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O87-29ORDINANCE NO. 87-~__~ AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING ARTICLE III, "ABANDONED, PROPERTY"; BY AMENDING SECTION 10-50, "DEFINITIONS"; BY REPEALING IN ITS ENTIRETY SECTION 10-51, "ABANDONMENT OF PROPERTY OR WRECKED OR INOPERABLE MOTOR VEHICLES ON PUBLIC PROPERTY PROHIBITED AND DECLARED A NUISANCE"; BY CREATING A NEW SECTION 10-51, "PROCEDURE FOR ABANDONED OR LOST PROPERTY ON PUBLIC PROPERTY"; PROVIDING A GENERAL REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT:ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OFT HE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, AS.FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. That Chapter 10-50, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida is hereby amended by adding the words and figures in underlined type and .by deleting the words and figures shown in struck-through type as follows: 10-50 Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning set forth herein. According to context, words used in the present tense include the future, singular words include the plural, plural words inClude the singular, and masculine words shall include the feminine gender. (1) "Abandoned property" means all tangible personal property which does not have an identifiable owner and which has been disposed on public property in a wrecked, inoperative, or partially dismantled condition or which has no apparent intrinsic value to the rightful owner. However, vessels determined to be derelict by the Department of Natural Resources in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 823.11, Florida Statutes, shall not be included in this definition. (2) "Antique Motor Vehicle" is any motor vehicle of thirty-five (35) years or more which is registered with the State of Florida pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 320.086. (3) "City" is the City of Boynton'~ B'each, 'Florida. (4) "Enforcement Officer" means those employees or other agents of the City designated by ordinance, or duly authorized and appointed by the City Manager, whose duty it is to enforce City Codes. This definition shall include law enforcement officers. (5) "Inoperable Motor Vehicle" a Motor Vehicle shall be deemed inoperative and/or abandoned if a valid and current motor vehicle license is not affixed thereto in excess of thirty (30) calendar days; provided however, that this shall not apply to motor vehicles located on private property owned or leased by automobile dealers, new or used, possessing a current, valid, occupation license; nor shall this definition apply to any antique or collector vehicle which is registered with the State of Florida, pursuant to Fla. St. Sec. 320.086. (6) "Law Enforcement Officer" means any full-time police officer employed by the City. (7) "Lost property" means all tangible personal property which does not have an identifiable owner and which has been mislaid on public proDerty,uDon a Dublic conveyance, on premises used at the time for business purposes, or in parks, places of amusement, public recreation areas, or other places open to the public in a substantially operable, functionin~ condition or which has an apparent intrinsic value to the rightful owner. (8) "Motor Vehicle" is a vehicle or conveyance which is self propelled and designed to travel along the ground, and includes, but is not limited to, automobiles, buses, mopeds, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, go-carts, golf carts, campers, motorhomes and trailers. (9) "Private Property" is any real property within the City which is privately owned and which is not defined as public property herein. (10) "Public Property" means lands and improvements owned by the Federal government, the State of Florida, a County or a municipality and includes sovereignty submerged lands located adjacent to the County or municipality, buildings, grounds, parks, playgrounds, streets, sidewalks, parkways, rights-of-way, and other similar property. (11) "Wrecked Motor Vehicle" is any motor vehicle the condition of which is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, incapable of operation by its own power on a public street, or from which the wheels, engine, transmission or any substantial part thereof have been removed. SECTION 2. That Section 10-51 "Abandonment of property or wrecked or inoperable motor vehicles on public property prohibited and declared a nuisance" of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida is hereby repealed in its entirety. SECTION 3. That a new section 10-51 "Procedure for Abandoned or Lost Property on Property" is hereby enacted to read as follows: entitled Public (a) Whenever a law enforcement of~icer of the City of Boynton Beach ascertains that an article of lost or abandoned property is present on public property and is of such nature that it can be easily removed, the officer shall take such article into custody and shall make a reasonable attempt to ascertain the rightful owner or lienholder pursuant to the provisions of this section. (b) Whenever a law enforcement officer ascertains that an article of lost or abandoned property is present on public property and is of such nature that it cannot be easily removed, the officer shall cause a notice to be placed upon such article in substantially the following form: NOTICE TO THE OWNER AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE ATTACHED PROPERTY. This property, to wit: (setting forth brief description) is unlawfully upon public property known as (setting forth brief description of location) and must be removed within 5 days, otherwise, it will be removed and disposed of pursuant to chapter 705, Florida Statutes. The owner will be liable for the costs of removal, storage, and publication of notice. Dated this: (setting forth the date of posting of notice), signed: (setting forth name, title, address and telephone number of law enforcement officer). Such notice shall be not less than 7 inches by 10 inches and shall be sufficiently weatherproof to withstand normal exposure to the elements. In addition to posting, the law enforcement officer shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain the name and address of the owner. If such is reasonably available to the officer, he shall mail a copy of such notice to the owner on or before the date of posting. If the property is a motor vehicle as defined in Sec. 320.01(1), Florida Statutes, or a vessel as defined in Sec. 327.02(27), Florida Statutes, the law enforcement agency shall contact the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or the Department of Natural Resources, respectively, in order to determine the name and address of the owner and any person who has filed a lien on the vehicle or vessel as provided in Sec. 319.27(2) or (3) or Sec. 328.15(1), Florida Statutes. On receipt of this information, the law enforcement agency shall mail a copy of the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the owner and to the lienholder, if any. If, at the end of 5 days after posting the notice and mailing such notice, if required, the owner or any person interested in the lost or abandoned article or articles described has not removed the article or articles from public property or shown reasonable cause for failure to do so, the following shall apply: (1) For abandoned property, the law enforcement agency may retain any or all of the property for its own use or for use by the state or unit of local government, trade such property to another unit of local government or state agency, donate the property to a charitable organization, sell the property, or notify the appropriate refuse removal service. (2) For lost property, the officer shall take custody and the agency shall retain the property for 90 days and publish notice of the agency's intended disposition of the property. a. If the agency elects to retain the property for use by the unit of government, donate the property to a charitable organization, surrender such property to the finder, sell the property or trade the property to another unit of local governmen~or state agency, notice of such election shall be given by an advertisement published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the property was found. b. If the agency elects to sell the property, it must do so at public sale by competitive bidding. Notice of the time and place of the sale shall be given by an advertisement of the sale published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the sale is to be held. The notice shall include a statement that the sale shall be subject to any and all liens. The sale must be held at the nearest suitable place to that where the lost or abandoned property is held or stored. The advertisement must include a description of the goods and the time and place of the sale. The sale may take place no earlier than 10 days after the final publication. If there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county where the sale is to be held, the advertisement shall-be posted at the door of the courthouse and at three other public places in the county at least 10 days prior to sale. Notice of the agency's intended disposition shall describe the property in a manner reasonable adequate to permit the rightful owner of the property to identify it. (c.) If the property is sold at public sale pursuant to subparagraph (b)(2)b., the agency shall deduct from the proceeds the costs of transportation, storage, and publication of notice, and any balance of proceeds shall be deposited into an interest-bearing account not later than 30 days after the date of the sale and held there for 1 year. The agency shall provide a bill of sale clearly stating that the sale is subject to any and all liens. The rightful owner of the property may claim the balance of the proceeds within 1 year from the date of the above stated deposit by making application to the agency. If no rightful owner comes forward with a claim to the property within the designated year, the balance of the proceeds shall be deposited into the state school fund. (d.) The owner of any abandoned or lost property who, after notice as provided in this section, does not remove such property within the specified period shall be liable to the law enforcement agency for all costs of removal, storage, and destruction of such property, less any salvage value obtained by disposal of the property. Upon final disposition of the property, the law enforcement officer shall notify the owner, if known, of the amount owed. In the case of an abandoned boat or motor vehicle, any person who neglects or refuses to pay such amount is not entitled to be issued a certificate of registration for such boat or motor vehicle, or any other boat or motor vehicle, until such costs have been paid. The law enforcement officer shall supply the Department of Natural Resources with a list of persons whose boat registration privileges have been revoked under this subsection and the Department of Motor Vehicles with a list of persons whose motor vehicle privileges have been revoked. Neither department nor any other person acting as agent thereof shall issue a certificate of registration to a person whose boat or motor vehicle registration privileges have been revoked, as provided by this subsection, until such costs have been paid. (e.) Whoever opposes, obstructs, or resists any law enforcement officer or any person authorized by the law enforcement officer in the discharg~ of his duties as provided in this section upon conviction is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in Sec. 755.083, Florida Statutes. (f.) Any law enforcement officer or any person authorized by the law enforcement officer is immune from prosecution, civil or criminal, for reasonable, good faith trespass upon real property while in the discharge of duties imposed by this section. (g.) The rightful owner shall be liable for the law enforcement agency's costs for transportation and storage of lost or abandoned property and the agency's cost for publication of notice of disposition of lost property. If the rightful owner does not pay such costs within 30 days of making claim to the property, title to the property shall vest in the law enforcement agency. Section 4. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. 4 Section 5: Should any section or provision of this ordinance or portion hereof, any paragraph, sentence, or word be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the remainder of this ordinance. Section 6. on the 1st day of October,f 1987. FIRST READING this .j day of COND, FINAL READING AND PASSAGE this /~ That this ordinance shall become effective · 1987. day of CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Vice M~or commissioner ATTEST: Commissioner (Corporate Seal)