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Leon County
Board of County Commissioners Cover Sheet for Agenda #24 October 12, 2021 |
| To: | Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board |
| From: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator Chasity H. O`Steen, County Attorney |
| Title: | First and Only Public Hearing to Consider Adopting an Ordinance Amending Section 6-30 of the Leon County Code of Laws Relating to Code Enforcement Procedure |
| Review and Approval: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator Chasity H. O`Steen, County Attorney |
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Department/Division Review and Approval: |
Alan Rosenzweig, Deputy County Administrator Ken Morris, Assistant County Administrator Barry Wilcox, Director, DSEM |
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Lead Staff/ Project Team: |
Kyle L. Kemper, Assistant County Attorney Emma D. Smith, Director, Code Compliance Services |
Statement of Issue:
This item requests the Board conduct the first and only public hearing to consider adopting a proposed Ordinance to amend Section 6-30 of the Leon County Code of Laws relating to code enforcement procedure. The proposed Ordinance will align the County’s code enforcement procedure with recent changes to Florida law that generally prohibit the initiation of code enforcement proceedings by way of an anonymous complaint.
Fiscal Impact:
This item has no fiscal impact.
Staff Recommendation:
Option #1: Conduct the first and only public hearing and adopt the proposed Ordinance amending Section 6-30 of the Leon County Code of Laws relating to code enforcement procedure (Attachment #1).
Report and Discussion
Background:
At the September 14, 2021 meeting, the Board approved scheduling the first and only public hearing to consider the adoption of an Ordinance (Attachment #1) to amend Section 6-30 of the Leon County Code of Laws relating to code enforcement procedure. The public hearing has been advertised pursuant to Florida Statutes (Attachment #2). This item requests the Board conduct the public hearing to consider adoption of the proposed Ordinance. The proposed Ordinance will align the County’s code enforcement procedure with recent changes made to the Local Government Code Enforcement Board Act (Act), Part I of Chapter 162, Florida Statutes (F.S.).
Since June 1, 2017, the County has not accepted anonymous code enforcement complaints which is consistent with industry best practices for urbanized areas. This procedure allows staff to focus on legitimate complaints, as opposed to allowing neighbors to use Code Enforcement to harass each other with false allegations. During the 2021 Legislative Session, Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida, was enacted to generally prohibit code inspectors from initiating enforcement proceedings for potential violations of codes and ordinances by way of anonymous complaints, and to require persons who report potential violations to provide his or her name and address to the respective local government before an investigation can occur. The law took effect on July 1, 2021.
Analysis:
The following provides an overview of the County’s procedure for accepting complaints for alleged code violations, the change in applicable law under Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida, and an analysis of the County’s Code Enforcement ordinance and suggested revisions thereto.
County’s Procedure for Accepting Complaints for Alleged Code Violations
In order to serve citizens of Leon County in a timely and efficient manner, the Department of Development Support and Environmental Management (DSEM) maintains a central complaint process system. The complaints are received through telephone calls, citizen online reporting via the Citizen Connect Service Request System or by walk-in customers, logged, and routed to the appropriate Division for investigation within 48 hours. If the complaint call is a health, safety, or serious environmental issue, it is investigated within 24 hours. The goal is to obtain voluntary compliance based on County policy.
Pursuant to Board direction, beginning June 1, 2017, the County’s Code Compliance Services Division ceased accepting anonymous complaints for alleged code violations in an effort to reduce the number of false complaints. Complainants were required to provide their name and contact information prior to staff initiating an investigation of the alleged code violation. Information provided by the complainant is public record unless otherwise exempt from disclosure. As a result of this procedure, Leon County staff members have been able to focus resources on legitimate complaints, as opposed to investigating false allegations. This approach is consistent with industry best practices for urbanized areas and is consistent with how the City of Tallahassee addresses these issues.
Change in Law under Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida
Among its provisions, Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida, amends the Act, Part I of Chapter 162, F.S., which allows counties and municipalities to create by ordinance local government enforcement boards. A code enforcement board is an administrative board made up of members appointed by the governing body of the respective local government with the authority to hold hearings and impose administrative fines and other noncriminal penalties for violations of county or municipal codes or ordinances.
Section 162.06, F.S., establishes an enforcement procedure to address violations of the various codes. A code inspector, an authorized agent or employee of the county whose duty it is to assure code compliance, is the sole individual authorized to initiate code enforcement proceedings, by notifying the violator and giving him or her a reasonable time to correct the violation. If the violation continues to exist after such time period as specified by the code inspector, then the inspector will notify the code enforcement board and request a hearing.
Prior to the adoption of Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida, the Act did not address the process for accepting complaints, and the procedures for accepting complaints varied throughout the State. Although Leon County did not accept anonymous complaints, the Legislature determined that in most geographical areas, complaints could be made anonymously. The Legislature sought to address transparency of complaints made to code inspectors by prohibiting anonymous complaints. In particular, Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida, adds a new section 162.06(1)(b), F.S., which reads as follows:
(b) A code inspector may not initiate enforcement proceedings for a potential violation of a duly enacted code or ordinance by way of an anonymous complaint. A person who reports a potential violation of a code or an ordinance must provide his or her name and address to the respective local government before an enforcement proceeding may occur. This paragraph does not apply if the code inspector has reason to believe that the violation presents an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare or imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources.
The provisions of the Act are supplemental – they are a device to be used at the local governments’ discretion and are not binding. Thus, a local government may use any method it chooses to enforce codes and ordinances. However, with the enactment of Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida, anonymous complaints are now prohibited statewide regardless of the enforcement mechanism utilized by the local government.
County Code Enforcement Ordinance and Suggested Revisions
The County created its Code Enforcement Board pursuant to the Act, Part I of Chapter 162, F.S., and Chapter 6 of the Leon County Code of Laws is modeled on the Act. To align Chapter 6 of the Code with the new requirements of Florida law, the proposed Ordinance provides the following amendments (with additions to the Code indicated by underlining):
Sec. 6-30. Enforcement procedure.
(a)(1) It shall be the duty of the code inspector to initiate enforcement proceedings of the various codes; however, no member of the code enforcement board shall have the power to initiate such enforcement proceedings.
(2) The code inspector may not initiate enforcement proceedings for a potential violation of the codes by way of an anonymous complaint. A person who reports a potential violation of a code must provide his or her name and address to the County’s Department of Development Support and Environmental Management before an enforcement proceeding may occur. This paragraph does not apply if the code inspector has reason to believe that the violation presents an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare or imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources.
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Although the County’s Code Compliance Services Division has not accepted anonymous complaints since June 1, 2017, the proposed Ordinance will specify the County’s Code Compliance Services Division’s procedure for accepting complaints in a manner consistent with the new requirements of Florida law. Accordingly, this item recommends that the Board conduct the first and only public hearing and adopt the proposed Ordinance amending Section 6-30 of the Leon County Code of Laws relating to code enforcement procedure.
Options:
Recommendation:
Option #1
Attachments: