Homeowner Refuses To Pay Code Enforcement Fine, Vows To Demolish Home Instead; Says He Installed Bullet-Proof-Like Glass Without A Permit Because He Was Tired Of Golfballs Flying Through His Windows

In Palm Beach, Florida, the Palm Beach Daily News reports:

• The Code Enforcement Board postponed a foreclosure hearing Thursday on a Bahama Lane home, after hearing that owner Karl Wattenhofer plans to demolish the house rather than install proper windows.
  
  Wattenhofer, a native of Switzerland who has lived on the island for 20 years, installed bullet-proof-like glass 10 years ago at 264 Bahama Lane because he was tired of golfballs flying through his windows, according to his attorney Jason Evans.
  
  Officers found out about the windows last year and have since been fining Wattenhofer daily. The fine is “somewhere in the $56,000 range,” Evans said.
  
  Evans requested a 60-day postponement of the foreclosure hearing so he can seek approval from the Architectural Commission to demolish the house and so he can appear at a fine reduction hearing. He said the owner is fed up.
  
  “It’s an emotional issue for the owner,” Evans said. “He’s upset and decided he wants to return to his home country full-time. He feels as though it’s extremely unfair because it’s an extreme fine.”

For the story, see Owner looks to demolish house rather than install different windows.

For story follow-up, see Feud over unpermitted golf-ball-proof windows spikes (Homeowner to seek demolition rather than pay ‘unfair’ fine; town calls it ‘life-safety issue’).