§ 2-245. Enforcement procedure.

(a)

It shall be the duty of any city employee who has been designated by a resolution of the city commission as a code enforcement officer to initiate enforcement proceedings before the special magistrate as more particularly set out hereinafter; however, the special magistrate may not initiate such enforcement proceedings. Such proceedings shall be initiated by the filing of a sworn written complaint which shall set out the name of violator, if known, the address at which the violation occurred, the nature of the violation in detail and the code or statutory provision alleged to have been violated. A copy thereof shall be attached to the notice of hearing served on the violator. A complaint may be initiated by a citizen upon the filing of a written statement signed by the person making the complaint. Said complaint shall be made part of the official record of the alleged violation, and subject to the public records laws of the State of Florida.

(b)

Except as provided in subsection (c), if a violation of any such code or ordinance is found, the code enforcement officer shall notify the violator, no later than 15 days following the filing of the complaint, and give the violator a reasonable time to correct the violation. Should the violation continue beyond the time specified for correction, the code enforcement officer shall notify the special magistrate and request a hearing. The special magistrate, through its clerical staff, shall schedule a hearing, and written notice of such hearing shall be hand delivered or mailed as provided in F.S. § 162.25, as amended, to said violator. At the option of the special magistrate, notice may additionally be served by publication or posting as provided therein, 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 special magistrate hearing, and the notice shall so state.

(c)

If a repeat violation is found, the code inspector shall notify the violator within the 15-day period required above, 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 the special magistrate and request a hearing. The special magistrate, through its clerical staff, shall schedule a hearing and shall provide notice pursuant to section 2-251. The case may be presented to the special magistrate even if the repeat violation has been corrected prior to the special magistrate hearing, and the notice shall so state. If the repeat violation has been corrected, the special magistrate shall 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 rights to this hearing and pay said costs as determined by the special magistrate.

(d)

If the code enforcement officer has reason to believe a 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 shall immediately notify the special magistrate and request a hearing.

(e)

If the owner of property that is subject to an enforcement proceeding before the 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:

(1)

Disclose, in writing, the existence and the nature of the proceeding to the prospective transferee.

(2)

Deliver to the prospective transferee a copy of the pleadings, notices, and other materials relating to the code enforcement proceeding received by the transferor.

(3)

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.

(4)

File with the code enforcement official a notice 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 five days after the date of the transfer.

(f)

The failure to make the disclosures described in subsections (e)(1), (e)(2), and (e)(3) 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.

(Ord. No. 2008-0580, § 1, 6-3-2008)