HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-25-16 Amending Chapter 26 Building and Building RegulationORDINANCE NO.O-25-16
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN BY AMENDING
CHAPTER 26 - BUILDINGS AND BUILDING REGULATION, ARTICLE VI -
CONTRACTORS: AMENDING SECTION 26-161 DEFINITIONS, REMOVING
OBSOLETE DEFINITIONS, ADDING DEFINITION FOR "HANDYMAN
SERVICES", ADDING HVAC TO "JOURNEYMEN" DEFINITION, RELOCATING
"SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS" DEFINITION AND DEFINITION FOR "STATE
REGISTERED"; AMENDING SECTION 26-164, AMENDING THE TITLE OF
SECTION 26-164 TO READ "PREEMPTIONS/EXEMPTIONS", ADDING PRE-
EMPTIONS PER F.S. §163.211 AND EXEMPTIONS PER F.S. §489.103;
AMENDING SECTION 26-165, STIPULATING THAT PERSONS ENGAGED IN
THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING SHALL BE LICENSED IN ONE OF THE
LICENSE CATEGORIES AS SET FORTH BY FLORIDA STATUTES AND THE
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION;
PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING
FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR SCRIVENER'S ERRORS; AND
PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Florida Statute §163.211 has preempted occupational licensing to
the State of Florida, which supersedes any local government licensing requirements
and stipulates that local licensing is not authorized; and
WHEREAS, the Florida legislature amended Florida Statute §489.117(4)(a)(1) in
order to allow municipalities to regulate local contractors whose license areas when
they substantially, correspond with state contractor license categories; and
WHEREAS, Resolution R-96-62 of the City of Sebastian as enacted on August 28,
1996 currently sets out the list of trades for state contractor categories; and
WHEREAS, Resolution R-96-62 of the City of Sebastian as enacted on August 28,
1996 is hereby deemed obsolete in light of the statutory preemption in this regard; and
WHEREAS, in light of the preemption and legislative amendments, the current
list of state approved contractor categories and their definitions shall be made available
through the Building Department for public access; and
WHEREAS, at this time it is necessary and prudent for the City of Sebastian to
update Chapter 26 Building and Building Regulation, Article VI Contractors to comply
with Florida Statutes.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. ADOPTION OF RECITALS/ADVERTISING. The above recitals are hereby
adopted as true, correct and found to be the legislative intent of the City Council of the
City of Sebastian. Further, all advertising and public notice requirements have been
timely made.
SECTION 2. TEXTUAL AMENDMENT. The City Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian,
Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Chapter 26 Buildings and Building Regulation
ARTICLE V1 CONTRACTORS
DIVISION 1. - GENERALLY
Sec. 26-161. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings
ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Application for permit means any permit application made under any building code or
technical code contained in or adopted by reference in the Code of Ordinances of the city and
the Land Development Code, as such have been, or may be, amended, including all documents
submitted with any permit application.
Apprentice plumbers and electricians Apprentice plumbers shall perform plumbing only
under the direct supervision of a master plumber or under the direct supervision of a
journeyman plumber. Apprentice electricians shall perform electrical work only under the
direct supervision of a master electrician or under the direct supervision of a journeyman
electrician. Direct supervision means that the respective supervision is performed on the job
site in person by the respective supervisor.
Board means the city construction board created under this article unless the context
otherwise requires.
Certificate means a certificate of competency issued by the board as provided in this
article.
Certification means the act of obtaining or holding a certificate of competency from the
board as provided in this article.
Contracting means, except as exempted by this article, engaging in business as a
contractor.
Contractor means any person who engages in business under expressed or implied
contract or who undertakes or offers to undertake or purports to have the capacity to
undertake, or submits a bid to, or does himself, or by or through others, engage in the business
of doing a trade, and who holds a certificate of competency as provided by this article to
perform the work of the particular trade in which such person is engaged.
Department means the state department of business and professional regulation or, where
applicable, the state construction industry licensing board.
Investigator means an individual authorized by the city council to enforce the provisions
of this article and who has the authority to issue citations. Investigator shall include the director
of community development, the building official and code enforcement officers, as well as
those individuals authorized by resolution adopted by the city council from time to time.
Handyman Services means performing work of a casual, minor or inconsequential nature;
and the total contract price for all labor, materials, and all other items is less than $2,500, subject
to the following exceptions:
(a) If the construction, repair, remodeling, or improvement is a part of a larger or major
operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor, or in which a division
of the operation is made in contracts of amounts less than $2,500 for the purpose of evading
this part or otherwise; or
(b) Any person who advertises that he or she is a contractor or otherwise represents that
he or she is qualified to engage in contracting.
Journeymen means those who qualify after four years' minimum experience, and shall only
perform work in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning (hvac), plumbing and electrical trades
while employed by or supervised by, a certified hvac, plumbing or electrical contractor.
Person means an individual, any business or non -business entity, corporation, partnership,
joint venture, unincorporated association, trust, estate, club or society.
Specialty contractors are those who specialize in one or more crafts of the building
construction and related contracting trades whose scope is defined by Florida Statute §489.117
and Florida Administrative code as limited under the certificate of competency issued to such
specialty contractor. All local specialty contractors whose trade is tested by Prometric Services
or other comparable testing agchey agencies must take such examination and receive a
passing grade of at least 70 percent on the examination for their trade.
State certification means the act of obtaining or holding a certificate of competency from
the department as provided in F.S. Ch. 489 as amended from time to time, or any rule or
regulation promulgated thereto.
State certified means any contractor who possesses a certificate of competency issued by
the department and who is allowed to contract in any jurisdiction in the state without being
required to fulfill the competency requirements of the city under this article.
State registered means any contractor who possesses a certificate of competency issued by
a local licensing board and is engaged in a business as defined in F.S. §489.105(3)(a)-(o), and
who must register with the department. Registration allows contractor to engage in
contracting only in the counties, municipalities or development districts where he or she has
complied with all licensing requirements for the type of work covered by the registration.
Sec. 26-162. Purpose.
It is hereby declared to be the intent of the city council that, in order to safeguard the life,
health, property and public welfare of its citizens, the business of construction and home
improvements is a matter affecting the public interest, and any person engaging in such
business shall be required to establish his competency and qualifications as provided in this
article.
Sec. 26-163. Application of article.
(a) Nothing in this article limits the power of the city to regulate the quality and character of
work performed by contractors through a system of permits, fees and inspections which
are designed to secure compliance with and aid in the implementation of state and local
building laws or to enforce other local laws for the protection of the public health and
safety.
(b) Nothing in this article limits the power of the city to collect business tax receipts and
inspection fees for engaging in contracting.
(c) Nothing in this article limits the power of the city to adopt any system or permits requiring
submission to and .approval by the .city of plans and specifications for work to. be
performed by contractors before commencement of the work.
(d) Any official authorized to issue building or other related permits shall- ascertain that the
applicant contractor is duly certified before issuing the permit. The evidence shall consist
only of the exhibition to him of current evidence of certification.
(e) This article applies to any contractor performing work for the state, county or municipality
as well as work for private persons. They are required'to determine compliance with this
article before giving a commencement order on any of its contracts for construction,
improvement, remodeling or repair.
(f) If an incomplete contract exists at the time of death of a contractor, the contract may be
completed or continued by any person even though not certified; however, an alternate
contractor shall be qualified within a period of 90 days. Such person shall notify the board
of his name and address within 30 days after the death of the contractor.
Sec. 26-164. Preemptions/Exemptions.
The Florida statutory exemptions provided for in F.S. §163.211, as amended from time to
time, and exemptions as set out in F.S. §489.103, as amended from time to time,_shall also
constitute exemptions from the provisions of this article. , § 1, 8 22 12)
Sec. 26-165. Certification procedures.
(a) No persons shall engage in the business of construction, contracting or sub -contracting
as regulated by Florida Statute or this chapter without first being state certified, state
registered or locally licensed with a valid certificate of competency issued by the City of
Sebastian Building Department. To obtain a certificate of competency, an applicant shall
submit proof of licensure, proof of insurance, proof of business tax receipt and shall be
accompanied by the fee set by this article. The class of certificate desired shall be assigned
from the license categories as provided by Florida Statutes and the Department of
Business and Professional Regulations, as amended from time to time. A list of current
license categories and their definitions, shall be made available to the public by the City
of Sebastian Building Department.
(b) - As -a prerequisite to issuance of a certificate, the board shall require the license holder to
su - it -satisfactory evidence that he has obtained public liability insurance in the
fo(lbvyf _§ amounts:
• 1
(1) 'renerOl contractor, building contractor and residential building contractor: Not less than
$100,000.00 property insurance; and not less than $300,000.00 personal liability
insurance,
42)- " All others: Not less than $50,000.00 property insurance; and not less than $100,000.00
personal liability insurance, together with evidence of workerscompensation
insurance or certificate that he has complied with the state workers' compensation
law. All evidence of insurance must be filed with the building official. Thereupon, the
certificate shall be issued forthwith, but this subsection does not apply to the issuance
or renewal of inactive certificates.
SECTION 3. CODIFICATION. It is the intention of the Sebastian City Council, and it is
hereby ordained, that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the
Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian; and that the sections of this ordinance may be
renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and that the word 'ordinance' may be
changed to 'section,"article,' or other appropriate word as necessary to effect the codification
SECTION 4. CONFLICTS. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this
ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.
SECTIONS. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or
portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of
competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent
provision, and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
Ordinance.
SECTION 6. SCRIVENER'S ERRORS. Sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered
or re -lettered, and corrections of typographical errors or scrivener's errors which do not affect
the intent of the ordinance may be made by the City Manager or the City Manager's designee,
without further action by the City Council, by filing a corrected copy of the same with the City
Clerk.
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon
adoption at final reading and as otherwise provided by law.
DATED THIS 3(Z+--) DAY OF c%�'�c�'� .2025.
TEST:
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Jeanette Ilia
City Clerk
CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA
Y Fred Jones, Mayor-- _
Approved as to form & legality.
James . Stokes, Interim City Attorney