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Charlotte County |
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Code of Ordinances |
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GENERAL ORDINANCES AND SPECIAL ACTS |
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Chapter 1-1. GENERAL PROVISIONS |
§ 1-1-15. Code enforcement.
(a)
Establishment. There is hereby created a local government code enforcement system pursuant to F.S. ch. 162 which authorizes the county to conduct hearings and assess fines against violators of county codes and ordinances.
(b)
Intent. It is the intent of these regulations to promote, protect, and improve the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the county by authorizing a special magistrate to impose administrative fines and other noncriminal penalties to provide an equitable, expeditious, effective, and inexpensive method of enforcing the codes and ordinances in the county where a pending or repeated violation continues to exist.
(c)
Provisions supplemental. The enforcement of codes pursuant to this section is an additional and supplemental means authorized pursuant to F.S. ch. 162, part II, to obtain compliance with local codes. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the county from enforcing its codes by any other lawful means.
(d)
Definitions. For this section, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth in this subsection (d) unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Board means the board of county commissioners of Charlotte County, Florida.
Code or Codes means any ordinance or ordinances of Charlotte County, Florida, or any section or sections contained in the Code of Laws and Ordinances of Charlotte County, as the same exist, and as they may have been amended on the effective date of this section and as the same may be amended subsequently.
Code Enforcement Officer means any designated employee or agent of the county whose duty it is to enforce county codes and ordinances.
County means Charlotte County, a political subdivision of the State of Florida.
Department means any Charlotte County Division or Department whose governing ordinances may be enforced through the code enforcement system.
Person means an individual, association, firm, partnership, corporation, trust, or other legal entity.
Repeat violation means a violation of a provision of a code or ordinance by a person who has been previously found through a code enforcement board or any other quasi-judicial or judicial process, to have violated or who has admitted violating the same provision within five (5) years prior to the violation, notwithstanding the violations occur at different locations.
Special magistrate shall mean an individual qualified under this section with delegated authority to hear and decide alleged violations of the codes and ordinances enacted or adopted by Charlotte County.
Violator shall mean the person or entity legally responsible for a code violation, including, but not limited to; owners and lessees of property on which a violation has occurred.
(e)
Enforcement pursuant to civil citations.
(1)
The county hereby authorizes code enforcement officers to issue citations pursuant to the provisions of F.S. ch. 162, part II, and this section.
a.
A violation of a code or ordinance is a civil infraction. A code enforcement officer is authorized to issue a citation to a person when, based upon the officer's personal investigation, there is reasonable cause to believe that the person or entity has committed a civil infraction in violation of a duly enacted code or ordinance.
b.
Prior to issuing a citation, a code enforcement officer shall provide written notice of a violation of a code to the violator and shall establish a reasonable time within which the violator must correct the violation. Such time shall be no more than thirty (30) days from the date of the notice. If, upon personal investigation, a code enforcement officer finds that the violator has not corrected the violation within the time provided, a code enforcement officer may issue a citation to the violator. A code enforcement officer is not required to provide the person with a reasonable time to correct the violation prior to issuing a citation, where a different time in which to correct the violation is provided for by the ordinance being enforced; may immediately issue a citation if a repeat violation is found, or the violation presents a serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, or if the violation is irreparable or irreversible.
c.
A citation issued by a code enforcement officer shall be in a form prescribed by the county and shall contain:
(1)
The date and time of issuance.
(2)
The name and address of the person to whom the citation is issued.
(3)
The date and time the civil infraction was committed.
(4)
The facts constituting reasonable cause.
(5)
The number or section of the code or ordinance violated.
(6)
The name and authority of the code enforcement officer.
(7)
The procedure for the person to follow to pay the civil penalty or to contest the citation. The applicable civil penalty if the person elects to contest the citation.
(9)
The applicable civil penalty if the person elects not to contest the citation.
(10)
A conspicuous statement that if the person fails to pay the civil penalty within the time allowed, fails to timely request a hearing to contest the citation, or fails to appear to contest the citation, the person shall be deemed to have waived his or her right to contest the citation and that, in such case, judgment, or an order, as applicable, may be entered against the person for an amount up to the maximum civil penalty.
d.
Each violation of the County Code shall be a separate civil infraction. Each day a violation continues to exist shall be deemed to constitute a separate civil infraction.
(f)
Notice to appear. A code enforcement officer may issue a notice to appear at any hearing conducted by a county court if the code enforcement officer, based upon personal investigation, has reasonable cause to believe that the person has violated a code or ordinance. A notice to appear means a written order issued by a code enforcement officer in lieu of physical arrest requiring a person accused of violating the law to appear in a designated court or governmental office at a specified date and time. If a person issued a notice to appear under this section refuses to sign such notice, the code enforcement officer has no authority to arrest such person for failure to sign the notice.
Prior to issuing a notice to appear, a code enforcement officer shall provide written notice of a violation of a code or ordinance and shall establish a reasonable time within which the violation must be corrected. Such time shall be no fewer than five (5) days and no more than thirty (30) days from the date of the notice. If, upon personal investigation, a code enforcement officer finds that violation has not been corrected within the prescribed time, a code enforcement officer may issue a notice to appear to the violator. A code enforcement officer is not required to provide the person with a reasonable time to correct the violation prior to issuing a notice to appear and may immediately issue a notice to appear if a repeat violation is found; or if the code enforcement officer has reason to believe that the violation presents a serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare; or if the violation is irreparable or irreversible.
(g)
Penalties.
(1)
The board shall establish a schedule of violations and penalties to be assessed by code enforcement officers for codes enforced pursuant to this section. Such schedule shall be adopted by a resolution of the board which may be amended from time to time without the necessity of amending this section.
(2)
Violation of a code enforced pursuant to this section is a civil infraction subject to a maximum civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00); provided that if a violator does not contest the citation, a civil penalty shall be imposed in accordance with the schedule of violations and penalties contained in the resolution adopted by the board in accordance with subsection (1) above.
(3)
If a person elects not to contest the citation, the violation shall be deemed admitted and the applicable civil penalty shall be paid to the county by the violator within thirty (30) days after issuance of the citation.
(4)
If the person fails to pay the civil penalty, fails to timely request to appear before the county court or special magistrate to contest the citation, or fails to appear at the hearing, the violation shall be deemed admitted and he shall be deemed to have waived his right to contest the citation. In such case, a judgment, or an order, as applicable, may be entered against the person for an amount up to the maximum civil penalty.
(h)
Contested citations.
(1)
A citation may be contested before the special magistrate or county court as specified in the citation.
(2)
If the person elects to contest the citation, he shall request, in writing, a hearing before the special magistrate or county court, as applicable, within ten (10) days after issuance of the citation. Such requests must be received by the county within ten (10) days of the citation. Requests mailed by the violator are considered received if the request is actually received by the county, within ten (10) days, or the violator has sent the request certified mail and post-marked before midnight on the tenth day following the date of the service of the civil citation.
(i)
Refusal to sign citation. Any person who willfully refuses to sign and accept a citation issued by a code enforcement officer shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in F.S. section 775.082 or F.S. section 775.083.
(j)
Special magistrate hearing procedures.
(1)
Hearings may be held at any time after giving the notice required by this to the violator as required by this article.
(2)
Notice of the hearing shall be provided to the violator by first class mail, to the address provided by the violator in the request for hearing, at least twenty (20) days before the hearing.
(3)
All testimony at the hearing shall be under oath and shall be recorded. The special magistrate shall take testimony from the code enforcement officer, the petitioner, and any other person with relevant information to the civil citation. The special magistrate shall review the case history and any recorded images. The special magistrate shall not be bound by the formal rules of evidence; however, he or she shall act to ensure fundamental due process in each case.
(4)
The hearing may be continued once, prior to the hearing, at the discretion of the county if the violator provides the county with written notice of the request to continue seven (7) days before the scheduled date of the hearing. Any violator may cancel his or her hearing by paying the penalty stated on the civil citation and any applicable administrative charges before the start of the hearing. This information, including where to make payment and the accepted forms of payment, shall be set forth in the notice of hearing.
(5)
At the conclusion of each hearing, the special magistrate shall determine whether a violation of the County Code has occurred, uphold or dismiss the citation, and issue a final order.
(6)
If the violator fails to appear at the hearing, the violation shall be deemed admitted, the violator shall be deemed to have waived the right to contest the citation, and the special magistrate will enter an order requiring the violator to pay the penalty stated on the citation plus any administrative charges.
(k)
Designation of codes for enforcement purposes.
(1)
The board may designate by resolution specific codes and/or ordinances to be enforced pursuant to subsections (d),(e), and (f) of this section. In the event the board does not adopt such a resolution, enforcement pursuant to sections (d),(e), and (f) is an additional and supplemental means of enforcing codes and may be used for the enforcement of any code or for the enforcement of all codes, except as provided herein. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the county to enforce its codes by any other means.
(2)
In the event the board adopts a resolution designating specific codes and/or ordinances to be enforced pursuant to subsections (d),(e), and (f), any code not designated by a resolution may be prosecuted as otherwise provided by law.
(3)
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the enforcement pursuant to F.S. sections 553.79 and 553.80 of building codes adopted pursuant to F.S. section 553.73.
(l)
Special magistrate
(1)
Creation and qualifications of special magistrate. There is created the position of special magistrate as authorized by F.S. ch. 162. The county attorney is authorized to select the special magistrate. The special magistrate shall be a member of the Florida Bar in good standing and shall have no less than five (5) years' experience in the practice of law.
(2)
Jurisdiction. The special magistrate shall have the authority to hear and decide cases involving alleged violations of:
a.
Any county codes, land development regulations, or other ordinances of the county.
b.
Any condition of any development order.
c.
Any statute, code, rule or regulation incorporated into the county's code of ordinance by reference.
(3)
The authority granted herein is not exclusive and shall not prohibit the county from enforcing its codes by other legal means.
(Ord. No. 2018-048, § 1, 11-27-18)