By Kate Kimmel
A Callahan property owner who recently bought a long-neglected parcel on Crawford Road is asking Nassau County to dramatically reduce more than half a million dollars in code enforcement fines he says he didn’t know existed when he purchased the site.
David Sturges, owner of Park Place Investments LLC, appeared before Nassau County’s Code Enforcement Special Magistrate on Nov. 18 to request relief from $588,000 in penalties tied to 24890 Crawford Road.
The fines were levied under the previous owner after county code officers cited the property in July 2022 for failure to maintain the site, including tire debris and other trash. The violation carried a compounding fine of $500 per day until the property was brought into compliance.
Park Place Investments acquired the parcel at a tax deed auction in September 2025. Sturges said he learned of the fines four days after closing, at which point he sought bids for cleanup and moved quickly to correct the violations.
Sturges said the cleanup — completed by Oct. 16 at a cost of $6,000 to $8,000 — involved removing more than 15 tons of trash. He told the magistrate the site became a dumping ground after a former mobile home was removed.
“When we purchased it we were unaware [of the fines], but as soon as we found out we brought it into compliance in under 30 days,” he said.
Sturges asked the county to reduce the fines to $405.79. Special Magistrate Harrison Poole said county policy in cases like this is to charge 35% of the property’s assessed value. The parcel’s 2022 assessed value was $41,250, and Poole said he would recommend the Board of County Commissioners impose a fine of $14,437.50.
The recommendation will go before county commissioners for a final decision.
kkimmel@nassaunewsline.net
