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Caribbeans
at Odds Over Illegal Conversions |
Miramar, Florida, Augsut 2001: It's a problem hidden behind closed doors in most of Miramar's eastern neighborhoods.
In many of those homes, garages have been converted into bedrooms without the required permits and inspections.
From the city's point of view, it is a potential safety hazard because no building inspectors have ensured the quality of the electrical and plumbing jobs.
But for many middle-class Caribbean families who own the homes, it is an invasion of their property rights and a clash of cultures. Most are used to less restrictive building codes back home, city officials and real estate professionals say.
Until 1996, such conversions were legal as long as the homeowners obtained proper permits and used licensed contractors.
But then, worried about aesthetics and a lack of parking, officials reversed their position and required single-family homes to have garages.
Still, five years later, the conversions continue, this time without the knowledge of city officials.
While it is definitely a problem, said city planner Richard Hughes, "I can't put a number on it. I honestly can't. It would take a fair amount of staff and resources to research the neighborhoods."
Fay Johnson, a Jamaican resident, insists the city should leave property owners alone as long as they don't encroach on public rights-of-way and they comply with building codes.
"Is it really fair to tell you how to go about doing your things?" Johnson said.
Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman said the problem stems from lack of education on how building codes work in this country.
"If you go back to the island," he said, "it's not as strict as it is here. A lot of people think if they have a car porch, they can turn it into a bedroom."
City officials say the bulk of the conversions have occurred in east Miramar, the city's oldest section. Homes here are more affordable than in the western part of the city, and Haitian, Jamaican and other Caribbean homeowners outnumber whites and African-Americans.
"We have people who have made conversions in good faith, not knowing the legal codes," said Wazir Ishmael, Miramar's community development director.
He said the issue is not unique to Miramar, but it's so acute that Salesman recently asked community development officials to come up with ways to solve the problem.
In Lauderhill, which has a large Caribbean population, the law requires at least two off-street sparking spaces and a garage. But conversions are allowed under special circumstances, such as the need for more living space in a family, said Bob Schankweiler, a planning and zoning technician. He said violations occurred citywide, but some in Lauderhill's Caribbean community complain about codes.
"There's a cultural factor here," he said. "They can't understand why there are so many regulations. It's my property. Why can't I do that?"
Peter Maceri, a longtime resident and Miramar real estate agent, said the problem also is one of finances. It costs less to convert a garage than to build an additional room for as much as $30,000.
"Economics, it has to be," he said. "You buy a two-bedroom, and you need a three-bedroom, you enclose the garage."
Shirley and Jacques Daniel, a Haitian-American family, wanted to add a parking space to their east Miramar home, so they applied for a building permit. After code officials studied a survey of the home, they noticed it was a two-bedroom that became a three-bedroom after an illegal garage conversion.
The Daniels, who bought the house for $76,900 in 1994, were told to apply for a variance. They said they bought in good faith and didn't know about the illegal conversion.
"If I knew from the get-go it was a two-bedroom, the price [I paid] would have been different," Jacques Daniel said.
As in most cases, the City Commission allowed the Daniels family to keep their room. If they had not, the couple would have to tear down the extra room. The five-member family couldn't live in two bedrooms, they said, and they couldn't afford another home.
"It would hurt me deeply," Jacques Daniel said. "Financially, it would be a serious burden on the family. If I'm buying a house now, I would research the city codes and find out if anything was done without a permit."
Carol Cartright, another Haitian, recently received a notice from City Hall warning him of an upcoming public hearing on an illegal conversion in his east Miramar home.
Cartright, who has a wife and four children, said he bought the three-bedroom house for $104,000 last year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He said he is worried because he doesn't speak enough English to address commissioners during the hearing, when a variance could be granted.
"I just want to keep it. I have my books, my computer and everything in it," said Cartright.
On June 6, Marie Lamouray, a Haitian-American, went before commissioners and defended a small conversion she made in the garage of her three-bedroom home in the Cottages development.
In an effort to create a playroom and study space for her children, she said she paid $2,900 to tile the garage and erect a drywall to separate the laundry area.
Lamouray said she called the city before the work was done and was told she didn't need a permit because "I wasn't knocking down any wall."
But several weeks ago, a resident reported her to the city. Commissioners allowed her to keep the conversion on the condition she brings it up to code.
"They treated me fairly. They put people first," said Lamouray. "It wasn't anything terrible that I did."
With a recent increase in code enforcement, fewer people are making illegal conversions. But the demand for more living space is getting bigger because of an increase in family sizes.
Shernett Reid-Lee, a Jamaican-American, recently asked commissioners for permission to turn her garage into a bedroom. She needs the space for an ailing uncle from New York moving to Miramar.
"The option of purchasing another home was thought of, but due to the cost of houses today which would increase our mortgage drastically, we have opted to consider upgrading our existing home," she said in an April 11 letter.
Commissioners gave her a variance, and she agreed to expand her driveway and improve landscaping.
Stopping the problem is not easy. Hughes, the city planner, said options could include an amnesty that would allow people to apply for late permits and building officials to inspect the work. Commissioner Steven Bogert said conversions should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
"People who are not familiar with the laws over here may see things differently," said Ishmael, the community development director. "What concerns me about illegal conversions is the safety issue. Compliance with South Florida's building code is something that will give some peace of mind."
(Reprinted from the Orlando Sun Sentinel.)