Dulio Fragapane and Melisa Delarroca incurred a $164,000 fine in June after failing to comply with county code enforcement.
Last year, neighbors in Highland Estates had called Summit County about the couple’s home on Highland Drive, where they were storing equipment for their landscaping business.
They weren’t permitted to operate a business on the property. Although they applied for a permit, they never obtained one and eventually received a $500 penalty June 20, 2024, for every day they had failed to remove the equipment since July 28, 2023.
On July 29, Fragapane appealed that fine.
Through attorney Brian Weber, he’s asking 3rd District Court to waive the fine.
The landscaper says he wasn’t given proper notice of his June 20 hearing with an administrative law judge, and when he showed up anyway, he was denied due process.
Fragapane adds he was not allowed to present evidence in his defense.
His complaint also states that, when the county first cited him in 2023, he was afforded two options.
“You move everything out. Or you apply for a permit, and that's what we did right away,” Fragapane told KPCW.
The planning department denied their permit application earlier this year.
The complaint alleges county code enforcers told Fragapane he could simply tell the judge his permit was denied and that the judge would afford him some time to remove the landscaping equipment.
Instead he was fined, and in a recording of the hearing obtained by KPCW through a public records request, Fragapane is heard telling the judge it could bankrupt him.
He and Delarroca removed their equipment shortly after the hearing.
And they haven’t had to pay the fine yet. Since filing an appeal, their attorney has met with county staff to negotiate a reduced fine.
Peter Barnes, who became the county’s planning director after the landscapers were fined, declined to comment, citing those ongoing talks.
Fragapane said code enforcement continues to visit his home to ensure they’re keeping it clear of equipment. He said they’ve taken issue with paving materials he claims are for his own driveway and with the number of trucks parked there.
Summit County had not filed a response to the landscapers’ appeal Aug. 1.
