O79-28ORDINANCE 7 9
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA CREATING A CODES ENFORCEMENT
BOARD; PROVIDING FOR LEGISLATIVE INTENT; PROVIDING
FOR APPLICABILITY; PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS:
PROVIDING FOR ORGANIZATION; PROVIDING FOR ENFORCE-
MENT PROCEDURES; PROVIDING FOR HEARING; PROVIDING
FOR POWERS; PROVIDING FOR FINES; PROVIDING FOR
APPEAL; PROVIDING A.SAVINGS CLAUSE AND PROVIDING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the "Palm Beach County Municipal Code
Enforcement Board Act" of 1979 each municipality in Palm Beach
County may, at its option, create by ordinance a Code Enforcement
Board, and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Boynton Beach,
Florida to promote, protect and improve the health, safety and
welfare of the citizens of the City of Boynton Beach hereby
creates and establishes a Code Enforcement Board to provide an
equitable, expeditious, effective and inexpensive method of
enforcing the hereinafterldescribed codes of the City of Boynton
Beach, Florida;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE AND IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA:
Section 1: Declaration of Legislative Intent: It is the
intent of this ordinance to promote, protect and improve the
health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Boynton
Beach, Florida, by providing an equitable, expeditious, effective
and inexpensive method of enforcing the hereinafter described
codes of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida.
Section 2: Applicability: The Code Enforcement Board
shall enforce and have jurisdiction of the following codes:
Building Codes - Chapter 5, Occupational License Codes - Chapter
15, Fire Codes - Chapter 12, Zoning Codes - Chapter 31, Sign
Co'des - Chapter 24, and related technical codes in force in the
city of Boynton Beach.
Section 3: Definitions:
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A. City Council - The legislatiVe body of the city of
Boynton Beach, Florida.
B. Code Inspector - Those authorized agents o~ empl~oyees
of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida of whose duty it is to
insure code compliance.
C. Board Attorney - The City Attorney or designated
Board Attorney of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida.
D. Enforcement Board - The Code Enforcement Board.
Section 4: Enforcement Board; Organization: The City
Council shall appoint a five (5) member Code Enforcement Board
and legal counsel for the Board. The members shall have the
following qualifications and terms of office:
A. Members of the Enforcement Board shall be residents
of the City of Boynton Beach, Florida. Appointments shall be
made by the City Council on the basis of exper.hence or interest
in the fields of zoning and building control. The membership of
the Enforcement Board shall whenever possible be as follows:
1. An Architect.
2. A Businessman.
3. An Engineer.
4. A General Contractor
5. A Realtor.
B. In order that terms of office of all members will not
expire at the same time, the initial appointments to the Enforce-
ment Board shall be as follows:
One (1) member shall be appointed for a term of one (1)
year.
years.
years.
Two (2) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2)
Two (2) members shall be appointed for a term of three (3)
three (3) years.
Thereafter, all appointments shall be made for a term of
Any member may be reappointed from term to term
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upon approval of the City Council. Appointments to fill any
vacancy on the Enforcement Board shall be for the remainder of
the unexpired term of office. Any member who fails to attend two
(2) out of three (3) successive meetings without cause and without
prior approval of the Chairman shall automatically forfeit his
appointment and the City Council shall promptly fill such vacancy.
The members shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council and
may be removed as provided in the Boynton Beach City Code of
Ordinances for removal of members of the Planning and Zoning
Board.
C. The members of the Enforcement Board shall elect a
Chairman. The presence of three (3) or more members shall
constitute a quorum of the Enforcement Board. Members shall
without compensation, but may be reimbursed for such travel
expenses, mileage expenses, and per diem expenses as may be
authorized by City Council.
D. The Board Attorney shall either be counsel to the
Enforcement Board or shall represent the City of Boynton Beach
by presenting cases before the Board.
Section 5: Enforcement Procedure:
A. It shall be the duty of the Code Inspector to initiate
enforcement proceedings of the various codes.
B. If a violation of the codes is found, the Code
Inspector shall notify the violator, unless paragraph C of this
section applies, and give said violator a reasonable time to
correct the violation. Should the violation continue beyond the
time specified for correction, the Code Inspector shall notify
the Enforcement Board and request a hearing pursuant to the
procedure in Section 7. Written notice shall be mailed to said
violator as provided herein.
C. If the Code Inspector has reason to believe a
violation presents a serious threat to the public health, safety
and welfare, the Code Inspector may proceed directly to the
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procedure in Section 6 without: notifying said violator.
Section .4.: Conduct of ~earing:
A. The Chairman of the Enforcement Board may call
hearings of the Enforcement Board and hearings may also be called
by written notice signed by at least three (3) members of the
Enforcement Board. The Enforcement Board at any hearing may set
a future hearing date. The Enforcement Board should attempt to
convene no less frequently than once every two (2) months, but
may meet more or less often as the demand necessitates. Minutes
shall be kept of all hearings by the Enforcement Board and all
hearings shall be open to the public. The City Clerk shall
provide clerical and administrative personnel as may be reason-
ably required bY the Enforcement Board for the proper performance
of its duties.
B. Each case before the Enforcement Board shall be
presented by either the Board Attorney or by a member of the
Building Department Administrative Staff.
C. The Enforcement Board shall proceed to hear the cases
on the agenda for that day. Ail testimony shall be under oath
and shall be recorded. The Enforcement Board shall take testi-
mony from the Code Inspector and alleged violator. Formal rules
of evidence shall not apply, however, fundamental due process
shall be ~observed and govern said proceedings.
D. At the conclusion of the hearing the Enforcement
Board shall issue finding of fact and conclusions of law and
shall issue an order affording the proper relief consistent with
powers granted herein. The finding shall be by motion approved
by a majority of those present and voting, except that at least
three (3) members of the Enforcement Board must vote for the
action to be official.
Section 7: Powers of the Enforcement Board: The
Enforcement Board shall have the power to:
A. Adopt rules for the conduct of its hearings.
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hearings.
C.
D.
E.
Subpoena alleged violators and witnesses to its
Subpoenas may be served by the City's police department
Subpoena records, surveys, plats and other material.
Take testimony under oath.
Issue orders having the force of law commanding
whatever steps are necessary to bring a violation into compliance.
Section 8: Fines. The Enforcement Board, upon notifi-
cation by the Code Inspector that a previous order of the
Enforcement Board has not been complied with by the set time, may
order the violator to pay a fine not to exceed $500.00 per day the
violation continues past the date set for compliance. A certified
copy of an order imposing a fine may be recorded in the public
records and thereafter shall constitute a lien against the land
on which the violation exists. After one (1) year from the filing
of any such lien which remains unpaid, the Enforcement Board may
authorize the Board Attorney to foreclose on the lien.
Section 9: Appeal: An aggrieved party may appeal a
ruling or order of the Enforcement Board by certiorari in the
Circuit Court of Palm Beach County. An appeal shall be filed
within thirty (30) days of the execution of the order to be
led.
Section 10: Notices: All notices required by this act
be by certified mail return receipt requested and where
would not be effective by hand delivery by the Code Inspector
Section 11: Effective Date: This ordinance shall take
;t immediately upon its final passage.
FIRST READING the .... ~'~-~'~d
SECOND, FINAL READING and PASSAGE this /~ ' · ay of
_, 1979.
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CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA
MayOr
Council Member
Co~c il Member
(Corp. Seal)
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