Okaloosa County BOCC — December 1, 2015 — Code Enforcement Ordinance including Nuisance Abatement Assessment Provisions — reading text

ORDINANCE 15-____ AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA REPEALING SECTIONS 11.03.00 THROUGH 11.03.11 OF THE OKALOOSA COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, ORDINANCE 91-01, AS AMENDED; PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION OF A NEW ARTICLE VI, CODE ENFORCEMENT, OF CHAPTER 11 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA PROVIDING FOR CODE ENFORCEMENT PROCESSES, THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD, FINES, PENALTIES AND LIENS, DURATION OF LIENS, APPEALS, USE OF NUISANCE ABATEMENT ASSESSMENTS, DISTRIBUTION OF FINES AND PENALTIES COLLECTED, LIABILITY, AND RELIEF; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. RECITALS 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 finds that, in order to better protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens, it is necessary to re-organize the Code in order to provide more efficient implementation; and WHEREAS, the Board finds that is in the public interest to provide for the use of the uniform method of collecting non-ad-valorem assessments to recover the costs of abating code violations and nuisances. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the Okaloosa county Code Enforcement Ordinance of 2015. 1  SECTION 2. REPEAL OF SECTION 11.03.00 THROUGH SECTION 11.03.11 OF THE OKALOOSA COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE. Section 11.03.00 through 11.03.11 of the Okaloosa County Land Development Code, {Ordinance 91-01, as amended) are hereby repealed in their entirety. SECTION 3. CREATION OF ARTICLE VI OF CHAPTER 11 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA. The Board hereby creates a new Article VI of Chapter 11 of the Okaloosa Code of Ordinances, concerning Code Enforcement, to read as follows: Article VI CODE ENFORCEMENT 11-601 PURPOSE The purpose of this section is to promote, protect, and improve the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Okaloosa County by establishing processes for the abatement of nuisances and correction of violations of the various codes and ordinances in effect throughout the County. 11-602 VIOLATIONS GENERALLY 1. Any contravention of the provisions of any code or ordinance, including this Article, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners is hereby declared a violation and subject to the terms of this Chapter. 2. Interference with the officer attempting to enforce this Article, the Okaloosa County Land Development Code (Ordinance 91-01, as amended), or any other code or ordinance adopted by the Board of County Commissioners shall constitute a violation as well as any other criminal sanction which may be imposed. 3. Aesthetics alone shall not be a cause for which county officials shall act/enforce upon private property. The County shall enforce violations in cases where health, safety, and the general welfare are issues. 11-603 DEFINITION OF CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER Code enforcement officer shall mean an agent or employee of Okaloosa County appointed and authorized to enforce and insure compliance with the ordinances of Okaloosa County as provided herein and section 162.21, F.S. 11-604 ENFORCEMENT RESPONSIBILITY The Code Enforcement Division of the Okaloosa County Growth Management Department shall be the primary agency responsible for enforcing the codes and regulations enumerated below. Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the Code Enforcement Division, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department, or the Florida Department of Health and their respective agents or representatives from providing mutual assistance as necessitated by the circumstances of an alleged violation. 1. The Code Enforcement Division shall be the primary agency responsible for enforcing the following codes and regulations: 2  A. The Okaloosa County Land Development Code (Ordinance 91-01, as amended); B. Okaloosa County Construction Industry Licensing as provided in Chapter 6 of the County Code (Ordinance as amended); C. C. Article III of Chapter 11 of the County Code as adopted and as may be subsequently amended; The Protective Covenants and Restrictions for Okaloosa Island as provided in Chapter 75-456 of the Laws of Florida; D. The Florida Building and Life Safety Codes in conjunction with the Okaloosa County Building Official and Inspections Division. The provisions of this part shall not apply to the enforcement pursuant to sections 553.79 and 553.80 of the Florida Building Code adopted pursuant to section 553.73 as applied to construction, provided that a building permit is either not required or has been issued by the county or the municipality. E. Section 21-65, Nuisance Vehicles, of Article IV of Chapter 21 of the Code of Ordinances of Okaloosa County, Florida. 2. Complaints shall be investigated upon receipt of a notice via the citizen request for service system or in a form that includes legible name, signature, address or any other means wherein the complainant is identifiable. Except as may be provided in law, all complaints and associated information are a matter of public record and shall be available upon request. 11-605 ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES 1. Code enforcement actions shall be as provided in Florida Statutes including but not limited to Chapters 125 and 162. 2. Enforcement Procedure for Code Enforcement Board A. Except as provided in subsections C and D, below, if a code violation is found, the Code Enforcement Officer shall provide the violator a written Notice of Violation that includes a reasonable time to correct the violation. Notices of Violation shall be delivered or mailed to the violator as provided in section 162.12, F.S. The Notice of Violation shall at a minimum include: (1) The date and time of issuance. (2) The name and address of the person to whom the Notice is issued. (3) The date and time the violation was observed. (4) The facts constituting reasonable cause. (5) The numbers or sections of the code(s) or ordinance(s) violated. (6) The name and authority of the code enforcement officer. (7) The reasonable time for correcting the violation. B. Should the violation continue beyond the time specified for correction in the Notice of Violation, and the Code Enforcement Officer determines that there has been no 3  progress in correcting the violations for which the notice was issued, the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the Code Enforcement Board and schedule a public hearing. Written notice of such hearing shall be hand delivered or mailed as provided in section 162.12, F.S., to said violator. At the option of the Code Enforcement Board, notice may additionally be served by publication or posting as provided in section 162.12, F.S. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with section 2- 147.8, below. If the violation is corrected and then recurs or if the violation is not corrected by the time specified for correction by the Code Enforcement Officer, the case may be presented to the Code Enforcement Board even if the violation has been corrected prior to the board hearing, and the notice shall so state. In the event the violation has continued beyond the time specified for correction in the Notice of Violation, but the Code Enforcement Officer determines that progress has been made toward correcting the violations for which the Notice was issued, the Code Enforcement Officer may extend the time allowed for correction. The extension shall be in writing, and delivered in the same manner as the hearing notice. C. If a repeat violation is found, the Code Enforcement Officer shall notify the violator but is not required to give the violator a reasonable time to correct the violation. The Code Enforcement Officer, upon notifying the violator of a repeat violation, shall notify the Code Enforcement Board and shall place the violation on the agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting. For violations which pose an immediate threat to the public health and safety, the Code Enforcement Board may hold a special meeting which shall be noticed in accordance with all applicable statutes. The case may be presented to the Code Enforcement Board even if the repeat violation has been corrected prior to the board hearing, and the notice shall so state. If the repeat violation has been corrected, the Code Enforcement Board retains the right to schedule a hearing to determine costs and impose the payment of reasonable enforcement fees upon the repeat violator. The repeat violator may choose to waive his or her rights to this hearing and pay said costs as determined by the Code Enforcement Board. As used herein, a repeat violation is a recurrence of a violation of the same section of the Code for which a citation or notice of violation has been previously issued for the same property, or to the same property owner on a different property than the property for which the these repeat violations provisions are being applied. D. If the Code Enforcement Officer has reason to believe a violation or the condition causing the violation presents a serious threat to the public health, safety, and welfare or if the violation is irreparable or irreversible in nature, the Code Enforcement Officer shall make a reasonable effort to notify the violator and may immediately notify the Code Enforcement Board and request a hearing. E. In the event a citation has been upheld in a court of law and the violation persists beyond the time specified in the court order for correction, the County may initiate action as provided in section 162.23, Florida Statutes or pursuant to any other authorized remedy. 3. Code Enforcement Procedure for Citations 4 A. Prior to issuing a citation, a Code Enforcement Officer shall provide notice to the person that has committed a violation of a code or ordinance and shall establish a reasonable time period within which the person must correct the violation. Such time period shall be no more than thirty (30) days. If, upon personal investigation, a Code Enforcement Officer finds that the person has not corrected the violation within the time