Luxury kitchen appliance company hit with daily fine over unpermitted Palm Beach showroom

Officine Gullo, a luxury kitchen appliance company whose products fill the homes of A-list celebrities including Tommy Hilfiger, Serena Williams and Zoe Saldaña, has been hit with a $250 daily fine after Palm Beach officials were notified that the company's showroom was built without the proper permitting.

The company's construction was first noticed by officials Feb 22, when code officer Julien Felix visited the storefront on 242 S. County Road.

According to the town's business services supervisor, Michelle Sentmanat, Felix was sent by the Planning, Zoning and Building Department to confirm Officine Gullo’s business tax receipt application, which stated that the business would only sell appliances, and not offer cooking classes.

When Felix visited the store he saw a renovated storefront that included a fully functional kitchen space, which had been completed without a building permit, he said during the Code Enforcement Board’s May 23 meeting. Felix said he spoke to a representative of the company March 12, who assured him that the company would address the violation. A notice of violation was sent April 8, he said.

Following the notice, Officine Gullo had hired a new contractor, Boca Raton-based Herman Eilberg, who applied for the required building permit for the store's interior renovations May 7, Felix said. That request was being reviewed, Felix told the May code board meeting.

Eilberg told the board May 23 that incomplete information regarding the store’s electrical wiring had kept the application under review, but assured the board the would acquire the information needed for the permit as soon as possible.

Board members were taken aback by the renovation's scale.

“If you’re going to do the kind of work that is done in this instance, you would logically call the building department, or know you would need some sort of permit to do construction,” member Martin Klein said.

Member Chris Larmoyeux asked Felix why no town official had noticed the renovations.

“It’s a commercial building, and if they have shades on the window, we wouldn’t be able to see it,” Felix replied.

Officine Gullo’s attorney Anthony Barbuto said as residents of Florence, Italy, the Gullo family was not aware of the town’s zoning code. He asked the board for 60 days to come into compliance before it considers fining the company.

The board denied the request, with Vice Chair Scotch Peloso noting that as owners of showrooms in Los Angeles, California and New York City, the company should have known that building permits are normally required for interior renovations, especially if they include changes to the electrical wiring and plumbing.

The code board then ordered Officine Gullo to pay a $150 administrative fee and gave the company until June 17 to come into compliance.

When the board met June 20, Officine Gullo still had not acquired the building permits needed for its interior.

“The permit is still under review status,” Felix said.

Klein asked Felix if the business had taken any steps to come into compliance, outside of the permit application. Felix said he had not spoken to a representative from Officine Gullo. With no representative from Officine Gullo present to speak on the case’s status, the board voted to levy a daily fine of $250 starting June 18, and lasting until the company comes into compliance.

Code board allows extension for unsanctioned window signs

Officine Gullo also incurred a code violation for unpermitted signs on the store window.

During the May 23 meeting, Felix said after the initial visit to the store Feb. 22, when he discovered the construction, he returned to the store Feb. 28 because code enforcement officials realized the store had not sought permits for the signage on the windows.

A notice of violation was sent out April 9.

Unlike the construction case, the board granted an extension for the unsanctioned signage, since compliance requires the Architectural Commission's seal of approval before the company can apply for a permit. The code board ordered Officine Gullo to pay a $150 administrative fine and gave it until Aug. 17 to come into compliance.

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Officine Gullo faces daily fines over unpermitted Palm Beach showroom