City of Dunedin, Florida 750 Milwaukee Ave. PO Box 1348 Dunedin, FL 34697-1348 vs. Mark R. Reinhardt 12 Wilson St.

Amissville, VA 20106

Petitioner, DCEB Case No.: 13-615 and 13-616

Respondent

Comes now the Respondent, Mark R. Reinhardt, who submits as his Response to Petitioner's Notices of Hearing and Statements of Violation as follows: Proper Notice of Hearing Not Provided to Respondent Petitioner fails to adhere to the requirements of proper Notice as provided by FL 162.06 and FL 162.12. Rule 4, Section 1 of the Dunedin Code Enforcement Board Rules of Procedure requires the Board to first determine if the Petitioner has provided proper Notice. As evidenced below, notice has not been provided in accordance with law, and a hearing on the referenced matters may not proceed. If a hearing were to proceed, any determinations made for or against Petitioner would be unenforceable. The date of mailing, as shown on the Statement of Violation / Request for Hearing signed by both the Clerk of the Enforcement Board and the Code Enforcement Inspector, is August 20, 2013. The date of the requested hearing is September 3, 2013, which is 14 days after the date of mailing. This does not comply with FL 162.12(1)(a) as it does not allow for 30 days after the date of mailing for certification of receipt; If any notice sent by certified mail is not signed as received within 30 days after the date of
mailing, notice may be provided by posting as described in subparagraphs (2)(b)1. And 2. .

The burden is on the Petitioner to comply with due process of service in accordance to statute, without regard to whether or not the alleged violator actually received such notice. and the burden requires Petitioner to provide Evidence that an attempt has been made to hand deliver or mail notice as provided in
subsection (1).

By not allowing 30 days to elapse after the date of mailing, Petitioner has not met the burdens imposed by FL 162.06(2) FL 162.12(1).

DCEB 13-615 & DB 13-616

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162.06Enforcement procedure.

(1)It shall be the duty of the code inspector to initiate enforcement proceedings of the various codes; however, no member of a board shall have the power to initiate such enforcement proceedings. (2)Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4), if a violation of the codes is found, the code inspector shall notify the violator and give him or her a reasonable time to correct the violation. Should the violation continue beyond the time specified for correction, the code inspector shall notify an enforcement board and request a hearing. The code enforcement board, through its clerical staff, shall schedule a hearing, and written notice of such hearing shall be hand delivered or mailed as provided in s. 162.12 to said violator.
162.12Notices.

(1)All notices required by this part must be provided to the alleged violator by: (a)Certified mail to the address listed in the tax collectors office for tax notices, or to any other address provided by the property owner in writing to the local government for the purpose of receiving notices. For property owned by a corporation, notices may be provided by certified mail to the registered agent of the corporation. If any notice sent by certified mail is not signed as received within 30 days after the date of mailing, notice may be provided by posting as described in subparagraphs (2)(b)1. and 2.; 2.Proof of posting shall be by affidavit of the person posting the notice, which affidavit shall include a copy of the notice posted and the date and places of its posting. (c)Notice by publication or posting may run concurrently with, or may follow, an attempt or attempts to provide notice by hand delivery or by mail as required under subsection (1).
Evidence that an attempt has been made to hand deliver or mail notice as provided in subsection (1), together with proof of publication or posting as provided in subsection (2), shall be sufficient to show that the notice requirements of this part have been met, without regard to whether or not the alleged violator actually received such notice. Dunedin Code Enforcement Board Rules of Procedure Rule 4 Section1 The following procedures will be observed in hearings before the Board: a. If it is established that proper notice of a hearing has been provided to the Respondent, a hearing may proceed in the absence of the Respondent.

A response to this Petition by Respondent is separate from and does not constitute the meeting of the burden of legal requirements of Notice for the Petitioner. Ineffective service cannot become effective simply through the Respondent's knowledge of the proceeding. Statutes that govern service of process are to be strictly construed to ensure that a defendant receives notice of the proceedings . The burden of proving the validity of the service of process is on the Plaintiff. Carter v. Lil Joe Records, 829 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). DCEB 13-615 & DB 13-616 Page 2 of 4

[S]trict compliance with service of process procedures is required. Baraban v. Sussman, 439 So. 2d 1046, 1047 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983) (citing - Electro Engg Prods. Co. v. Lewis, 352 So. 2d 862 (Fla. 1977)). The burden of proof to sustain the validity of service of process is on the party seeking to invoke the jurisdiction of the court. Henzel v. Noel, 598 So. 2d 220, 221 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992) (citing Carlini v. State Dept of Legal Affairs, 521 So. 2d 254 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)). Absent strict compliance with the statutes governing service of process, the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant, and the Complaint must be dismissed. Sierra Holding v. Inn Keepers Supply, 464 So. 2d 652 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985).

General Denial of Claims Respondent hereby submits a general denial to the Statements of Violation as provided by Petitioner. Nothing below or herein construes any admittance to any violations of codes stated in the Notice[s] of Hearing, DCEB 13-615 and DCEB 13-616, and any response does not confer the meeting of the service obligations upon Petitioner as per FL 162.06(2) FL 162.12(1).

Affirmative Defenses to Claims by Petitioner Petitioner has created two Statement[s] of Violation / Request[s] for Hearing dated the same day for the same subject Property: 13-615 and 13-616. Respondent herein replies to each and both Statements and Requests in this one response.

In re: DCEB 13-615 00010 Denied. The subject property has regularly-scheduled lawn and vegetation maintenance. As of the date of this Response, the lawn is in compliance.

In re: DCEB 13-616 00010 Denied. A prior tenant abandoned some personal items at the subject property, which have been removed after allowing the time specified by law for a tenant to reclaim their belongings.

00020 Denied. A contractor performs regular maintenance at the subject property and as part of the scope of work inspects and has repaired any windows found to require maintenance. DCEB 13-615 & DB 13-616 Page 3 of 4

00030 Denied. The roof is maintained at regular intervals by a contractor and is in compliance with the cited code.

00040 Denied. The cited code refers to maintenance of a right-of-way. The vegetation in the area cited is not near a right-of-way, and otherwise no specificity is given as to how this section may apply. The subject property is in compliance as of the date of this Response and has regular maintenance by a licensed landscaper.

00050 Denied. The main driveway is not in the condition as described. Respondent believes that Petitioner may be referring to an abandoned driveway that is part of the neighboring parcel to the south. Nevertheless, the cited code section states in full: 302.3 Sidewalks and driveways. All sidewalks, walkways, stairs, driveways, parking spaces and similar areas shall be kept in a proper state of repair, and maintained free from hazardous conditions. The main driveway does indeed satisfy the requirements as outlined in the cited code section.

00060 Denied. A contractor has not found any screens matching the description in the alleged violation.

The foregoing is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Sincerely,

Mark R. Reinhardt Respondent Date:

DCEB 13-615 & DB 13-616

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