiction to enforce the Code, including but not limited to assessing applicable fines until the violation has been cured.

I expect you will follow through on this Formal Complaint in a timely manner and advise me of the outcome of your findings.

If you do not take this complaint seriously and use every resource at your disposal, including the power of Subpoena, in order to determine whether or not Frantz Pierre is in violation of the city’s Code, you will have left me no choice but to take action by filing a lawsuit with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida in Miami-Dade County.  I am fully prepared to do so, if necessary.  I hope this will not be the case.

Thank you in advance for your assistance and cooperation in this matter.  I remain,

Yours very truly,

Stephanie Kienzle

Mr. Wardle wrote back on the same day:

Ms Kienzle,

I already responded to this question, you don’t need anything from me to make a complaint to the Florida Elections Commission. 

Eric L. Wardle Jr.

To which I replied:

Mr. Wardle,

You did NOT answer the question, which was, “How many people live in Frantz Pierre’s house?”  If you do not know the answer to this question, please tell me how you determined that he is not in violation of the City Code.

Thank you,
Stephanie Kienzle

Mr. Wardle pulled a Roz and did not respond.  He did return my phone call, though, and gave me another non-answer.  When I pressed him to tell me how he arrived at the conclusion that Frantz Pierre is in compliance with the Code, he said, “Because councilman Pierre told me he was in compliance.”

Alrighty then.

Mr. Wardle also said that just because the State of Florida Elections Department lists the names of people who are registered as voters at a particular address, doesn’t mean he should assume they live there.  WTF?

The conversation became a tad heated when I told him I wanted something in writing stating exactly how he determined that Frantz was in compliance with the Code.  I also told him I expected him to consult with city attorney Darcee “Street Furniture” Siegel before putting something in writing.  He confirmed that he would.

No kidding!  Nothing gets put in writing in the City of North Miami Beach without a big fat CYA.  And to whom better to turn than the one who is the expert at concocting CYA excuses than Ms. Siegel?  Whatever.  His eventual written response to me should be interesting to say the least.

So, here’s the thing.  I’ve come to four conclusions so far:

1.  Councilman Frantz Pierre is most definitely in violation of the city’s Code.

2.  Code Enforcement Manager Eric Wardle claims that Frantz Pierre is in compliance with the Code, but has yet to tell me how he made this determination other than “Frantzie said so.”

3.  City Manager Roslyn Weisblum is clueless about pretty much everything.

4.  City Attorney Darcee Siegel will probably figure out a way to cover both their and Frantzie’s asses in an attempt to shut me up.

And here is my opinion:

1.  If a sitting Councilman cannot comply with his own city’s Code, he must be made to follow the rules.

2.  If the Code Compliance Manager cannot enforce the Code, he’s not doing his job and he must be fired.

3.  If the City Manager cannot get the Code Compliance Manager to do his job, she’s not doing her job and she must be fired.

4.  If the City Attorney continues to cover the asses of the above three individuals, she’s not doing her job and she must be fired.

But, most importantly, if the Mayor and Council do not demand that their employees do their jobs, then Mayor and Council are not doing their jobs and they need to be fired!

That’s my warning shot.

Capish?

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”