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ORDINANCE NO. 554
ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES AT CHAPTER 1, GENERAL PROVISIONS, AND CHAPTER 18, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, BY THE REVISION OF AND ADDITION TO CHAPTER 1-3, DEFINTIONS, AND SECTION 18-5, EMERGENCY ACTION BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION, AND ADDING SECTIONS 18-8, DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY, 18-9, AND DECLARATION OF SUSPENSION; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Section 252.36, Florida Statutes, provides that a state of emergency shall be declared by executive order or proclamation of the governor if she or he finds an emergency has occurred or that the occurrence or the threat thereof is imminent, and that the state of emergency shall continue until the governor finds that the threat or danger has been dealt with to the extent that the emergency conditions no longer exist and she or he terminates the state of emergency by executive order or proclamation, but no state of emergency may continue for longer than 60 days unless renewed by the governor; and
WHEREAS, Article II, Section 9-35 of the Palm Beach County (the “County”) Code of Ordinances provides that when an emergency has placed the citizens of the County in danger of loss of life or property and a regular or special meeting of the board of county commissioners cannot practically be convened, a state of emergency shall be declared, pursuant to County Resolution Number R-89-384, by the chairman of the board of county commissioners, or the vice-chair, in the chairman’s absence, or by the county administrator, in the absence of the chairman and vice-chair. A state of emergency so declared shall continue for seven (7) days, unless extended as necessary, in seventy-two hour increments, or for the period of time that a state of emergency, as declared by the governor, remains in effect, whichever is longer; and
WHEREAS, Section 18-5 of the Code of Ordinances provides that if the governor declares that an emergency exists in the event of actual enemy attack upon the United States or the occurrence within the state of a major disaster resulting from enemy sabotage or other hostile action or natural causes, it shall be the duty of the municipal emergency management organization to cooperate fully with the state emergency management agency and with the governor in the exercise of emergency powers as provided by law; and
WHEREAS, the Town Commission has determined that it is in the best interests of the public for the Town to be automatically deemed to be under a state of emergency if the governor declares that an emergency exists for the entire State of Florida or specifically for the County, or if the County declares that a state of emergency exists for any area including any portions of the Town; and
WHEREAS, the Town Commission has determined that it is in the best interests of the public to also have the authority to declare a state of emergency for the Town independently of the County or the governor; and
WHEREAS, the Town Commission has determined that it is in the best interests of the public to set forth provisions for suspensions of permits during emergencies similar to that of the County.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE, FLORIDA:
Section 1 - Amendment. Revised section 1-3, Definitions, is hereby amended to add the following:
Sec.1-3 - Definitions.
* * * Damage means when the cost of repair, replacement or relocation of a structure is fifty (50) percent or less than its pre-disaster market value.
* * * Emergency means any threat thereof, whether accidental, natural, or caused by man, in war or in peace, which results or may result in substantial injury or harm to the population or substantial damage to or loss of property.
* * *
Emergency repairs means temporary repairs necessary to prevent injury, loss of life, imminent collapse of a structure, or other substantial damage to a structure. Emergency repairs are those necessary to make the site safe and/or prevent further imminent danger and are not intended to be permanently incorporated into the structure. For illustrative purposes only, items that constitute emergency repairs may include temporary roof repairs to avoid further water damage, repairs to walls, and the temporary shoring of a structure to avoid imminent collapse.
* * *
Minor damage means when the total cost of repair is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or in the case of roof repair less than five-hundred dollars ($500.00).
* * *
Substantial damage means when the cost of repair, replacement or relocation of a structure exceeds fifty (50) percent of its pre-disaster market value.
Section 2 - Amendment. Revised Section 18-5 is hereby amended to read as follows.
Sec. 18-5 - Emergency action by emergency management organization.
If the governor declares that an emergency exists in the State of Florida, or the County declares that an emergency exists in the County, in the event of actual enemy attack upon the United States or the occurrence within the state of a major disaster resulting from enemy sabotage or other hostile action or natural causes, then an emergency shall be automatically deemed to exist within the Town, and it shall be the duty of the municipal emergency management organization to cooperate fully with the state emergency management agency, with the governor and with the County in the exercise of emergency powers as provided by law.
Section 3 - Additions. New Sections 18-8, Declaration of emergency, and 18-9, Declaration of suspension, are hereby adopted to read in their entirety, as follows:
Sec. 18-8 - Declaration of emergency.
(a) When an emergency has placed the citizens of the Town in danger of loss of life or property and a regular or special meeting of the Town Commission cannot practically be convened, a state of emergency shall be declared by the Mayor of the Town, or the Vice-Mayor, in the Mayor’s absence, or by the Town Manager, in the absence of the Mayor and Vice-Mayor. A state of emergency so declared shall continue for seven (7) days, unless extended as necessary in seventy-two-hour increments, or for the period of time that a state of emergency, as declared by the governor, the County or the Town, remains in effect, whichever is longer.
(b) A declaration of emergency shall activate the applicable Town emergency plans and shall constitute authority for the following in lieu of the procedures and formalities otherwise required of the Town by law pertaining to:
(1) Performance of public work, and any other prudent action necessary to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Town.
(2) Entering into contracts.
(3) Incurring obligations.
(4) Employment of permanent and temporary workers.
(5) Utilization of volunteer workers.
(6) Rental of equipment.
(7) Acquisition and distribution, with or without compensation, of supplies, materials and facilities.
(8) Appropriation and expenditure of public funds.
(d) The Town Manager or his or her designee shall implement the provisions of this article in accordance with the instructions furnished by the Town Commission, the Town Manager, and the Director of Public Safety.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Town Commission to declare, limit, or terminate a state of emergency, and take any action authorized by law, when convened in a regular or special meeting.
Sec. 18-9 - Declaration of Suspension.
(a) A post-disaster temporary permit suspension shall be in effect upon the occurrence of one or more of the following events:
(1) The County or the Town is struck by a hurricane or other coastal storm hazards as determined by the National Weather Service and twenty (20) percent or more of the structures in the Town, as determined by the Town administrative official, are destroyed or substantially damaged by a hurricane or other coastal storm hazards; or
(2) The County or the Town is declared a disaster area pursuant to the process outlined in Section 18-5 herein.
(b) The suspension shall begin immediately upon the declaration of the disaster area and/or state of emergency for the County or Town. The suspension shall apply in all areas of the Town and shall remain in effect until ended pursuant to the provisions of this article.
(c) The effects of any suspension shall be as follows:
(1) While the suspension is in effect, no development orders or development permits as defined by the Town Code or the Florida Building Code shall be accepted, processed or issued, no variances shall be approved, and no rezonings or other zoning requests shall be approved.
(2) Building permits shall be temporarily suspended and no construction or reconstruction requiring permit approval may be undertaken except for emergency repairs or minor damage repairs.
(3) No building inspections shall be conducted.
(4) The Town may apply for building permits for permanent repair of public facilities experiencing damage or which create a threat to the health, safety and welfare of the public.
(5) Demolition permits may be issued for substantially damaged structures which are determined by the building official to pose an immediate threat to residents if they collapse.
(d) Suspension shall be lifted according to the following schedule:
(1) Thirty (30) days after the Town Commission, county or governor lifts the local state of emergency, whichever is later, building permits may be applied for all buildings or other facilities that were damaged or substantially damaged.
(2) Forty-five (45) days after the Town Commission, county or governor lifts the local state of emergency, whichever is later, previously-approved and pending development orders, permits and review procedures will revert to their pre-disaster status.
(3) In the event that the number of building permits for damaged property are such that building and other permitting processes may proceed, the administrative official may lift the suspension at any time and prioritize the damage permits while allowing other permits to also be processed as time permits. This shall occur upon approval of the town manager and after written notification to the Mayor.
(e) Upon lifting of suspension, the Town reserves the right to inspect or re-inspect any and all building permit work in place or which occurs in accordance with an existing building permit to verify that the work in place was not damaged during the storm event or emergency. In the event that the Town determines that the building permit work in place was damaged during the storm event or emergency, or suspects that damage was incurred, the property owner/permit holder shall be responsible for re-work, removal, testing, and uncovering work to facilitate inspection, so that compliance with the building permit documents and the building code can be ensured.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the Town Commission to declare, repeal or extend a state of local emergency or take any action prescribed herein when sitting in regular or special session.
Section 4. Codification. This ordinance shall be codified in the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Ocean Ridge, Florida.
Section 5. Severability. If any word, clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof contained in this Ordinance is declared to be unconstitutional, unenforceable, void or inoperative by a court of competent jurisdiction, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the Ordinance.
Section 6. Repeal. All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances in conflict herewith shall be and the same are hereby repealed.
Section 7. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption.
FIRST READING this 7th day of February, 2005.
SECOND AND FINAL READING this 7th day of March, 2005.
Commissioner Bingham offered the foregoing Ordinance and its adoption. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Allison and upon being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
KENNETH M. KALEEL, Mayor Yea GEOFFREY A. PUGH, Vice Mayor Yea DR. LYNN L. ALLISON, Commissioner Yea ELIZABETH P.B. BINGHAM, Commissioner Yea NANCY L. HOGAN, Commissioner Yea
The Mayor thereupon declared this Ordinance approved and adopted by the Town Commission of the Town of Ocean Ridge, Florida, on second reading, this 7th day of March, 2005.
TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE, FLORIDA
BY:__________________________ KENNETH M. KALEEL, MAYOR
ATTEST:_________________________ TOWN CLERK
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