Ex-Mayor LEN WEEKS Destroyed House and Coquina Wall ILLEGALLY -- Without Permit or Archaeological Survey, Swore Falsely That No Work Had Been Done

Ex-Mayor CLAUDE LEONARD WEEKS, JR., a/k/a "LEN WEEKS" directed construction workers to tear down a coquina wall at 62 Spanish Street. He had them dig two feet trenches around 62 Spanish Street without a permit or paying an archaeological excavation fee.

Then he swore falsely that no work had been done, obtaining a permit after the work had been done.

Then the building collapsed.

Don't take my word for it: the permit application swears that no work had been done. An "after the fact permit" was issued at twice the normal cost. And here's the chronology from the St. Augustine Planning and Building Director, David Birchim, AICP:

Friday, September 19, 2014:

Len Weeks Construction applied for a building permit to “pour footing around the Farnell House at 62-A Spanish St. and coquina wall” Plans for the new foundation were submitted at that time and were produced by Dixon Design Group, Inc. and signed-sealed by Gerald Dixon.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014:

In response to a comment concerning the foundation plans, Gerald Dixon writes a letter which is forwarded to the Building Official with an e-mail from Len Weeks.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014:
The coquina wall on Hypolita Street is removed without approval of the Historic Architectural Review Board. Plans for the reconstruction of the wall were not submitted to determine if this is a “remove and replace to match the existing” building permit, that can be administratively approved, or if HARB approval is required for the demolition and reconstruction. The city staff observes the coquina wall has been removed and the trenches for the new footers around 62 Spanish Street have begun to be dug out on the east and north sides, prior to the permit being issued, a verbal warning is given to the contractor to obtain the building permit.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014:
The City Archaeologist, Carl Halbirt, goes to the job site and observes the trenches have been dug for the new footers, no archaeology permit was obtained.

Thursday, September 25, 2014:

At approximately 9:40am, an “after the fact” building permit with double permit fees for the new footings is issued.
At approximately 10:00 a.m., the city Building Inspector does a building inspection on the footings and it does not pass inspection.
At approximately 11:30 a.m, Len Weeks contacts the building official and informs him that the building is collapsing.
At approximately 12:00 p.m., [David Bircham], the Building Official and Building Inspector arrived on the site and observed the building collapsing.
[David Birchim] notified the Fire Department, Police Department, Public Works Department, City Manager and City Attorney of the situation. The job site is secured.
The Building Official and city Fire Marshall declare the building to be an unsafe structure and immediate safety hazard.
At approximately 11:30 p.m., the building is taken down with a controlled demolition.