§ 5.04. Enforcement Procedure.

(1)

For the purpose of this Chapter, "code officer" means any authorized agent or employee of the City of Orlando whose duty it is to insure compliance with the codes and ordinances of the City.

(2)

For the purposes of this Chapter, "violator" means any owner, operator, or legally responsible person or business entity, who owns, leases, or maintains property that is alleged to have violated City codes and ordinances. Owners are ultimately responsible for controlling conditions and uses on their property. "Violator" also refers to the individual or business entity that actually committed the alleged code violation.

(3)

It shall be the duty of the Code Officer to initiate enforcement proceedings of the various codes and ordinances. No member of the Code Enforcement Board shall have the power to initiate such enforcement proceedings.

(4)

Except as provided in Subsections (6), (7), (8) and (9), below, if a violation of the codes or ordinances is found, the Code Officer shall notify the alleged violator and give him or her a reasonable time to correct the violation. Notice shall:

a.

Be in writing.

b.

Include a description of the real estate or address sufficient for identification.

c.

Specify the violation(s) by code citation and factual description and state the corrective action required.

d.

Include a schedule as to the time allowed for completion of the required corrective action(s) necessary to bring the property or violation into compliance with the City of Orlando Codes.

e.

Be considered to be delivered by depositing the notice in the United States Post Office addressed to the property owner at his last known address listed in government records.

f.

Indicate that, if the violation is not corrected within the time specified, a hearing will take place before the Code Enforcement Board.

g.

Unless provided otherwise in this Code, the time given to comply with minor violations as defined in this Code shall not exceed one hundred twenty (120) days, and the time given to comply with major violations as defined in this Code shall not exceed forty-five (45) days.

h.

Any violation not corrected in the time and manner specified in the notice pursuant to this Section may be referred to the Code Enforcement Board created pursuant to this Chapter. Major or cumulative minor violations which are deteriorating into hazardous or nuisance conditions may also be subject to proceedings under this section.

(5)

Should the violation continue beyond the time specified for correction, the Code Officer shall notify the Code Enforcement Board and request a hearing. The Code Enforcement Board, through its clerical staff, shall schedule a hearing, and written notice of such hearing shall be hand delivered or mailed to said violator as provided in Sec. 5.09. If notice by personal service or by mail is not feasible, the City Attorney's Office may opt to serve notice by publication as provided in Sec. 5.09. If the violation is corrected and then recurs, or if the violation is not corrected by the time specified for correction by the Code Officer, the case may be presented to the Code Enforcement Board even if the violation has been corrected prior to the Board's hearing, and the notice shall so state.

(6)

If the Code Officer has reason to believe a violation, or the condition causing the violation, presents a serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare, or if the violation is irreparable or irreversible in nature, the Code Officer shall make a reasonable effort to notify the violator and may immediately notify the Code Enforcement Board and request a hearing.

(7)

If the violation creates a situation where City action is necessary to eliminate an imminent public nuisance, the following notice procedures shall be utilized:

(a)

Notice to Vacate. Whenever the Building Official, code official, Fire Marshall, or their Designee, of the Code Enforcement Board, shall declare a building unfit for human occupation and constituting a nuisance, they shall give notice to the owner and occupant(s) of such declaration and placard the building as unfit for human occupancy. Such notice shall:

(1)

Contain all elements required by article V, Chapter 14 of the Property Maintenance Code;

(2)

State the time and date by which occupants must vacate the building;

(3)

State that if such repairs, reconstruction, alterations, removal, or demolition are not voluntarily completed within the stated time as set forth in the notice, the Building Official, Code Enforcement Division Manager, Fire Marshall, or their Designee, or the Code Enforcement Board's Designee shall initiate proceedings charging the person or persons, firm, corporation, or agent with a violation of this Code; and

(4)

Shall also inform the owner and the occupant(s) of their right to appeal the condemnation decision.

(b)

Service of Notice. Service of notice to vacate shall be as follows:

(1)

By delivery to the owner and the occupant personally, or by leaving the notice at the usual place of abode of the owner and the occupant with a person of suitable age and discretion; or

By delivery of a letter by certified or registered mail containing a notice addressed to the owner and the occupant at their last known address with postage prepaid thereon; and

(2)

By posting and keeping posted for seven (7) days a copy of the notice in placard form, in a conspicuous place on the premises to be vacated.

(c)

Vacating of Declared Building. Any building condemned as unfit for human occupancy or occupation, and so designated and placarded by the Building Official, Code Enforcement Division Manager, Fire Marshall, or their Designee, of the Code Enforcement Board's Designee, shall be vacated immediately after notice of such condemnation has been given by the Building Official, Code Enforcement Division Manager, Fire Marshall, or their Designee, to the owner and the occupant(s) of the building in accordance with subsection (b).

(d)

Requesting a Hearing. The owner or the occupant(s) shall be permitted to request a hearing before the Code Enforcement Board regarding the condemnation decision within 15 calendar days of the City's delivery or posting of notice to vacate. A hearing shall be held before the Code Enforcement Board within four (4) business days of receiving a hearing request. The Code Enforcement Board shall issue a notice of hearing to both the owner of the premises and the occupant(s) requesting the hearing. Any occupant who seeks a hearing on the condemnation decision may be heard in the Code Enforcement Board action. The notice of hearing shall be delivered in accordance with subsection (b)(1). An appeal from a decision of the Code Enforcement Board regarding the condemnation of property shall be governed by the provisions of F.S. § 162.11.

(e)

Occupancy of Building. No building which has been condemned and placarded as unfit for human occupancy or occupation shall again be used for human occupancy or occupation until approval is secured from and such placard is removed by the Building Official, Fire Marshall or Code Enforcement Division Manager, or their Designee, or the Code Enforcement Board's Designee. The Building Official, Code Enforcement Division Manager, Fire Marshall, or their Designee, or the Code Enforcement Board's Designee shall remove such placard whenever the defect or defects upon which the condemnation and placarding action were based have been eliminated.

(f)

Condemnation Placards. Such placards must include a brief and concise summary of the conditions necessitating the condemnation. This shall be accomplished by leaving space on the placard to allow a Code Officer to write in the summary.

(g)

Removal of Placard or Notice. No person shall deface or remove the placard from any building which has been condemned as unfit for human occupation and placarded as such, except as provided in the preceding subsection.

(h)

Penalty for Violation of this Section. Any person who violates any provision of this Section shall be punished as provided in Section 1.08 of the Orlando City Code.

(8)

If exigent circumstances create a situation where City action is necessary to eliminate an imminent public nuisance, the notice procedures set forth in subsection (7) shall be utilized, except that a hearing, if desired, shall be requested in accordance with the procedures governing emergency action in article V, Chapter 14 of this Code. Such hearing may occur after the deadline for vacating.

(9)

(a)

For the purpose of this Chapter, "repeat violation" means a violation of a City code or ordinance by a person whom the Code Enforcement Board has previously found to have violated the same provision within five (5) years prior to the current violation.

(b)

If a repeat violation is found, the Code Inspector shall notify the violator, 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 Code Enforcement Board and request a hearing. The Code Enforcement Board, through its clerical staff, shall schedule a hearing and shall provide notice pursuant to Section 5.09 of the City Code. The case may be presented to the Code Enforcement Board even if the repeat violation has been corrected prior to the hearing before the Code Enforcement Board, and the notice shall so state.

(Ord. of 5-18-1981, § 1; Ord. of 4-11-1988, Doc. #21999; Ord. of 5-11-1992, Doc. #25691; Ord. of 7-25-1994, Doc. #27719; Ord. of 2-6-1995, Doc. #28220; Ord. of 8-28-2006, § 1, Doc. #0608281005; Ord. of 11-2-2009, § 1, Doc. #0911021105; Ord. No. 2014-53, § 1, 10-19-2015, Doc. #1510191203; Ord. No. 2018-33, § 3, 8-6-2018, eff. 1-1-2019, Doc. #1808061204)