HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-97-61ORDINANCE NO. O-97-61
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER
COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 98-1 OF THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO DEFINITIONS; ADOPTING
THE FLORIDA UNIFORM TRAFFIC CONTROL LAW;
AMENDING SECTION 98-4 OF THE CODE OR ORDINANCES
RELATING TO DRIVING ONTO MEDIANS, SHOULDERS, ETC.;
DELETING SECTION 98-5 RELATING TO OPERATION ON
PUBLIC SCHOOL GROUNDS; AMENDING SECTION 98-6
RELATING' TO LIMIT ON GROSS WEIGHT OF VEHICLES;
AMENDING SECTION 98-7 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
RELATING TO ENFORCEMENT; AMENDING SECTION 98-8 OF
THE CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO DESIGNATION
OF ONE WAY STREETS; AMENDING SECTION 98-32 OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO VERBAL NOTICE OF
UNSAFE PARKING, REFUSAL TO OBEY; DELETING SECTION
98-33 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO
PARKING ON PUBLIC SCHOOL GROUNDS; DELETING
SECTION 98-34 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING
TO PARKING ON MAIN STREET; DELETING SECTION 98-35
OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO PARKING ON
CENTRAL AVENUE; AMENDING SECTION 98-36 OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO PARKING IN
RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS; CREATING SECTION 98-38
ENTITLED "PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF SECTION
316.1955, FLORIDA STATUTES; HANDICAPPED
ACCESSIBILITY FUND"; AMENDING SECTION 98-52 OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES RELATING TO DEFINITIONS;
AMENDING SECTION 98-53 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES
RELATING TO MUNICIPAL NONCRIMINAL TRAFFIC
INFRACTIONS; PROVIDING FOR A PURPOSE; PROVIDING
FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Sebastian, Florida, desires to amend
the Code of Ordinances relating to the regulation of vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Sebastian, Florida, believes that it is
in the best interests of the health, safety, and general welfare of the community to do so,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA, THAT:
Section 1. Section 98-1 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-1. Definitions.
Vehicle means any vehicle defined by section 316.003, Florida Statutes.
Section 2. Section 98-2 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-2. Adoption of Florida Uniform Disposition of Traffic Infractions Act and
the Florida Uniform Traffic Control Law.
There is hereby adopted by reference the Florida Uniform Disposition of Traffic
Infractions Act, F.S. ch. 318, as amended from time to time and the Florida Uniform
Traffic Control Law, F. S. ch. 316, as amended from time to time, both of which shall
be in full force and effect in the city.
Section 3. Section 98-4 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-4. Driving onto medians, shoulders, etc.
No person shall ride or drive any vehicle on the land areas that separate paved streets,
roads or highways such as medians, islands or similar land areas. No person shall ride or
drive any motorized vehicle on the soft shoulder of any paved road, except as is
necessary to get the motorized vehicle on or off the road, during emergencies, such as
accidents and breakdowns.
Section 4.
deleted.
Section 5.
Section 98-5 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
Section 98-6 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-6. Limit on gross weight of vehicles; enforcement.
(b) Any police officer of the city having reason to believe that the weight of a vehicle
and load is unlawful, is authorized to require the driver to stop and submit to a
weighing of the vehicle either by means of portable or stationary scales and may
require that such vehicle be driven to the nearest public scales for weighing.
Section 6. Section 98-7 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-7. Penalty for violation of chapter; enforcement.
(a) Penalty. Any person who shall violate or fail to comply with any of the provisions of
this chapter, or who shall counsel, aid or abet any such violation or failure to comply,
shall be deemed guilty of an offense against the city and shall be punished by a fine as set
forth in chapters 316 and 318, F.S., as presently constituted or as hereafter amended.
(b) Enforcement. It shall be the responsibility of the police department to enforce the
provisions of this chapter.
Section 7. Section 98-8 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-8. Designation of one-way streets.
The city council may provide for one-way traffic on city streets by enacting a resolution in
each instance to provide for such one-way designation. The city clerk shall keep a
permanent record of any such one-way changes. Upon enactment of any such resolution,
the public works department shall erect proper signals to indicate such one-way
designation pursuant to the Uniform Manual of Traffic Control Devices.
Section 8. Section 98-32 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-32. Verbal notice of unsafe parking; refusal to obey.
When the parking of a vehicle interferes with the safety of the general inhabitants of the
city and a police officer has determined that the vehicle is so parked, he shall make a
reasonable effort to notify the owner or operator of the vehicle, giving the owner or
operator the opportunity to remove the vehicle from the parking location. If the owner or
driver refuses to remove the vehicle from such a location after notification by the police
officer or if the owner or operator cannot be located, the vehicle shall be sited, towed and
stored at the owner's expense.
Section 9.
deleted.
Section 10.
deleted.
Section 11.
deleted.
Section 12.
Section 98-33 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
Section 98-34 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
Section 98-35 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian is hereby
Section 98-36 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian
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is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 98-36 Parking in Residential Districts and on Street Rights-of-way.
(a) For purposes of this section, a vehicle shall be considered to be parked if it is
stopped other than for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or
unloading merchandise or passengers.
(b) No vehicle may be parked on any lot in any residential district, except in an
enclosed structure, unless said vehicle is licensed, registered, and owned or leased
to the owner or tenant of the lot with the exception of temporary invited guests.
(c) No vehicle displaying a "for sale" sign may be parked on any street right-of-way.
(d) No truck, van, or road tractor as defined in Sec. 20A-5.16.1 over 23 feet in length
and/or 9 feet in height shall be parked on any street tight-of-way:
(e) Any vehicle parked on any street tight-of-way in front of any lot which is not
removed within 24 hours after a notice requiting removal has been posted on the
vehicle by the City will be towed at the owner's expense.
(f) Any violation of this Section shall be a civil infraction, subject to a maximum civil
penalty of $100.00 per day, or a civil penalty of $50.00 per day if the person
committing the civil infraction does not contest the citation.
Section 13. Section 98-37 of the City of Sebastian Code of Ordinances is hereby created
to read as follows:
Sec. 98-37. Penalties for Violation of Section 316.1955 Florida Statutes;
Handicapped Accessibility Fund. In accordance with Section 316.008(4) Florida
Statutes, any violation of Section 316.1955, Florida Statutes shall be a civil infraction,
subject to a maximum civil penalty of $250.00 per day. There is hereby established a
Handicapped Accessibility Fund, a separate account in which the fines collected pursuant
to this section shall be deposited and which shall be used in the following manner: one
third to be used to provide funds to defray expenses for the administration of this section
and two thirds to be used to provide funds to improve accessibility and equal opportunity
to qualified physically disabled persons in the City and to conduct public awareness
programs in the City concerning persons who have disabilities.
Section 14. Section 98-52 of the City of Sebastian Code of Ordinances is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-52. Definitions.
Officer means any law enforcement officer charged with and acting under his authority to
arrest persons suspected of, or known to be, violating statutes or ordinances regulating
traffic or parking or the operation of equipment or vehicles. The term includes any
individual employed or utilized by the police department who is acting as a parking
enforcement officer without arrest powers.
Section 15. Section 98-53- of the City of Sebastian Code of Ordinances is hereby
amended as follows:
Sec. 98-53. Municipal noncriminal traffic infractions; purpose.
(b) Whenever any vehicle with a driver therein or thereby is found parked,
stopped or standing in violation of any of the provisions of article I or II of
this chapter, the officer finding the vehicle shall deliver to the driver therein
or thereby a parking citation or notice in writing on a form provided
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(c)
(d)
(e)
therefor.
Whenever any-vehicle without a driver therein or thereby is found parked,
stopped or standing in violation of any of the provisions of article I or II of
this chapter, the officer finding the vehicle shall make a reasonable effort to
identify the owner, and shall conspicuously affix to the vehicle a traffic
citation or notice in writing on a form provided therefor.
Whenever a citation has been issued, the owner or driver of the vehicle
must answer the citation or notice within 72 hours of the issuance of the
citation or notice, during the hours and at the place specified in the citation
or notice, or mail a check or money order as payment for the penalty by
U.S. mail. If such procedure is followed within 72 hours, the penalty for a
violation of the parking, stopping or standing provisions of article I or II of
this chapter is $10.00.
If the operator or owner of the vehicle cited for violation of any of the
stopping, standing or parking provisions of this chapter does not deliver or
mail a check or money order in timely response to the citation or notice
delivered or affixed to the vehicle pursuant to this article, within a period of
72 hours, the police department shall mail to the registered owner of the
vehicle to which the citation or notice was affixed, a letter to inform the
owner of the violation and that the owner must deliver or mail a check or
money order in response to such notice or citation within seven days of the
date of such letter, and that the penalty for the violation is then $25.00.
(g)
(h)
(f) If the registered owner fails to pay the proper penalty in full
within the seven days from the date of such letter, or fails to request a
hearing within such seven days in the manner provided in subsection (i) of
this section, written notice of the violation shall be sent by mail to the
registered owner of the vehicle in the name of the traffic violations bureau
of the clerk of the county court, Indian River County, Florida.
Such notice mailed by certified or registered mail to the registered owner
or the address shown on the vehicle registration shall be sufficient and
equivalent to notice having been received by the registered owner.
If the person notified fails to pay the proper penalty in full within the time
stated, or fails to request a heating in the manner provided for in subsection
(i) of this section, the clerk of the court, based on a sworn affidavit, shall
issue a summons to appear directed to the registered owner of the vehicle.
Failure to appear at the specified time and place shall be deemed a
contempt of court, which contempt may be punished as provided by the
laws of Florida.
If the registered owner or operator of the vehicle pays the penalty prior to
a finding by the court of an infraction, such payment shall admit the
infraction and shall waive any right to a hearing or any appeal.
(i)
Any person cited for an infraction may elect to appear before a county
judge by requesting a hearing in writing.
place specified in the citation or notice.
a summons to appear is issued.
Section 16. CODIFICATION.
Such request shall be made at the
Such request must be made before
It is the intention of the City Council of the City
of Sebastian, Florida, that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a
part of the Land Development Code of the City of Sebastian, Florida, and that the sections
of this Ordinance may be renumbered, relettered, and the word "ordinance" may be
changed to "Section", "Article", or such other word or phrase in order to accomplish such
intention.
SectionlT. CONFLICT. All other Ordinances or parts of Ordinances,
Resolutions or parts of Resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent
of such conflict.
Section lB. SEVERABILITY. If any clause, section, or other part or
application of this Ordinance shall be held by any Court of competent jurisdiction to be
unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutional or invalid part or application shall be
considered as eliminated, in no way affecting the validity of the remaining portions or
applications, which shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 19. EFFECTIVE DATE.
days after adoption.
PASSED BY THE
FLORIDA, ON FIRST READING, THIS DAY OF
This Ordinance shall become effective ten (10)
CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN,
1997. PASSED
AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN,
1997.
The foregoing
Ordinance was moved for adoption by Councilmember
The motion was seconded by Councilmember
and, upon being put into a vote, the vote was as follows:
Mayor Walter W. Barnes
Vice Mayor Richard J. Taracka
Councilmember Louise R. Cartwright
Councilmember Larry Paul
Councilmember Ruth Sullivan
The Mayor thereupon declared this Ordinance duly passed and adopted this~ay
CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA
Walter W. Barnes, Mayor
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Approved as to Form and Content:
Valerie Settles
City Attorney
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