By: Kate Kimmel
Fernandina Beach city commissioners voted Tuesday to dissolve the city’s code enforcement board and shift to a special magistrate system, citing ongoing quorum problems and efficiency concerns.
All commissioners voted in favor of the change except Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue. The new system will take effect May 1.
Under Florida law, a city the size of Fernandina Beach should have a seven-member code enforcement board, but the board currently has four members. City Attorney Teresa Prince said the shortfall has created repeated scheduling issues because all members must attend a hearing to meet quorum – the minimum number of participants legally required to validate proceedings .
“A municipality of this size should have seven members on the board, we currently have four,” Prince said. “Some of the concerns have been that it’s hard to get citizens to volunteer for these boards.”
Barriers to achieving quorum have slowed enforcement proceedings and complicated emergency hearings, Prince said, adding that other Florida localities have made the switch to a special magistrate process in recent years. Prince pointed to neighboring Nassau County, which switched to a special magistrate system in April 2024, as an example.
A special magistrate is an attorney appointed by the city to hear code enforcement cases and issue legally binding rulings. Magistrates typically handle violations such as unsafe structures, overgrown properties, zoning violations and repeat code offenses.
Prince said state statute suggests but does not require that board members have specialized expertise, such as architecture, real estate or business experience, which can further limit recruitment and the board’s ability to make informed decisions.
“With a special magistrate, we only have to train one person, and it’s easier to schedule,” Prince said.
The city already uses a special magistrate for certain cases, including beach parking, noise and street performance violations. The ordinance allows direct appeals for citations issued outside the former code enforcement board process.
City Manager Sarah Campbell said the city will issue a request for proposals as soon as possible to seek qualified attorneys for the role. The magistrate will receive compensation through collected fines and fees, and the city may charge enforcement costs to the violator once the magistrate issues a decision. Prince said the city attorney’s office will handle follow-up paperwork to keep hourly legal costs down.
During public comment at the Jan. 20 first reading and again Tuesday, two residents raised concerns that replacing a citizen board with a single magistrate could reduce compassion in the enforcement process.
Commissioner Joyce Tuten said that other residents had voiced similar concerns, but ultimately rejected the characterization.
“I don’t think moving to a magistrate means that we lose heart,” Tuten said. “I think the magistrate is still a human, and I think that it will be more efficient.”
Commissioner Tim Poynter said the change could also insulate enforcement decisions from political influence.
“I think it’s important to have a magistrate to get politics out of it,” Poynter said.
Ayscue said he agreed the magistrate system could improve fairness but opposed the timing.
“I believe that a magistrate process will be more fair. I just don’t believe that now is the time to do that,” Ayscue said. “I really believe that the citizens think that the government is getting weaponized against them, and I just can’t in good conscience move in this direction now until there’s a little more trust with the government.”
Commissioners approved the ordinance on final reading, clearing the way for the city to implement the new system this spring.
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