§ 9-63. Procedure.

(a)

Notices.

(1)

Whenever the POD determines that police officers have responded to three or more nuisance activities that have occurred at a property during a 30-day period or five or more nuisance activities within a 90-day period, the POD may notify the property owner or other responsible party in writing that the property is a nuisance. The initial nuisance property notice (INP notice) shall begin the procedures of this division, although the POD should have other contact with any responsible party in an attempt to abate the nuisance activity prior to the initiation of this process. The INP notice shall contain:

i.

A clear statement that the property is deemed a nuisance.

ii.

The street address or legal description sufficient for identification of the property.

iii.

A description of the nuisance activities that have occurred at the property, including the dates of the occurrences.

iv.

A statement indicating that the cost of police responses and enforcement may be assessed as a special charge against the property, or referred for collection.

v.

Examples of nuisance abatement measures.

vi.

A statement that the property owner or other responsible party shall, within 14 days of date of the INP notice, either respond to the POD with an acceptable, written action plan (WAP) to abate the nuisance activities at the property or file an appeal pursuant this division.

vii.

A requirement that the WAP shall include the specific address(es) at which all future correspondence and notices shall be sent. Any future notice sent to the address in the WAP by first class mail shall be considered to have been properly served.

viii.

A statement that the INP Notice may be appealed within 14 days of service of the INP notice.

(2)

Service of notice.

i.

The INP notice shall be served by certified mail, return receipt requested, or hand delivery to any responsible party, or by hand delivery at the responsible party's usual place of residence with any person residing therein who is above 15 years of age and informing such person of the contents of the notice. In the alternative, if the property is used for a nonresidential use, or a residential use with an onsite office, the INP notice may be served by hand delivery to any employee at the property or office, with a copy mailed by first class mail to the property and any responsible party.

ii.

If service of the INP notice cannot be accomplished as set forth above, the INP notice may be served by publication and mailed notice. The INP notice shall be published once during each week for four consecutive weeks (four publications being sufficient) in a newspaper of general circulation in the City. The INP notice shall also be mailed by first class mail to the property and any responsible party shown on the ad valorem tax roll.

iii.

Evidence that an attempt has been made to hand deliver or mail the INP notice as provided in this section, together with proof of publication as provided this section, shall be sufficient to show that the INP notice requirements have been met, without regard to whether or not the responsible party actually received the INP notice.

iv.

After the INP notice has been served as provided in this section, all subsequent correspondence and notices shall be mailed, by first class mail, to the address provided in the WAP, or if no address is provided, to the address at which service of the INP notice was made or the property at which the nuisance activities occurred, unless otherwise specifically required by this division. Service by mail shall be effective upon mailing.

(3)

Constructive notice. A responsible party shall be deemed to have notice of a nuisance activity if that responsible party: i) has actual knowledge of the nuisance activity; ii) has received notice of the nuisance activity; iii) has refused to accept a communication sent by certified mail; iv) has reason to know of the nuisance activity; v) knows about a fact related to a nuisance activity; or vi) is able to ascertain the existence of a nuisance activity by checking an official filing or recording. The lack of knowledge of, acquiescence to, participation in, or responsibility for a nuisance activity on the part of a responsible party shall not be a defense to any enforcement of this division.

(b)

Upon service of the INP notice, the responsible party shall, within 14 days, either respond to the POD with an acceptable WAP to abate the nuisance activities at the property or file an appeal pursuant this division.

(c)

Extensions. The POD may extend any deadline for up to 20 days if the responsible party is actively, and in good faith, attempting to comply with this section.

(d)

Upon receipt of the proposed WAP, the Chief shall review the proposed WAP to determine if the Chief reasonably believes that, based on the measures identified in the proposed WAP, that it will ensure that the identified nuisance activities will not occur again. Measures to be considered in determining the adequacy of the WAP may include, but are not limited to:

(1)

Commencement of an eviction action pursuant to F.S. Ch. 83 to remove from the property those individuals engaged in the nuisance activity;

(2)

Implementation of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) measures;

(3)

Frequency of site visits and inspections at various times of both day and night;

(4)

Hiring of property management;

(5)

Hiring of private security;

(6)

Installation of security cameras and/or exterior lighting;

(7)

Installation of fencing;

(8)

Compliance with all property maintenance codes;

(9)

Use and enforcement of a comprehensive written lease agreement which addresses the standard terms of the industry for rentals;

(10)

Criminal background checks for prospective tenants and lease renewals;

(11)

Posting of "no trespassing" signs at the property and execution of a "no trespass affidavit" authorizing the Police Department to act as an agent of the property owner to enforce trespass statutes on the property;

(12)

Regular requests for offense and incident reports relating to the property that are available through the records custodian of the Police Department Records Division;

(13)

Written documentation of all efforts to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property;

(14)

Any other action that the POD determines is reasonably sufficient to curtail or eliminate the re-occurrence of nuisance activities on the property.

(e)

Upon review of the proposed WAP, the POD shall accept the proposed WAP if the Chief reasonably believes that, based on the measures identified in the proposed WAP, that it will ensure that the identified nuisance activities will not occur again. If the Chief rejects the WAP, measures shall be identified which, if included in the WAP, will make the WAP acceptable.

(1)

An accepted WAP shall include a specific timetable for the implementation of each measure of the WAP and shall be fully implemented within 45 days from the date the POD mails notice of acceptance of the WAP to the responsible parties.

(2)

If implementation of any measure in the WAP is expected to exceed 45 days (e.g. tenant eviction), through no fault of the responsible party, the POD may extend this time limit for such measure so long as the responsible party has implemented all other measures and the responsible party is acting in good faith to implement the measures which need additional time.

(f)

Whenever the POD determines that an accepted WAP has not abated the identified nuisance activities or that other nuisance activities have begun at the property, and that modification of an accepted WAP is necessary to abate nuisance activities at the property, the POD shall notify the responsible parties in writing that the WAP must be modified. This modification notice shall contain the same information as the INP Notice and, in addition, a description of the nuisance activities that continue to occur at the property and/or the new nuisance activities, and a copy of the previously accepted WAP.

(g)

Upon receipt of a modification notice, the responsible party shall, within 14 days either respond to the POD with a modified, acceptable WAP to abate the nuisance activities at the property or file an appeal pursuant this division.

(1)

Upon review of the modified WAP, the POD shall accept or reject the proposed modified WAP if the Chief reasonably believes that, based on the measures identified in the proposed modified WAP, that it will ensure that the identified nuisance activities will not occur again.

(2)

The modified WAP shall include a specific timetable for the implementation of each aspect of the modified WAP and shall be fully implemented within 45 days from the date the POD mails notice of acceptance of the modified WAP to the responsible parties, subject to the specific extensions for specific measures allowed for the original WAP.

(h)

Each WAP shall be effective for not less than six months nor more than one year from its approval.

(1)

The POD shall determine the period of time the WAP shall be in effect at the time of approving the WAP, which time shall be based on the reasonable amount of time necessary to implement the requirements of the WAP and abate the nuisance activities.

(2)

If the WAP is modified, the POD shall establish a new date for termination of the WAP.

(3)

A responsible party may request that a WAP be terminated early. The POD may terminate the WAP before the established termination date if the POD determines that the nuisance activities have been abated and are not likely to reoccur in the near future. This decision is within the PODs discretion, is final, and is not appealable unless allowed by State appellate rules or other applicable law.

(Ord. No. 181-H, § 1, 6-11-2015)