City of Coral Gables is fining man $150 a day for code enforcement and he's fighting back

A new battle is brewing over a small home at the center of a massive Coral Gables development.

The home is racking up daily fines over an awning that the city says is in disrepair.

According to a Coral Gables code enforcement officer, an employee associated with the plaza complained to the city back in November. The homeowner said he’s had his awning for decades, but he said this fight is the latest to try to get him out.

Orlando Capote took NBC6 to his property located on Coconut Grove Drive to show the awning on his driveway. It’s not very visible from the alley near his home, but according to a letter sent to Capote, it’s out of compliance and lacks a permit.

“They are fining me $150 per day,” Capote told NBC6.

Capote’s is the only home left standing in the middle of multiple tall buildings known as 'The Plaza Development."

“Do I have peace? No, but that’s probably what they want to do. They want to drive me out of there,” Capote said.

For years Capote has maintained that the city favored developers’ rights instead of his property rights.

The letter he received also cited a chainlink fence.

“On May 12^th or so, I cut the thing out. Yea, end of story,” Capote said.

But the battle continues over the awning, which Capote claims was already there when his parents purchased the home in the 80’s.

“So, the code today doesn’t allow me to have that structure but the code in the 1980s probably did and if that is indeed the case, I need to pursue that,” Capote explained.

In a statement, the City of Coral Gables told NBC6 that “Code compliance went to the property and cited various issues. Additionally, the team met with the resident at the property to indicate the issues that are needed to be rectified. Unfortunately, six months had passed, and the resident failed to comply.”

“The case was taken to the code compliance board on June 21, 2023. The board found that the property on Coconut Grove Drive wasn’t in compliance and gave the homeowner 30 days to rectify before fines would be levied,” the city added.

Capote said he hasn’t paid the fines and is appealing his case. For him, the issue is not just about an awning.

“My concern right now, is that they are starting a process through which they put fines on my property which they could later foreclose on my property and take it away from me," he said.

Capote claims he never received an offer good enough to replace his “way of life” as he put it.

He calls that home his American dream and says he has nowhere else to go. It’s been about a week now since the daily fines started racking up. He has another hearing scheduled for September 20th.

NBC6 reached out to an email listed on the plaza’s website but has not heard back yet.