Case Notes: evidentiary issues
Posted on Saturday, July 9th, 2022 at 8:13 amCompare BCC, BZA, and CEB agendas.
At the same BCC meeting during which Ordinance 2016-19 was adopted, the lawyer-son of the resident of 7506 Cielo Ct, Vera Clark, appeared to ask for a zoning variance in order to avoid a pending zoning violation. At the hearing Commissioner Edwards effectively found the resident guilty of the violation. That is, he urged the variance be denied because he objected to "after-the-fact" variances. I think I would like to know more. I would like to talk to the resident, to the lawyer-son, and I would also like to review the transcript of the hearing to properly quote Edwards.
I am now receiving BCC agendas by email. I think I would like to contact the person sending the email to see if they can help me get to archived agendas that are not available on the County’s website. They may also direct me to archived agendas of the BZA and CEB.
I have found OrangeTV’s internet archive of BZA meeting videos – https://netapps.ocfl.net/Mod/meetings/2
I have created a FileMaker database that allows me to find the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth, weekday of each month for any year between 2002 to 2022. This helps to identify the date of regularly scheduled meetings of the CEB, BZA, and BCC.
I have absolutely no idea how I will reduce a collection of agendas to a comparative database that can identify people who went to the BZA after a CEB hearing.
I have collected (from general Google web-searches) BCC agendas that do reference "code enforcement action" and "code violation." This does provide some evidence that code enforcement pushes people to seek BZA and BCC approval of something. It doesn’t prove the BZA and BCC adjudicate additional violations in the process. Transcripts of these proceedings might help to do that.
Bird prices.
I still need to reach out to FWC licensees to establish bird prices and/or code enforcement interference.
I have created an email list of Orange County FWC licensees. But I’ve yet to draft an email. I am slow to resolve my concerns about their reaction to signing an affidavit, or to testifying. And I am thinking that I should do an email, get some prospects, and then ask about that, rather than ask about it in the first email.
I have also drafted an email to FWC requesting all licensees. I feel I need to cast a wider net to establish change in bird pricing. In particular, all Florida licensees would put me in touch with more bird stores … and bird stores will provide the most reliable evidence of price change.
I have thought about contacting Jerry Jennings. But I don’t want to hear him tell me how much he wants to be paid to be a professional witness. Not right now, anyway.