HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 7A_6/8/1989 . .n
ORDINANCE NO. 376
tiAy
AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE
OF TEQUESTA, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA,
v�`' ESTABLISHING A MUNICIPAL CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD;
DECLARING INTENT; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS;
PROVIDING FOR ORGANIZATION; PROVIDING FOR
APPLICABILITY; PROVIDING FOR POWERS; PROVIDING FOR
ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURE; PROVIDING FOR CONDUCT OF
HEARING; PROVIDING FOR FINES AND LIENS; PROVIDING
FOR APPEAL; PROVIDING FOR FORM OF NOTICES;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR
CODIFICATION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF
TEQUESTA, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, as follows:
Section 1. There is hereby created, pursuant to the
direction of Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes, a Municipal
Code Enforcement Board within the Village of Tequesta.
Section 2. Declaration of Legislative Intent.
It is the intent of this Ordinance to promote, protect
and improve the health, safety and welfare of the residents of
the Village of Tequesta by providing an equitable, expeditious,
effective and inexpensive method of enforcing the hereinafter
described codes of the Village.
Section 3. Definitions.
As used in this Ordinance:
Code Inspector means any authorized agent or employee
of the Village whose duty is to assure code compliance.
Enforcement Board means the Village Code Enforcement
Board.
Village Attorney means the legal counsel for the
Village.
Village Council means the Village Council of the
Village of Tequesta.
Section 4 . Organization.
The Village Council shall appoint a seven-member Code
Enforcement Board and legal counsel for the Board. The members
shall have the following qualifications and terms of office:
(A) Members of the Code Enforcement Board shall be
residents of the Village. Appointments shall be made by the
Village Council on the basis of experience or interest in the
fields of zoning and building control. The membership of the
Code Enforcement Board shall whenever possible be as follows:
1. An architect.
2. A businessperson.
3. An engineer.
4 . A general contractor.
5. A realtor .
6. A subcontractor .
7 . A general member .
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(B) In order that terms of office of all members will
not expire at the same time, the initial appointments to the Code
Enforcement Board shall be as follows: Two ( 2) members shall be
appointed for a term of one year each; three (3) members shall be
appointed for a term of two ( 2) years each; two ( 2) members shall
be appointed for a term of three (3) years each. Upon the
expiration of each term, members may be reappointed for terms of
three (3) years.
Any member may be reappointed from term to term upon
approval of the Village Council. Appointments to fill any
vacancy on the Code Enforcement Board shall be for the remainder
of the unexpired term of office. Any member who fails to attend
two (2) out of three (3) successive meetings without cause and
without prior approval of the chairperson shall automatically
forfeit his or her appointment and the Village Council shall
promptly fill such vacancy. The members shall serve at the
pleasure of the Village Council and may be removed as provided in
the Village of Tequesta Code of Ordinances for removal of members
of Village Boards.
(C) The members of the Code Enforcement Board shall
elect a chairperson. The presence of four ( 4) or more members
shall constitute a quorum of the Code Enforcement Board. Members
shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for such
travel expenses, mileage expenses, and per diem expenses as may
be authorized by the Village Council.
(D) The Village Attorney shall be counsel to the Code
Enforcement Board.
Section 5. Applicability.
The Code Enforcement Board shall enforce and have
jurisdiction of the following chapters of the Code of Ordinances
of the Village of Tequesta, to wit:
1. Chapter 2.5 -- Alarms
2. Chapter 6 -- Buildings & Building Regulations
3. Chapter 10 -- Health and Sanitation
4. Chapter 11 -- Licenses
5. Chapter 12 -- Noise
6. Chapter 16 -- Signs, Billboards, Etc.
7. Appendix A -- Zoning
8. Appendix B -- Subdivisions
Section 6. Powers.
The Code Enforcement Board shall have the power to:
(A) Adopt rules for the conduct of its hearings.
(B) Subpoena alleged violators and witnesses to its
hearings. Subpoenas may be served by the Village's Police
Department.
(C) Subpoena records, surveys, plats and other
material.
(D) Take testimony under oath.
(E) Issue orders having the force of law commanding
whatever steps are necessary to bring a violation into
compliance.
Section 7 . Enforcement Procedure.
(A) It shall be the duty of the Code Inspector to
initiate enforcement proceedings of the various codes.
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(B) If a violation of the codes is found, the Code
Inspector shall notify the violator, unless paragraph (C) of this
section applies, and give said violator a reasonable time to
correct the violation. Should the violation continue beyond the
time specified for correction, the Code Inspector shall notify
the Code Enforcement Board and request a hearing pursuant to the
procedure in Section 8. Written notice shall be mailed to said
violator as provided herein.
(C) If the Code Inspector has reason to believe a
violation presents a serious threat to the public health, safety
and welfare, the Code Inspector may proceed directly to the
- procedure in Section 8 without notifying the violator.
Section 8. Conduct of Hearing.
(A) The Chairperson of the Code Enforcement Board may
call hearings of the Code Enforcement Board and hearings may also
be called by written notice signed by at least three (3) members
of the Code Enforcement Board. The Code Enforcement Board at any
hearing may set a future hearing date. The Code Enforcement
Board should attempt to convene no less frequently than once
every two ( 2) months, but may meet more or less often as the
demand necessitates. Minutes shall be kept of all hearings by
the Code Enforcement Board and all hearings shall be open to the
public. The Village shall provide clerical and administrative
personnel as may be reasonably required by the Code Enforcement
Board for the proper performance of its duties.
(B) Each case before the Code Enforcement Board shall
be presented by a member of the Village's -administrative--staff.- -
(C) The Code Enforcement Board shall proceed to hear
the cases on the agenda for that day. All testimony shall be
under oath and shall be recorded. The Code Enforcement Board
shall take testimony from the Code Inspector and alleged
violators. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, however,
fundamental due process shall be observed and govern said
proceedings.
(D) At the conclusion of the hearing, the Code
Enforcement Board shall issue findings of fact and conclusions of
law and shall issue an order affording the proper relief
consistent with powers granted herein. The finding shall be by
motion approved by a majority of those present and voting, except
that at least four (4) members of the Code Enforcement Board must •
vote for the action to be official.
Section 9. Fines and Liens.
The Code Enforcement Board, upon notification by the
Code Inspector that a previous order of the Code Enforcement
Board has not been complied with by the set time, or upon finding
that the same `violation has been repeated by the same violator,
may order the violator to pay a fine not to exceed two hundred
and fifty dollars ($250.00) per day the violation continues past
the date set for compliance, or for each time the violation has
been repeated; a hearing shall not be necessary for issuance of
the order. A certified copy of an order imposing a fine may be
recorded in the public records and thereafter shall constitute a
lien against the land on which the violation exists. After six
(6) months from the filing of any such lien which remains unpaid,
the Code Enforcement Board may authorize the Village Attorney to
foreclose on the lien.
No lien provided under the Local Government Code
• Enforcement Boards Act shall continue for a period longer than
two (2) years after the certified copy of an order imposing a
fine has been recorded, unless within that time,/ ,Kn action to
foreclose on the lien is commenced in a court of competent
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jurisdiction. The continuation of the lien effected by the
commencement of the action shall not be good against creditors or
subsequent purchasers for valuable consideration without notice,
unless a notice of lis pendens is recorded.
Section 10. Appeal .
An aggrieved party, including the Village Council , may
appeal a final administrative order of the Code Enforcement Board
to the Circuit Court . An appeal shall be filed within thirty
( 30) days of the execution of the order to be appealed.
Section 11. Notices.
All notices required by this article shall be provided
to the alleged violator by certified mail, return receipt
requested, or by hand delivery by a law enforcement officer, code
inspector or other person designated by the Village or by leaving
the notice at the violator ' s usual place of residence with some
person of his or her family above fifteen (15) years of age, and
informing such person of the contents of the notice. In addition
to providing such notice as set forth above, at the option of the
Code Enforcement Board, notice may also be served by publication
or posting as follows:
1. Such Notice shall be published once during each
week for four consecutive weeks (four [4 ] publications being
sufficient) in a newspaper of general circulation in the
Village. The newspaper shall meet such requirements as are
prescribed under Chapter 50 of the Florida Statutes for legal and
official advertisements. Proof of publication shall be made as
in §50.041 and §50.051 of the Florida Statutes.
2. Notice by publication may run concurrently with,
or may follow, an attempt or attempts to provide notice by hand-
delivery or by mail, as required under subsection 1.
3. Evidence that an attempt has been made to hand
deliver or mail notice as provided under subsection 1. , together
with proof of publication as provided in subsection 2. , shall be
sufficient to show that the notice requirements of this section
have been met, without regard to whether or not the alleged
violator actually received such notice.
Section 12. Provisions Supplemental and Cumulative.
Nothing contained in this Ordinance shall in any way
bar or prohibit the maintenance of a suit at law or in equity by
the Village to enjoin or correct any violation of the ordinance
of the Village, nor to bar or prohibit the Village from filing
charges against any person, firm or corporation violating any
Village Ordinance as provided by existing laws. This article
shall be construed to be supplemental and cumulative with any and
all other remedies available to the municipality and not
exclusive.
Section 13. Severability.
If any provision of this ordinance or the application
thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the
other provisions or applications of this ordinance which can be
given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and
to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby declared
severable.
Section 14 . Codification.
This Ordinance shall be codified and made a part of the
official Code of Ordinances of the Village of Tequesta.
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Section 15. Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its
passage and approval as provided by law.
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was offered by Councilmember
, who moved its adoption. The
Ordinance was seconded by Councilmember
and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
FOR ADOPTION: AGAINST ADOPTION:
The Mayor thereupon declared the Ordinance duly passed
and adopted this day of , 1989.
MAYOR OF TEQUESTA:
Joseph N. Capretta
ATTEST:
Village Clerk
JCR3OB
5/23/89
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