Broward County Commission Regular Meeting

MOTION TO ADOPT Resolution No. 2018-344 directing the County Administrator to publish Notice of Public Hearing to be held on Thursday, September 13, 2018, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 422 of the Governmental Center to consider enactment of a proposed Ordinance, the title of which is as follows:
 
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO THE ABATEMENT OF PUBLIC NUISANCES; AMENDING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 20, ARTICLE VII, DIVISION 7 OF THE BROWARD COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES (“CODE”); CHANGING THE PROCEDURES BY WHICH PUBLIC NUISANCE ABATEMENT MATTERS ARE HEARD AND RESOLVED BY THE CONSUMER PROTECTION BOARD; REQUIRING ANY FINDING THAT A PLACE OR PREMISES IS A PUBLIC NUISANCE BE SUPPORTED BY A CERTIFIED CONVICTION; ALLOWING THE CONSUMER PROTECTION BOARD TO ENTER FINAL ORDERS; PROVIDING FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION BOARD’S FINAL ORDERS; AND PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE CODE, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
 
 

(Sponsored by the Board of County Commissioners)

ACTION:  (T-10:33 AM)  Approved.
 
VOTE: 9-0.

The proposed Ordinance was prepared by the Office of the County Attorney at the direction of the Board of County Commissioners at its meeting of January 23, 2018.

Amends various sections of Chapter 20 of the Broward County Code of Ordinances in order to establish more efficient procedures by which the Consumer Protection Board hears and resolves public nuisance matters and to provide for judicial review of final orders issued by the Consumer Protection Board.

The Broward County Drug, Prostitution, and Criminal Street Gang-Related Public Nuisance Abatement Ordinance (“Nuisance Abatement Ordinance”) was enacted in 2009. The Nuisance Abatement Ordinance transferred the roles and responsibilities of the Broward County Drug, Prostitution, and Youth and Street Gang-Related Nuisance Abatement Board to the Consumer Protection Board and also established the procedures by which the Consumer Protection Board handles public nuisance matters. Those procedures include the following requirements or features: all public nuisance matters must be heard by the entire Consumer Protection Board; any finding that a place or premises is a public nuisance must be supported by either a relevant conviction or relevant sworn testimony of a law enforcement officer; and the Consumer Protection Board only has authority to issue recommended orders to the governing board of the pertinent jurisdiction.
 
In an effort to enhance and improve the implementation of the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance, the Environmental and Consumer Protection Division coordinated with representatives of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and consulted with the Office of the County Attorney as to potential revisions to the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance.  As a result, on January 23, 2018, the Board directed the Office of the County Attorney to draft an ordinance amending the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance in order to:  allow public nuisance matters to be heard by three-member panels of the Consumer Protection Board; require that any finding that a place or premises is a public nuisance be supported at a minimum by a relevant conviction; authorize the Consumer Protection Board to issue final orders; provide for an appeals process; amend the definitions provided under the Nuisance Abatement Ordinance to conform with the Florida Statutes; and make other necessary housekeeping amendments.
 
The proposed Ordinance incorporates all of the above-mentioned amendments. With respect to allowing panels of the Consumer Protection Board to hear public nuisance matters, the proposed Ordinance establishes a procedure whereby randomly assigned three-member panels issue recommended orders to the Consumer Protection Board--to which owners, operators, or occupants may file written exceptions--and the Consumer Protection Board issues final orders that adopt, modify, or decline to adopt such recommended orders. Additionally, the proposed Ordinance creates an investigative procedure that must be completed before a public nuisance matter is scheduled for a hearing and provides for judicial review of final orders issued by the Consumer Protection Board.

Annika E. Ashton, Senior Assistant County Attorney, (954) 357-7600