Okaloosa County BOCC — September 1, 2015 — Draft Excessive Vegetation Ordinance 9-1-2015 — reading text

ORDINANCE NO. 2015- _____ AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA; CREATING A NEW DIVISION V OF ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 11 OF THE OKALOOSA COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES ENTITLED “EXCESSIVE GROWTH AND ACCUMULATION OF VEGETATION”; PROVIDING FOR THE ENFORCEMENT; PROVIDING THE RIGHT FOR THE COUNTY TO ELIMINATE A NUISANCE, PROVIDING FOR THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF COSTS FOR ELIMINATING OF A NUISANCE; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION INTO THE CODE OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR MODIFICATION; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, pursuant to Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, the Board of County Commissioners of Okaloosa County (the “Board”) has the power to adopt Ordinances necessary for the exercise of its powers and to prescribe fines and penalties for the violation of Ordinances in accordance with law; and WHEREAS, the Board desires to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Okaloosa County and maintain a high quality of life for the citizens of Okaloosa County; and WHEREAS, the Board further finds that it is necessary to control excessive vegetation to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens. As excessive growth and accumulation of vegetation creates conditions leading to a haven or breeding place for snakes, rats, rodents or other vermin of like or similar character, creates a breading place for mosquitoes, creates a fire hazard to adjacent properties, adversely affect or impair the economic welfare and value of neighboring properties and may create a hazard at road intersections or right-of-ways within the County. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. CREATION OF DIVISION V OF ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 11. The Board hereby creates a new Division 5 of Article III of the Chapter 11 of the Okaloosa Code of Ordinances, concerning Excessive Growth and Accumulation of Vegetation, to read as follows: 1 DIVISION V – EXCESSIVE GROWTH AND ACCUMULATION OF VEGETATION Sec. 11-1501. – Short title. This article shall be known as “Excessive Grown and Accumulation of Vegetation Ordinance of Okaloosa County”. Sec. 11-1502. – Applicability. The requirements and standards of this article shall apply throughout the unincorporated area of Okaloosa County. Sec. 11-1503 - Purpose. The purpose of this article is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Okaloosa County by preventing excessive growth and accumulation of vegetation that can lead to hazardous conditions. These conditions include havens or breeding places for snakes, rats, rodents or other vermin of like or similar character and mosquitoes. Further such conditions create a fire hazard to adjacent properties and adversely affect or impair the economic welfare or value of neighboring properties and may create a hazard at road intersections or right-of- ways within the County. Sec. 11-1504 – Enforcement. The enforcement of the provisions herein shall primarily be the responsibility of the Code Enforcement Division of the Okaloosa County Growth Management Department with assistance, as necessary to obtain compliance, from other Okaloosa County Departments, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, and the State Department of Health. Sec. 11-1505 – Definitions. As used in this article, the following words and terms shall have the meaning respectively ascribed, unless the context clearly requires otherwise: A. Enforcement Officer shall mean the person designated by the Board of County Commissioners to enforce the provisions of County codes and ordinances. The term includes, but is not limited to, code enforcement officers and all County personnel with Board designated responsibility to enforce codes and ordinances. B. Excessive Growth and Accumulation of Vegetation shall mean any weed growth, or undergrowth of dead or living vegetative matter that is growing in an uncontrolled manner or is not regularly maintained, and is in excess of eighteen (18) inches in height as measured from the soil level. Active crops, and pasture lands shall not be included within this definition. 2 C. Improved property shall mean any lot, parcel, or area of land that has been deliberately altered from its natural condition through human action for an identifiable purpose in support of a lawful use or activity including, but not limited to, residential or commercial development, storm water management, recreation and agriculture. Abandonment, disuse, or foreclosure shall not remove such property from classification as “improved.” Excluded from the definition are all federally-owned lands as well as all other public right-of-ways, publicly owned stormwater facilities, publicly owned landfills, and all publicly owned parks and/or natural land areas designated for passive recreational purposes. Property that does not fall within the scope of the proceeding description shall be considered “unimproved.” D. Property Owner shall mean an owner of any real property, lot, tract or parcel of land. E. Weed shall mean any monocotyledonous plant except for members of the family Arecaceae (also referred to as Palmae or Palmaceae) growing in an unmaintained condition. Sec. 11-1506 – Nuisance declared. A. It is hereby declared and determined by the Board of County Commissioners of Okaloosa County that the excessive growth and accumulation of vegetation is a nuisance when existing upon improved property in the unincorporated area of Okaloosa County. B. Exceptions. The Provisions of this Article shall not apply to the following: 1) Properties zoned within the Agricultural (AA) district, the Residential Rural (RR), or the Recreation (REC) district; or 2) Excessive growth and accumulation of vegetation which consumes less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the entire improved property. In the calculation of the extent of property subject to the excessive growth and accumulation of vegetation, that area which is encompassed by any structure shall not be considered in the calculation. Sec. 11-1507 Creation or maintenance of nuisance prohibited. A. It shall be unlawful for any person to cause or allow any excessive growth and accumulation of vegetation to exist on any lands or premises. B. It shall be unlawful for any person, after notice as provided in Section 11- 1509 that a nuisance to the public health, safety or welfare exists on property, lands or premises which are owned by them, to allow such conditions to remain or to fail to remove such nuisance. 3 Sec. 11-1508 – Duty of Property Owners. It is the duty and responsibility of each Property Owner to reasonably regulate and effectively control the growth and accumulation of vegetation on its real property, lot, tract, or parcel of land and on the portion of the adjoining public right-of-way between the property, lot, tract, or parcel and the roadway regardless of whether the roadway is paved. Sec. 11-1509 – Notice to remove. A. If the Enforcement Officer finds and determines that a nuisance as described and declared in Section 11-1506 exists, the Enforcement Office shall notify the Property Owner and direct that the nuisance be corrected. The notice shall be provided in the same manner that notice is authorized under Chapter 162, Florida Statutes. B. The notice shall contain the following: 1) The name(s) and address(es) of the Property Owner(s), as listed in the records of the Okaloosa County Property Appraiser; 2) The name(s) and address(es) of the violator(s), if known; 3) The location of the property on which the violation exists; 4) A statement by the Enforcement Officer that the property has been inspected and that a violation of Section 11-1506 has been determined to exist on the property, which violation constitutes a nuisance; 5) A general description of the condition which causes the property to be in violation; and 6) A requirement that the violator and the Property Owner(s) correct or cause to be corrected the violation within a specified number of days from the date of the notice, failing which the Enforcement Officer may request a hearing on the matter before the Code Enforcement Board. C. If the Enforcement Officer deems it to be in the public interest, the provisions of any current or future citation system provided for in this Code may be utilized in lieu of the procedure set forth herein. Section 11-1510 – Elimination of nuisance. A. If the property owner fails to correct the violation as required in the notice provided to pursuant to Section 11-1509, the matter shall be referred to the Code Enforcement Board. Upon the Code Enforcement Board having conducted a hearing and having issued an order determining that a violation has occurred, the Property Owner(s) shall take immediate action to comply with the Code Enforcement Board order and correct the 4  nuisance. If the Property Owner(s) has/have not corrected the nuisance either within 30 days of the issuance of the Code Enforcement Board order or within the time designated for compliance by the Code Enforcement Board if longer than 30 days, the Growth Management Director, or his or her designee, shall place, or cause to be placed, a notice of abatement placard upon the property in violation in a conspicuous and easily visible location. B. The notice of abatement placard shall: 1) Be at least 18 inches by 24 inches in dimension. 2) Include a sufficient description by address and/or legal description to identify the property upon which the violation exists. 3) Include a description of the violation to be corrected. 4) Include a statement that the Code Enforcement Board has ordered that the violation be corrected. 5) State, in bold and conspicuous letters, that if the described violation is not corrected within 15 calendar days of the posting of this notice, then the Growth Management Director may cause the violation to be corrected, and impose a lien upon the property for the actual cost of such correction. 6) Include a preliminary, nonbinding, minimum estimate of the cost of correction if the Growth Management Director is required to cause the violation to be corrected. The estimated cost of correction shall be based upon the then current rate as may be established by the Board of County Commissioners and is intended to provide notice to the owner, agent, custodian, lessee or occupant of the estimated cost of correction. C. Concurrently with the posting of the notice of abatement placard upon the property, the Growth Management Director, or his or her designee, shall deliver, or cause