HOLMES BEACH – The fight between city leaders and the ownership of the Bali Hai Beach Resort is continuing, with the Holmes Beach special magistrate levying fines in excess of $1,000 per day against the beachfront property, topping $176,000 so far with no end in sight.
Special Magistrate Michael Connolly vacated an order imposing fines against the property during a November hearing due to an issue with the proceedings not being recorded at a mid-2021 hearing. At a Jan. 19 code compliance special magistrate hearing, Connolly ruled against the resort in seven separate cases with hefty fines assessed.
In a case alleging change of use on the property – the operation of a bar/lounge without an approved site plan from the city – Connolly ruled in the city’s favor, imposing a $500-per-day fine from Oct. 12, 2021, until the property is brought into compliance by either obtaining an approved site plan, including the bar/lounge as an approved use on the property or demolishing the bar/lounge and returning it to its previous state. As of Jan. 30, the fines had reached $54,500. Connolly also assessed $127.24 in administrative costs.
Speaking on behalf of the property’s ownership, which includes local developer Shawn Kaleta, was attorney Louis Najmy. Najmy argued that the bar/lounge wasn’t a change of use, that it had been an existing use on the property, and therefore wouldn’t require a site plan approval.
In late 2021, Najmy took a site plan before the Holmes Beach city commission, requesting that it be approved to include the bar/lounge and the installation of a spa for the use of hotel guests. While commissioners approved a site plan, it didn’t include the bar/lounge requested by Najmy. That site plan approval has since expired due to not being accepted, signed and recorded by the property owners, meaning that the site plan approval process would have to begin again before it could potentially be approved by commissioners.
The conditional site plan approval is being used as an example of the city’s alleged “blackballing” against Kaleta and his business dealings in the city in his ongoing federal lawsuit.
Other code compliance cases heard by Connolly during the Jan. 19 hearing include repeat violations of work done without permits and work done in violation of a stop-work order.
In the case of work being done without permits, Najmy said, “The Bali Hai’s hands are tied” by the city because after-the-fact permits for the work on the property cannot be issued until a site plan is approved by commissioners.
Speaking on behalf of the city, attorney Erica Augello said that Najmy was “asking for forgiveness instead of permission” and argued that if his client had gone through the proper channels before doing construction work at the Bali Hai, neither party would be in this place where fines were being assessed. She also noted that the resort’s ownership had the opportunity to accept an approved site plan from the city and refused.
Connolly assessed fines of $500 per day from June 11, 2021, until the property is brought into compliance, which is $116,500 as of Jan. 30, plus administrative fees of $127.24.
In the repeat violation case of doing construction in violation of a stop-work order, Connolly ruled that the violation was irreparable because the work has already been completed, assessing a flat $5,000 fine, the maximum allowed under city codes for an irreparable code violation, and $127.24 in administrative fees.
In the case of operating a bar/lounge and spa without a business tax receipt (BTR) issued by the city, Connolly also found a violation. Since it wasn’t a repeat violation, Connolly didn’t assess a fine but ordered that the property come into compliance and receive its BTRs for the two uses by Jan. 31 or face future fines. He did assess administrative costs of $127.24.
The issue that Najmy noted with receiving the BTRs from the city is that the property cannot have any outstanding code violations and receive a BTR. Connolly said he wouldn’t hold on fines due to any pending litigation.
“The cost of doing business in Holmes Beach is complying with the law,” Augello said.
“I really just want this to end,” Najmy said, arguing that the city has placed his client in an impossible situation.
Augello said that if the resort’s owner wants issues with the city to end, they should comply with city codes and cease operations of the bar/lounge and spa until they fix the code issues on the property and can receive the BTRs.
In three cases concerning electrical, plumbing and A/C work done without a permit, Connolly ruled that there was a violation and gave the Bali Hai’s ownership until Jan. 31 to obtain the three required permits or face additional fines at an upcoming code compliance hearing. He assessed $127.24 in administrative costs in all three cases.
For those keeping score, that’s the city of Holmes Beach at seven with the Bali Hai at zero, though Najmy has more than one court case pending appealing the decisions of the city’s representatives and alleging wrongdoing against Kaleta.
Connolly said that while he did assess fines against the resort and its ownership, he doesn’t believe that continuing to assess fines is going to remedy the issues between the city and the resort. He encouraged both parties to meet and try to work out a feasible way forward that would remedy the code violations instead of both sides continuing to pursue the matter through hearings.
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