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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-99-06ORDINANCE NO. O-99-06 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING CODE OF ORDINANCES CHAPTER 66; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Chapter 66 of the Code of Ordinances provides a mechanism for the City to abate public nuisances; and WHEREAS, the times provided violators for corrective action under said Chapter does not allow quick action to protect the public health and safety; and WHEREAS, state law provides for much shorter time periods for the correction of safety nuisances; and WHEREAS, the viability of using said Chapter is further hindered by the absence of language necessary to fully enforce the lien for expenses incurred in nuisance abatement. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows: Section 1. That section 66-1 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 66-1. Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: Enforcement official means either the City building official, code enforcement officer or city engineer as appropriate to the alleged violation. Improved real property means any lot, tract or parcel of land upon which a structure of any kind or type has been either placed or constructed. Improved real property shall not include property which is otherwise unimproved except to the extent that a dock or similar structure has been constructed pursuant to section 20A-5.7(D) of the city's Land Development Code. Nuisance means any person doing any unlawful act, or omitting to perform a duty, or suffering or permitting any condition or thing to exist, which act, omission, condition or thing either: (1) Injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health or safety of others; (2)Offends decency; (3)Is offensive to the senses; (4) Unlawfully interferes with, obstructs or tends to obstruct or renders dangerous for passage any public or private street, highway, sidewalk, stream, ditch or drainage; (5) In any way renders other persons insecure in life or the use of property; or (6 Essentially interferes with comfortable enjoyment of life and property, or tends to depreciate the value of the property of others. Unimproved real property means any lot, tract or parcel of land that does not have any structure of any kind or type either placed or constructed upon it. Section 2. That section 66-4 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 66-4. Notice of violation. Upon the failure of the owner of any lot, parcel or tract of land within the city to keep such premises free of weeds, grass and undergrowth of a height of ten inches or more from the ground, or of rubbish, trash, debris, dead trees, or other unsightly or unsanitary matter, or to keep such premises free of excavations or depressions, or other nuisances as provided in section 66-3, then it shall be the duty of the enforcement official to give notice to such owner of his violation of this article and to demand elimination of the violation within 15 days after the receipt, or posting, of such notice, unless the violation poses an imminent threat to public health and safety, in which case the notice shall require elimination of the violation within forty-eight (48) hours. Section 3. That section 66-5 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 66-5. Service of notice; form. (a) The notice required by section 66-4 shall be given by certified mail, addressed to the owner of the property described, as his name and address is then shown upon the tax roll of the county property appraiser, as of the date received or posted. If such notice is returned by postal authorities without evidencing receipt thereof, the enforcement official shall cause a copy of the notice to be served by a police officer of the city upon the occupant of the property, or upon any agent of the owner thereof, if located in the county. If personal service upon the occupant of the property or upon any agent of the owner thereof cannot be performed after two attempts by such officer, the notice shall be accomplished by physically posting the notice on the property. (b) The notice shall be in substantially the following form: NOTICE OF PUBLIC NUISANCE Name of owner Address of owner Public records indicate that you are the owner of the following property in the City of Sebastian, Florida: (describe property) An inspection of this property discloses, and the City has found and determined, that a condition exists thereon which is a violation of section 66-3 of the of Ordinances of the City of Sebastian in Code that: (describe here the condition which places the property in violation) You are hereby notified that unless the condition described above is remedied so as to make it nonviolative of section 66-4 of the Code of Ordinances of the city within 15 days / 48 hours from the time of receipt hereof, the City of Sebastian will proceed to remedy this condition, and the expenses will be imposed as a lien on the property if not paid within 14 days after receipt of billing. If you have any questions, please phone the code enforcement department of the city. If you dispute that such alleged conditions exist on such property, you may request a hearing before the city code enforcement board to show good reason why such condition should not be corrected. Such request for hearing must be in writing and must be postmarked by a date not later than ten days if fifteen (15) days is given to correct the violation, or by hand-delivery or fax of such request by noon of the next business day if only forty-eight (48) hours is given in the notice, after your receipt of this notice by you or the occupant of the premises, and addressed to city clerk, city hall. City of Sebastian, Florida By: Title: Section 4. That section 66-6 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 66-6. Hearing before code enforcement board. Within ten days after the receipt of notice or after the service or posting of such notice on the property, or by noon of the following business day if corrective action is required within forty-eight (48) hours, the owner of the property may make written request to the city clerk for a hearing before the code enforcement board to show that the condition alleged in the notice does not exist, or to show other reasons why the alleged violation should not be corrected. At the hearing, the city and the property owner may introduce such evidence as is appropriate. Section 5. That section 66-7 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Sebastian, Florida is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 66-7. Condition may be remedied by city and lien imposed. (a) If, within the times allotted under this Chapter, no hearing has been requested in writing and the condition described in the notice has not been corrected within the time period provided in the notice of public nuisance, the enforcement shall cause the condition to be remedied at the expense of the property owner. (b) If a hearing has been held and is concluded adversely to the property owner, and the condition is not remedied by the owner within the time ordered by the code enforcement board after such hearing, the enforcement official may cause the condition to be remedied at the expense of the property owner. (c/ After causing the condition to be remedied, the enforcement official shall certify to the director of finance the expense incurred in remedying the condition, including advertising costs and all other expenses incurred by the city in correcting the condition, whereupon such expense shall become due and payable in full within 14 days after receipt of the bill therefor, after which a special assessment lien and charge will be made upon the property, which lien shall be payable with simple interest at the rate of 1 1/2 percent per month on the unpaid balance from the due date until paid. Such lien shall be of equal dignity with the lien for taxes and shall be enforceable in the same manner as provided by law, and may be satisfied at any time by payment thereof, including director evidence lien upon be filed court River accrued interest. Upon such payment, the of finance shall, by appropriate means, the satisfaction and cancellation of such the record thereof. Notice of such lien may in the office of the clerk of the circuit and recorded among the public records of Indian County. Section 6. are hereby repealed. Section 7. CONFLICT. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith SEVERABILITY. In the event a court of competent jurisdiction shall hold or determine that any part of this Ordinance is invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the Ordinance shall not be affected and it shall be presumed that the City Council of the City of Sebastian did not intend to enact such invalid or unconstitutional provision. It shall further be assumed that the City Council would have enacted the remainder of this Ordinance without said invalid or unconstitutional provision, thereby causing said remainder to remain in full force and effect. Section 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect following its adoption by the City Council. motion was seconded by Councilmember ,x:~.~,d~') and, upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows: Mayor Martha S. Wininger Vice-Mayor Chuck Neuberger Councilmember Joe Barczyk Councilmember Ben A. Bishop Councilmember Edward J. Majcher, Jr. The Mayor thereupon declared this Ordinance duly passed and adopted this 25th day of August, 1999. Kathry~ M O~H'alloran, CMC/AAE City Clerk CITY OF SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA Chuck Neuberger,?i-~ayor Approved as to form and legality for reliance by the City of Sebastian only: Rich Stringer, City Attorney