(WSVN) - A neighbor needed a favor: he wanted to park two houses on trailers on his property for a short time. The good-hearted neighbor said OK, and when the good deed turned terrible, he turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Lloyd Brown works full-time as a firefighter.
Lloyd Brown: “Black one on the perch down there is kind of a rare hawk.”
He also works nearly full-time running a wildlife rehabilitation center.
Lloyd Brown: “We are the only facility south of Orlando that has a facility that can take care of eagles.”
Lloyd enjoys the wildlife, but what he is going through is for the birds.
Lloyd Brown: “Those are full-sized houses, on trailers.”
When a neighbor sold his land, he asked Lloyd to temporarily park these two houses on his property. That was back in August 2021.
Lloyd Brown: “Originally, they were only supposed to be there a couple of months, but I see no potential of them moving.”
Lloyd has a long list of texts asking Manuel Dorta Duque to move his houses.
He didn’t.
But when Miami-Dade County noticed the houses, the fines started at $500. That’s when Lloyd called Help Me Howard.
Lloyd Brown: “It’s just not a problem for him to leave them here, and so hopefully we can motivate him to move them out of here.”
Dorta Duque hung up when I called him, but three months later, on a Sunday morning, the trucks showed up and hauled the houses away.
Lloyd Brown: “Definitely I’m glad, yeah. I’ve been trying to get them out of here for a long time.”
Problem solved, right? Nope.
The houses are gone, but Lloyd was fined $10,000 by the county because Dorta Duque left them there for 17 months.
Lloyd Brown: “Because while they didn’t belong to me, the fact that they were on my property meant I got the fine for it.”
When you spend your money rehabilitating wildlife, you don’t have $10,000 laying around.
So Lloyd appealed the fine.
Miami-Dade County staffer: “All right, this is in the matter of Miami-Dade County versus Lloyd Brown.”
When Lloyd went to a hearing, he was asked to meet with the county staff. A few minutes later, they returned.
Miami-Dade County staffer (to Lloyd): “Is this your decision to withdraw the appeal?”
Lloyd Brown: “Yes.”
In turn, the county reduced the fine from $10,000 to $1,500 , which Lloyd is responsible for paying, but…
Lloyd Brown: “The owner of the buildings has assured me that they will be paying the penalties or the fines that I get, so hopefully, that will be it.”
If Dorta Duque doesn’t pay the fine, Lloyd will have to, but either way, Lloyd is relieved.
Lloyd Brown: “Oh, yeah, I’m glad. I’m glad it’s over. I’m glad it’s done; it’s gone on way too long.”
And a 17-month headache for being a nice guy. Certainly the man who brings in animals will not turn away the next neighbor who asks for help … or will he turn his back on his neighbors?
Lloyd Brown: “I would like to say that it doesn’t pay to be a nice guy and help your neighbor, but if my neighbor needs a hand, I’m going to probably try to loan it to them.”
Now if you’re nice to someone and you let them temporarily put something on your property, get the agreement in writing as to when they’ll remove it, and in case they don’t, make sure it doesn’t violate any city or county laws.
Housing a problem you want to remove? Not ready for the wildlife? Let us fly in, and hopefully our solution won’t be for the birds.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
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