The Jupiter Courier

 
Overgrown yard might get owners booted out of home 
December 15,2001 
By Randall Murray   -   News staff writer 

 
An elderly Tequesta couple should learn just in time for Christmas whether they will lose their home. Village Attorney John C. Randolph advised the Tequesta Village Council on Thursday one more legal step remains before the council can decide the fate of Wilburt and Hattie Siegel, of 498 Dover Road. 

The attorney predicted the couple's latest appeal will be dismissed within two weeks. At that time, "the council can take action," he said. 
At issue is a long-simmering series of code enforcement complaints leveled against the Siegels, most centering on overgrown vegetation in their yard. Randolph and neighbors say the confrontation between the Siegels and the village has been ongoing since 1984. 
In October 1999, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Ronald Alvarez upheld the village's complaint against the Siegels for violating village ordinances concerning the condition of their property. 
Hattie Siegel, 80, has steadfastly denied all charges filed against them, and she took the issue to court. 

Alvarez levied a $1,000-a-day fine on the Siegels, $250 for each of four charges. That fine has reached almost $720,000, almost eight times the $92,511 assessed value of the house, according to county property appraiser records. 
The Siegels appealed the county court ruling to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, contending Alvarez had incorrectly interpreted the law, Randolph said. Earlier this month, the DCA rejected that appeal. 
The Siegels have filed a motion for a rehearing with the appeals court, Randolph said Thursday. 
Village Manager Michael Couzzo said last week the foreclosure by the village on the Siegel property was "one of several possibilities." 

Wade Griest, 82, the Siegels' neighbor at 494 Dover Road, complained to the council about the long-term nature of the dispute. 
"Why has it taken so many years to get nothing done?" Griest asked, saying the condition of the Siegel property has a negative effect on the value of his home. 
Vice Mayor Joseph Capretta agreed. 
"We must have spent a million dollars on this over the years," he said. "It doesn't ever seem to end." 

The Siegels' back yard resembles a jungle. Weeds and other vegetation are knee- high, and climbing vines dangle from trees. 
A dog house, complete with a "Beware of Dog" warning, was built to replace an illegally placed compost pile. But the Siegels do not own a dog. Neighbors say they don't remember them ever owning a dog. 

Hattie Siegel said the village is persecuting the couple. She contends village code enforcement officers do not understand the law, and she fought the charges because, in her opinion, they were improperly filed. 

She said her 86-year-old husband "is in ill health and depressed" as a result of the conflict. She indicated she and her husband, who also own a home in Charleston, S.C., are planning to move into a senior citizens center if they lose the Dover Road home. 
Siegel said she is saddened by the conflict and with the condition of the property, which she admitted is "a mess." 

"I guess it's just gotten out of hand," she said. "We had beautiful plants that were not meant to be clipped, trimmed or manicured," but when ordered by the village to trim those plants, she said they did. The plants died, adding to the visual problems with the property.