St. Lucie Board Slaps $250 Daily Fines on Five Properties

The St. Lucie County Code Enforcement Board levied $250-per-day fines against five properties Tuesday, with potential maximum penalties stretching as high as $50,000. In at least one case, tenants are living inside a building with a roof violation that has gone unaddressed for months.

The board's largest fine landed on German American Trading and Tourism Corporation, owner of a property at 2510 Tamarin Drive in Fort Pierce, where a damaged roof has remained unrepaired since December 2025. The maximum penalty was set at $50,000. A special magistrate noted the building is occupied by tenants, a detail that sharpened the urgency of the violation. A second $50,000 cap was imposed on Brenda Lagrange at 5603 South Indian River Drive, where pod containers and construction debris have accumulated in violation of county storage rules.

Three additional properties drew fines with lower caps. A&E Grading LLC faces up to $15,000 for running vegetation removal operations on Shawnee Avenue without the required permit. The situation began in September 2025 and has persisted through repeated unanswered citation attempts. "They're just operating their business," investigating officer Morera told the board. Juan Carlos Vasquez Canto's vacant lot on Avenue S received a $10,000 maximum fine for vegetation debris storage. Doreen Oakley's West Joy Lane property faces up to $5,000 for a broken window that remains unrepaired.

Not all Tuesday cases ended in fines. The board granted Wade Watson until June 1 to remove a fence section at his U.S. Highway 1 pizza restaurant, with county staff floating a sail shade as an alternative covering for HVAC equipment. Palmetto Yacht Management won a six-month extension through November for its Orange Avenue semi-truck service operation while required land development amendments work through the approval process.

Dr. Daniel Waznowski was ordered to replace a failed culvert pipe on Southeast Camino Street by June 1 despite his argument that recent ditch-digging had fixed his drainage problems. County water quality inspector Jim O'Connor presented photos showing rusted holes in the pipe still bleeding sediment into the system. The county offered Waznowski access to a culvert assistance program carrying a 2.5% fixed interest rate over 10 years.

A contractor permit case at Nettles Island was continued to May 15 after the general contractor submitted required safety diagrams. Daily fines begin accruing on each property if violations are not corrected before the board's next scheduled review.

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