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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996 11 25 Regular Item E COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM E REGULAR X CONSENT INFORMATIONAL Meeting MGRhEPT --:1?-v Authorization 25 November 1996 REQUEST: Police Department requesting City Commission approval of the Second Reading of Ordinance No. 632 which will amend Section 1-15(a), 12-53, 13-2, and 13-4 of the Code of Ordinances, inserting language to provide for more effective enforcement of City Codes. PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to authorize Ordinance No. 632 implementing changes to Sections 1-15(a), 12-53, 13-2, and 13-4 City Codes providing for more effective control of abandon vehicles, unkempt lots, and littering. CONSIDERATIONS: . In Apri11996 the Commission directed staff to explore ways for improving Code Enforcement including abandon vehicles, unkempt yards, and littering. . Ordinance No. 632 provides Code Sections to more control of abandon vehicles, unkempt lots, and littering. . On October 28, 1996 the Commission Adopted, and passed First Reading of Ordinance No. 632. FUNDING: The following unbudgeted expenses are requested for initial implementation; printing $1 ,000 lot cleaning $2.000 total $3,000 November 25,1996 AGENDA ITEM "E" Page 2 RECOMMENDATION: The Police Department recommends that the City Commission approve the Second Reading of Ordinance No. 632, and Adoption of this Ordinance, and approiate $3,000.00 from the general fund reserve to initiate the program. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE: 1. Upon approval of the Second Reading and Adoption of this Ordinance. 2. Upon receiving funds and having the materials printed. 3. Will be implemented with 90 days. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Ordinance No. 632 COMMISSION ACTION: ;#Of'. ORDINANCE NO. 632 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA, PROVIDING FOR CHANGES TO THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA, THAT WILL ENABLE MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF CITY CODES; PROVIDING FOR AMENDMENT TO SECTION 1-15, PUBLIC NUISANCE; 12-53, ABANDONMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES; 13-2, LITTERING; AND ADOPTINGI3-4, PROCEDURE FOR CITY ENFORCEMENT OF NON-IMMINENT HAZARDS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS, SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Winter Springs, Florida, has determined it to be in the best interest of the public's health, safety and welfare to adopt amendments to and new Sections of the City Code designed to provide for more efficient and effective Code Enforcement. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMlSSION OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION I SECTION 1-15(a) - General penalty; continuing violations; violations as public nuisance; is hereby amended as follows: SEC. 1-15. General penalty; continuing violations; violations as public nuisance. (a) Whenever in this code, or in any ordinance or resolution of the city, or rule, regulation or order promulgated by any officer or agency of the city under authority duly vested in him of it, any act is prohibited or is declared to be unlawful, or the doing of any act is required or the :fuilure to do any act is declared unlawful, and no specific penalty is provided for the violation thereof, the violation of any such provision of this code or any _such ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation or order shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each day any violation of any of the provisions of this code or any such ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation or order shall continue, and shall constitute a separate offense. All other provisions of Section 1-15(a), shall continue in force and effect. SECTION 12 -53. - Abandonment of Motor Vehicles prohibited; is hereby amended as follows: SECTION 12-53 ABANDONMENT OF MOTOR VEmCLES PROHIBITED No Person in charge or in control of any property, public or private within the city, whether an owner, tenant, occupant, lessee, or otherwise, shall allow any derelict, disabled or abandoned vehicle to be placed or remain on any roadway, street, alley, highway, private property, public property, public right-of-way or easement unless such vehicle is within a completely enclosed building, or is on the premises of an automotive repair or storage business for which the owner of the business has a current city occupational license and zoning approval. However, a disabled vehicle may not remain on the premises of an auto repair business or storage business in excess of 180 days. A vehicle covered with a car cover does not constitute enclosure or storage of disabled vehicle. EVIDENCE A vehicle will be in violation of this section if it is in a state of evident disuse, neglect or abandonment. Evidence may include, but not limited to, factors such as: at the same location for forty- eight (48) consecutive hours, vehicle being wrecked, and/or inoperative as evidenced by vegetation underneath as high as the vehicle body or frame, refuse or debris collected underneath or the vehicle being used solely for storage purposes, if it is partially dismantled, having no engine, transmission, or other major and visible parts, having major and visible parts which are dismantled, having no valid license tag, or being in any physical state rendering it inoperable or unsightly to the neighborhood. INTERPRETATION OF THIS REQUIREMENT Nothing in this part shall be construed as permitting the disassembling, the tearing down or scrapping of a vehicle or to pennit one vehicle to be scavenged or stripped for parts for use on another vehicle. RESPONSmILITY FOR COMPLIANCE The owner, agent and/or tenant of the property on which the violation occurs and the owner of the disabled vehicle shall be jointly and individually responsible for compliance with the requirements of this section. ENFORCEMENT When a disabled or abandoned vehicle is found to be in violation of this section: (a) The Code Inspector shall place a written notice on the vehicle's window indicating that it is in violation of this section and that it must be removed within ten (10) calendar days or it will be subject to removal by the city. The Code Inspector shall make every reasonable attempt to ascertain the owner of the vehicle and the owner of the property, and shall notifY such owner(s) with a written notice delivered by personal service or mail at their current address, last known address or the address appearing on the certificate of title for the vehicle. Such notice on a vehicle window shall not be less than eight (8) inches by ten (10) inches and shall be fluorescent orange in color, sufficiently weatherproofed to withstand normal exposure to the elements. (b) Within the ten (10) calendar day period specified in the notice, the owner of the vehicle or the owner of the property or an authorized agent may appeal to the Director of Code Enforcement or hislher designee. The Director of Code Enforcement or his/her designee shall detennine the validity of the violation and may for good cause extend the time for compliance or removal. If such an appeal is made, no removal shall be required until after said appeal has been finally detennined. (c) The property or vehicle owner(s) may appeal the Director's or his/her designee's final decision to the Code Enforcement Board for a determination as to whether the property is subject to rerpoval. (d) Ifno appeal is made and the disabled vehicle remains in violation after the ten (10) calendar day period, the Director or hislher designee shall cause such vehicle to be removed to a storag~ facility approved by the City Commission and thereafter disposed of in accordance with applicable state law or city ordinance. (e) The authorization in this section for towing of abandoned and disabled vehicles shall not be construed so as to negate the authority of the Code Enforcement Board to hear and adjudicate appropriate cases. VEmCLE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY Not withstanding any of the foregoing, all vehicles which are located on public property shall be towed and disposed of in accordance with notice and sale requirements of Florida Statute 705, as revised in the 1987 legislative session. To the extent that this Section 12-53 conflicts with any portion of Florida Statute 705, the latter shall control as to any vehicles located on public property. SECTION 13-2. Littering, is hereby amended as follows: SECTION 13-2 LITTERING (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to place or throw, or cause to be placed or thrown, any paper, bottles or pieces thereof: tin cans, garbage, glassware, refuse, debris or any other offensive, unwholesome or unsightly matter whatever in or on any street, road, sidewalk, alley, playground, vacant property or any other public ,grounds, or in or on the bank of any canal, stream, lake, watercourse or pool within the city. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or permit junk, scrap metal, scrap lumber, wastepaper products, discarded building materials, or any unused abandoned vehicle, or abandoned parts, machinery or machinery parts, garbage, trash or other waste_materials to be m or upon any yard, garden, lawn, outbuildings or premises owned, rented, leased or otherwise occupied by him/her in the city unless in connection with a business enterprise lawfully situated and licensed for the same. (c) The existence of excessive accumulation or untended growth of weeds, undergrowth or other dead, or living plant life; or stagnant water, rubbish, garbage, refuse, debris, trash, including but not limited to household furnishings, and all other objectionable, unsightly or unsanitary matter upon any lot, tract or parcel ofland within this city be it uncovered or under open shelter, to the extent and in the manner that such lot, tract or parcel of land is or may reasonably become infested or inhabited by rodents, vermin or wild animals, or may furnish a breeding place for mosquitoes, or threatens or endangers the public health, safety, or welfure, or may reasonably cause disease, or adversely affects and impairs the economic welfure of adjacent property, or any other objectionable, unsightly, substance, or material tending by its existence and/or accwnulation to endanger or adversely affect of ~ safety, lives, and/or welfure of the citizens of the city, is hereby prohibited and declared to be a public nuisance and unlawful. (d) It shall be the duty of the owner of each lot, tract, or parcel of land within the city to reasonably regulate and effectively control excessive growths and accwnulations, as enwnerated in subsection (c), on the property and on the portion of the adjoining public right-of-way between the property and the street. It shall also be the duty of the owner to drain, regrade or fill any lot, tract or parcel, including swimming pools thereon, which shall be unwholesome or unsanitary, have stagnant foul water thereon, or be .in such other condition as to be susceptible to producing disease or danger to the citizens of the city. (e) If the Director of Code Enforcement or his/her designee finds and determines that a public nuisance as described and declared in subSections (c ),( d), hereof exists, he/she shall so notify the record owner of the offending property and demand that such owner cause the condition to be remedied. The notice shall be given by both physical posting on the property in the name of the property owner(s) and by personal delivery or certified mail to the owner or owner(s) as their names and addresses are shown upon the record of the Seminole County Tax Assessor. Notice shall be deemed complete and sufficient when so physically posted and personally delivered or mailed. The notice required by subsection (e) shall be no less than eleven (11) inches by seventeen (17) inches and shall be green, attached to a wooden stake, and placed in front of the property visible from the roadway, and contain the following: 1. Names(s) and addressees) of the owner(s) of the property, according to public records of Seminole County, Florida. 2. Location of the property on which the violation exists. 3. A statement by the Code Inspector that the property has been inspected pursuant to Section 13-2 and that a violation of subsection (c), (d) has been determined to exist on the property, which violation constitutes a public nuisance. 4. A description of the condition which causes the property to be in violation. 5. A requirement that the record owner of the property remedy the violation within fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice, failing which the city will remedy the condition and assess against the record owner the cost thereof plus an administrative charge. 6. A statement that, if the costs and administrative charge are not paid within thirty (30) days of invoice date, a lien will be placed on the property which is enforceable by foreclosure on the property. 7. A schedule of the charges which may be assessed against the record owner if the city has to remedy the violation. 8. An estimate of the total cost, based on the schedule of charges, if the violation is remedied by the city. Such estimate is not to be interpreted or construed as the final cost which may be assessed, but only as a good faith approximation of such cost. The final assessable cost may be greater or lesser than the estimate. 9. A statement that the record owner of the property may, within fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice, submit a written appeal, from the determination of a public nuisance, which must contain all reasons, evidence and argwnent that the cited condition does not constitute a violation. 10. WIthin fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice, the owner of the property may appeal the determination of nuisance by submitting a written appeal to show that the condition does not constitute a public nuisance. Such appeal shall be addressed to the Director of Code Enforcement and shall state the name of the property owner, the location of the cited property, and the grounds upon which the owner relies in order to show that the cited condition does not constitute a public nuisance. (f) Removal by city ifafter fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice no written appeal has been filed and the condition described in the notice has not been remedied, the Director or his/her designee shall cause the condition to be remedied by the city at the expense of the property owner. Ifa written appeal has been filed and the finding of public nuisance is upheld, the Director OF Code Enforcement or his/her designee may cause the condition to be remedied by the city at the expense of the property owner unless the City Commission otherwise directs. 1. If a written appeal has been filed and the finding of public nuisance is reversed, the city will not assess any cost or administrative penalties against the property, although such administrative penalties would otherwise be authorized by subsection (h) of this section. 2" In cases involving major nuisance conditions requiring immediate, direct action to abate hazards imminently dangerous to the health, welfare or safety of the public, the city may, upon Director of Code Enforcement authorization, c.ause the conditions to be immediately remedied by city-authorized lot cleaning. Notice of said lot cleaning shall be given within five (5) days after the lot cleaning and according to the procedures detailed in subsection (e) above, except that the notice shall explain that the property contained hazards requiring immediate remedy, that the property has already been cleaned, and that the property owner has fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice to apply to City Connnission to show why costs of cleaning should not be assessed against his/her property. Said emergency lot cleaning shall be at the expense of the property owner; However, the property owner may make a written request for a hearing before City Connnission as above provided within fifteen (15) days from the date of notice that his/her lot had to be cleaned and that a charge is being assessed therefore. (g) After causing the condition to be remedied, the Director of Code Enforcement shall certify to the Director of Finance the expense incurred in remedying the condition whereupon such expense, plus a charge to cover city administrative expense, plus any administrative penalty as provided in subsection (h), shall become payable within thirty (30). days, after which a special assessment lien and charge will be made upon the property, which shall be payable with interest at a rate of eight percent (8%) per annwn from the date of such certification until paid. 1. Such lien shall be enforceable in the same manner as a tax lien in favor of the city of Winter Spring may be satisfied at any time by payment thereof including accrued interest. Notice of such lien may be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and recorded among the public records of Seminole County, Florida. 2. If the subject property is secured by locks or otherwise, the city shall have the authority to enter said property for purposes of remedying the violative condition, and any additional costs incurred by the city in gaining access to the property or in resecuring the property after cleaning shall be considered expenses of remedying the condition. (h) In addition to the actual cost of remedying the violation cited under subsections (c) and (d), the city may also assess a charge to cover administrative expenses incurred in securing and monitoring the services of a private contractor to remedy the violation Said administrative charge ,shall be reviewed and approved by City Commission at least on an annual basis. 1. If a second violation of subsections ( c) and (d) is cited against the same property and property owner within twelve (12) months from the date of the :first citation, an administrative penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall additionally be assessed five (5) days after the second citation. If the condition is abated by the owner during that five (5) day period, the penalty will not be assessed. Ifa third violation of subsections (c) and (d) is cited against the same property and property owner within twelve (12) months from the date of the first citation, an administrative penalty of two hundred dollars ($200.00) shall additionally be assessed five (5) days after the third citation. If the condition is abated by the owner during that five (5) day period, the penalty will not be assessed. Subsequent violations cited against the same property and property owner shall be referred to the city's attorney for appropriate legal action including, but not limited to, injunctive relief, in addition to enforcement as provided by this chapter. SECTION 13-4. Procedures for City Enforcement of Non-Imminent Hazards is hereby adopted as follows: SECTION 13-4. Procedure for City Enforcement of Non-Imminent Hazards. (a) In cases involving nuisance or hazardous conditions which require direct governmental action to abate a serious and continuing danger to the public or occupants, including attractive nuisance cases, and where the property owner or tenant fulls to heed the notices and enforcement efforts made by the city pursuant to article 1, Section 13, but where the emergency nature of the dangers to the public is not so extreme as to warrant dispensing without notice to the property owner(s), then the city enforcement officials shall proceed to: 1. Give notice, which may be combined with notice from the Code Enforcement Board statement of violation and notice of hearing, which informs the property owner that an order will be sought from the Code Enforcement Board for city work or contracted work to repair of secure the property. The notice will prominently inform the property owner that fuilure to repair the property or follow the Code Enforcement Board's orders may result in city work which shall be charged as a lien against the property. The notice will describe the conditions found by the enforcement officer to constitute a hazard or nuisance. The notice will generally inform the property owner of the work of repairs to be done which will correct the nuisance or hazardous condition(s). 2. If the owner still fulls to cure the condition(s) by the time set for Code Enforcement Board hearing pursuant to the above-detailed notice, then the enforcement officer shall submit proof at the Code Enforcement Board hearing concerning the degree of danger of the condition( s) to the public and the property owner's inability or unwillingness to cure such dangers, thus necessitating public action to repair or secure property. The Code Enforcement Board may render its order requiring the city to perform such work as is necessary to secure the property or to render it safe. 3. The enforcement officer shall take such action as has been authorized by the Code Enforcement Board to secure the property or render it safe, including the letting of contracts, pursuant to city purchasing requirements, to repair or remove dangerous conditions and items. The costs and expenses of such work shall be a lien upon the property, which lien may be enforced by suit at law or upon proceeding in chancery. 4. Liens for such city contracted work shall be co-equal with all state, county and municipal taxes and shall be superior in dignity to all other liens, titles and claims until paid. 5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require city work to be done or to imply a duty by the city to fix conditions which are the legal responsibility of the owner(s) of the property. This section is supplementary to city and code board authority to order the property owner to remedy nuisance conditions. SECTION II - If any section or portion of a section of this ordinance proves to be invalid, unlawful or unconstitutional, it shall be held to invalidate or impair the validity, force or effect of any other section or portion ofa section of this ordinance.