JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – City inspectors on Wednesday descended on a hotel in Northwest Jacksonville.
A city spokesperson said this scrutiny was a response to reports of possible code violations, but an employee at the hotel told News4JAX that there was nothing to find.
On Wednesday morning, vehicles from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the city of Jacksonville filled the parking of the Metro Inn and Suites, located just off Interstate 95.
The city spokesperson said code inspectors went door to door to try to make sure the building is up to code, but since most occupants weren’t there, they left notes.
Jacksonville Fire Marshal Chief Kevin Jones was on-site, telling the News4JAX I-TEAM he gave warnings about the building’s address not being visible from across the street and self-closing doors being left open, creating fire hazards. He said Metro Inn and Suites has 30 days to correct the problems.
City records show code compliance inspectors have investigated four cases at this property over the past year. Two cases were closed without any violations. The other two resulted in violation notices two weeks ago: a nuisance first notice issued for trash or debris on the property and a first notice for a junk or abandoned vehicle left on site — a gold van with a flat tire being left on the property.
News4JAX spotted a vehicle in the hotel parking lot that looked like that Wednesday.
News4JAX tried to reach out to management about the past citations and the inspection Wednesday, but they did not want to talk except to say there was nothing there to be found.
As for anything else that resulted from Wednesday’s investigation, the I-TEAM was still waiting to hear back from the city.
Records show a follow-up inspection to the trash or debris citation is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 31, and a follow-up inspection for the abandoned vehicle citation is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 14.