Okaloosa County BOCC — December 15, 2015 — Code Enforcement Ordinance Rosetta Stone (2) — reading text

violators who are attempting to comply but which may have some hardship. The reference to 11- 607 was added to indicate how the hearings would progress. (3) If a repeat violation is found, the code inspector shall notify the violator but is not required to give the violator a reasonable time to correct the violation. The code inspector, upon notifying the  violator of a repeat violation, shall notify an enforcement board and request a hearing. The code enforcement board, through its clerical staff, shall schedule a hearing and shall provide notice pursuant to s. 162.12. The case may be presented to the 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. The special meeting language was added in recognition that there may not be time to wait regularly scheduled meetings. The “as used herein” language was added at the request of the Code Enforcement Board in order to ensure that property owners who have been previously noticed about a code violation on one of their properties cannot claim ignorance if the same violation occurs on a different property they also own. (4) If the code inspector has reason to D. If the Code Enforcement Officer has reason to believe a violation or the condition causing the believe a violation or the condition causing violation presents a serious threat to the public the violation presents a serious threat to health, safety, and welfare or if the violation is the public health, safety, and welfare or if irreparable or irreversible in nature, the Code the violation is irreparable or irreversible Enforcement Officer shall make a reasonable effort in nature, the code inspector shall make a to notify the violator and may immediately notify the Code Enforcement Board and request a hearing. reasonable effort to notify the violator and  may immediately notify the enforcement board and request a hearing. E. In the event a citation has been upheld in a Language added by legal counsel to enable court of law and the violation persists beyond the follow up action if a violation is not corrected time specified in the court order for correction, the even if citation upheld by court. County may initiate action as provided in section 162.23, Florida Statutes or pursuant to any other authorized remedy. (5) If the owner of property that is subject to an enforcement proceeding before an enforcement board, special magistrate, or court transfers ownership of such property between the time the initial pleading was served and the time of the hearing, such owner shall: (a) Disclose, in writing, the existence and the nature of the proceeding to the prospective transferee. (b) Deliver to the prospective transferee a copy of the pleadings, notices, and other materials relating to the code enforcement proceeding received by the transferor. (c) Disclose, in writing, to the prospective transferee that the new owner will be responsible for compliance with the applicable code and with orders issued in the code enforcement proceeding. (d) File a notice with the code enforcement official of the transfer of the property, with the identity and address of the new owner and copies of the disclosures made to the new owner, within 5 days after the date of the transfer. A failure to make the disclosures described in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) before the transfer creates a rebuttable presumption  of fraud. If the property is transferred before the hearing, the proceeding shall not be dismissed, but the new owner shall be provided a reasonable period of time to correct the violation before the hearing is held. Section (5) above has not been included in the proposed ordinance as it is a direction to the property owner who committed the violation, not a procedure to govern the conduct of the hearing or process, and also because it automatically makes a new property owner responsible for the violations without first having received the opportunity to correct. 3. Code Enforcement Procedure for Citations 11.03.02. - Enforcement procedure. 1. As used in this section, "code enforcement officer" means any designated employee or As noted above, this definition has been agent of Okaloosa County whose duty it is to relocated in the proposed ordinance. enforce codes and ordinances. 2. Okaloosa County Code Enforcement Officers are hereby authorized to issue This authority is provided through section 11- citations for any violations of Sections 489.101 604E of the proposed ordinance. through 489.134, 489.501 through 489.539 and 489.551 through 489.559, Florida Statutes, against persons who engage in activity for which Okaloosa County licensure, certification, or registration is required or further, against any person violating any Okaloosa County code or ordinance, wherever, based upon personal investigation, the code enforcement officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that such a violation has occurred. 3. It shall be the duty of the code enforcement The first sentence in this statement is officers to issue citations and initiate unnecessary as it is the underlying purpose of enforcement proceedings of the various codes  and ordinances. However, no member of the code enforcement; the second sentence has