The home at 433 Palermo Circle, owned by Mike Dewitt, built by Joe Orlandini, failed 11 inspections before finally getting a Certificate of Occupancy in October of 2022. The Engineer on the home was Steve Brockman.
Following the death of Dewitt and his colleague Jack Faler, Fort Myers Beach Building Inspector Joe Specht revoked the Certificate of Occupancy for the home, red-tagging it as unsafe.
By now everyone has seen the pictures of the pool equipment inside the structure, under the second floor pool of the home. Specht gave two reasons for revoking the Certificate of Occupancy: 1) The two fatalities on August 24th from an alleged gas leak from gas pool equipment installed inside the home. 2) There is no permit on record for the pool, interior gas lines, or gas appliances. “Therefore,” Specht says, “no inspections were officially performed for code compliant installation. It is therefore assumed that the absence of proper inspections by Florida licensed inspectors created the unsafe condition. As the Town of Fort Myers beach Building Official, is my duty per Florida Building Code to not allow further occupancy until the building is brought into compliance through obtaining proper permits and therefore proper inspections.” The Lee County Sheriff’s Department has determined the deaths to be accidental from the gas leak. The case has either been closed or will be soon.
So who dropped the ball with the inspections? Was it the builder, or was it the town?
As 433 Palermo was being built between 2020 and 2022 it was hit with 11 failed inspections by the town. A new home being built has to be inspected as work is being done along the way and pass one final inspection before receiving a CO. Over 20 inspections total are done on a new build.
At the time 433 Palermo was being built, the town was still outsourcing a lot of its building work. They used a company called Universal Engineering and on this home Mark Keohane was the inspector. Keohane failed the home 9 times over the course of about a year. His inspection failures included footings, rough plumbing, rough electric, rough A/C and temporary power. He complained several times that the plans and permit were not properly posted. He also failed the home on one final inspection when he noticed a set of stairs outside the home that were not on the plans. He made the builder rip the stairs out.
So did Keohane go back and reinspect everything he failed, to make sure the items he failed were fixed by the builder? Not with this house. What happened was, affidavits were submitted to the Fort Myers Beach Building Department taking responsibility for the inspections. Those affidavits were submitted by the Engineer on the house, Steve Brockman. In a letter on May 10, 2021 Brockman takes responsibility for rough framing, insulation and rough electrical. On December 14, 2021, he takes responsibility for a total of 11 inspections on the home. On December 21, 2021, Brockman signs off on the footings, slab and final electrical inspections.
Inspection By Affidavit is 100% legal. It simply means, in this case, Brockman is taking 100% responsibility for all the inspections he lists in his letters. “I have completed the following items during site visits through the course of construction and provide this inspection report to the Building Department,” Brockman wrote in his 5 affidavit letters.
Keohane did do the final inspection on the home and he passed it.
Inspections on Fort Myers beach have come under more scrutiny lately. As of late, 3rd party private inspectors have been getting a lot of press. Back in 2002 the state of Florida passed Statute 553.791. That law, the result of construction industry lobbying, gives homeowners the option to choose a 3rd party certified inspector. The reason for the new law was to help speed up the process. Florida is a growing state with a lot of new homes being built. If a homeowner wanted to pay a little more money to get an inspector to their home quicker, that option was there. The 3rd party inspector does the inspection, makes sure the home is being built according to the plans submitted to the local municipality, and submits the proper paperwork to that municipality in a timely fashion.
Michael Stewart is a well-known and respected structural engineer in Southwest Florida. He does a lot of work on Fort Myers Beach as well so he’s familiar with the process. We asked him if 11 failed inspections is common. “It’s common to fail some inspections. That happens a lot.” When we asked him about going the “Inspection By Affidavit” route, Stewart said, “Is this common? Yes. It’s also definitely unethical. The person that puts his name at the bottom of that letter is most likely a quack.” Stewart said conducting 10 inspections could take 30 site visits.
So what’s a homeowner to do? How does someone trying to build their dream home know what’s being built is being built according to the plans and that it will be safe? Who do you trust? Stewart says it’s buyer beware. He says start with going to the Department of Business & Professional Regulation and researching the contractors or companies you’re thinking about hiring. He says everything starts with a good General Contractor.
Studio AD CEO Albert Dambrose, a highly respected local architect, says look for a builder and design professional (architect and engineer) that has maintained a good reputation in your area. “Make sure they are experienced in building the type of house you want and are familiar with building in your area. Always ask for references from their most recent clients. Spend time doing your research.”
The best advice you hear from most every expert you speak to about this issue is to ask a lot of questions of your General Contractor, take a lot of pictures as your home is being built, and check your permit portal as often as possible to make sure your inspections are being done. There’s no worse feeling than pulling into the lot of your dream home and seeing that red STOP WORK ORDER sign stuck in the dirt.
NOTE: We have reached out to the Town of Fort Myers Beach for a complete list of 3rd party private inspectors used on the island. Town Manager Andy Hyatt says it’s coming our way. When we receive that list we will post it here and on our Facebook page so you can research them on the DPBR website.
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