Again attending the June 13th City of Plantation City Council meeting it was obvious my previous post “Corruption at City of Plantation City Hall!” struck a nerve with the council members, especially Mayor Diane Veltri Bendekovic. After asking Police Chief Harrison up to the podium, I tried to explain to Mayor Bendekovic that he was not responsible for landscaping code enforcement and that is when Danny Holmes, Director Department of Planning Zoning and Economic Development stepped up to the podium.

Danny Holmes could not explain to the council the reason why Christopher Longsworth, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, INVESCA Development Group, Strata at Plantation‘s swale has not been fined for the habitual code offenses. For ten years now, no one has been able to tell me why. I’ve been lied to by this City Council on so many occasions I cannot count. All I have gotten is promises of compliance with not one time has this property been in “compliance”.

On May 31st, 2018, Diana Berchielli, Chief Landscape Plans Examiner updated the violation to Complied! Seeing the property everyday, I disagreed with the property being in compliance but yet the City of Plantation says it is! The Special Magistrate holds others to the property must be completely in compliance to have been complied.

Mayor Bendekovic then chimed in by saying she did not appreciate the word I used. Not wanting to say the word and after asking a number of times, what word? Mayor Bendekovic leaned over to turn her microphone on and said it; “Corruption.” Saying she did not like me making the claim that the City of Plantation was Corrupt.

Asking a number of times what she would call having a property cited September 19th, 2016 and not been brought threw the process; hearing before the Special Magistrate to confirm a fine and fine the property? Never got a response because as I pressed her for an answer Council President, Lynn Hess Stoner moved the conversation on.

Danny Holmes then proceeded to claim that the property was in compliance sometime in the last year and that was the reason it was marked COMPLIED.

Danny Holmes then asked if he could speak with me outside the Council Chambers. Outside, I continued to press him why Diana Berchielli marked the violation as complied? He could not give me an answer other than the property complied and suggested I come into his office to meet with both him and Diana Berchielli. Calling the next day and speaking with Christy, a meeting was setup for Monday, June 18th, 2018 at 9:00 AM.

Arriving at 8:50 AM, signed in and at 9:01 AM brought to the conference room at the Plantation Economic Development City Government Office. Both Danny Holmes and Diana Berchielli walked in at 9:10 AM.

During this forty minute meeting, Diana Berchielli said a few things of note: the Building Director directed the landscaping team to not pursue fines for the violations. Some time during the time elapsed from September of 2016 and May 31, 2018 the property had been brought up to compliance. She could not tell me when or provide any substantiation of compliance but that the property had complied.

Seeing the property everyday and have been documenting the swale on this property here on PPEHOA Has Got To Go there is no way the property has complied in the timeline. They just finished installing the irrigation system last week but have yet to see it working. Added shrubbery a few weeks back that all died because of no irrigation and the way the shrubbery was planted.

As you can see by the images above the property was NEVER in compliance, clean, green, healthy shrubbery, mulched, irrigation installed with rust inhibitor and lush green healthy grass! Diana Berchielli words, not mine and the property NEVER complied to her words but she repeated herself over and over that the property was in compliance.

I am offended and it’s completely unacceptable that an official of the City of Plantation continually basically makes stuff up and the resident that looks at the property has no validity! This is my basis of corruption within the City of Plantation City Hall!

All Danny Holmes could say was was that when he took his position in September of 2016, he was made aware of the issue and had the property cited. Which can be validated by the fact that the City of Plantation Code Enforcement Online Activity Search shows the property was cited on September 19, 2016. On September 28, 2017 a Check for Hearing Compliance note was entered and the issue was dropped because of the Building Director of the City of Plantation stopped Code Enforcement from Scheduling Hearing for a Confirmation of Fine.

Yet entered the property was Not Complied 56: Check for Hearing Compliance Result by: Matthew Rogers on 02/03/2017 at 12:00 AM and Diana Berchielli enters the property Complied 9/28/2017 12:00 AM Matthew Rogers 5/31/2018 8:12 AM!

Danny Holmes gave me his word that he will follow up personally with the property to insure it will be brought up to compliance. Basically I’ve heard this for the last decade! They cannot go back but want to go forward and my response is that this property has not, was not in compliance and should have been fined. Danny Holmes response was that his job was to get properties into compliance, not fine them.

For the past four years of Christopher Longsworth, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, INVESCA Development Group, Strata at Plantation‘s swale has not been in compliance and not been fined! With his focus there should not be one fine being assessed to a resident or business in the City of Plantation and as a result:

Corruption at City of Plantation City Hall!

Upon arriving home after the meeting the dead shrubbery was being removed and new shrubbery was being planted.

If you have ever been in violation of an ordinance, did the Mayor take the time to call and speak to you to have you comply? How about the Director of the Department of Planning Zoning and Economic Development call and speak to you to have you comply?

Christopher Longsworth, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, INVESCA Development Group, Strata at Plantation‘s has been called by both!

Corruption at City of Plantation City Hall!