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ITEM: ORDINANCE NO. 2023-12 (AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTERS 1, 2, 3, 9, 11, 20 AND 22 CODE OF ORDINANCES)
AN ORDINANCE OF WELLINGTON, FLORIDA’S COUNCIL AMENDING THE WELLINGTON CODE OF ORDINANCES, MORE SPECIFICALLY, TEXT AMENDMENTS TO MODIFY CERTAIN PROVISIONS IN CHAPTER 1 (GENERAL PROVISIONS), CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION), CHAPTER 3 (ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES), CHAPTER 9 (ENVIRONMENT), CHAPTER 11 (MORTGAGED PROPERTY REGISTRATION), CHAPTER 20 (STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND OTHER PLACES), AND CHAPTER 22 (TRAFFIC & VEHICLES) AS CONTAINED HEREIN; TO FACILITATE IMPROVED EFFICIENCY FOR THE CITATION METHOD OF CODE COMPLIANCE; FOR CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS BY ADDING, MODIFYING, OR ELIMINATING CONFUSING LANGUAGE, INCLUDING DEFINITIONS; MODIFYING PROVISIONS TO BE CONTEMPORARY OR TO COMPLY WITH CHANGES IN STATE LAW ADOPTED DURING THE 2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION; PROVIDING A CONFLICTS CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
REQUEST: Approve Ordinance No. 2023-12.
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EXPLANATION: On October 11, 2022 Village Council adopted the current Code of Ordinances, replacing the Original Code that was adopted in 1997 (and amended numerous times over 25 years). This current amendment was initiated at the request of the Sheriff’s department to establish specific fines for violations that they may issue through the citation method. This was accomplished by amending the table of fines in Section 2-47. The amendment will eliminate the need for law enforcement personnel and the violator to go to County Court, if the person chooses to simply pay the fine and avoid court. They also requested a reduction in the time necessary to determine a vehicle parked on public roadways to be considered abandoned and eligible for towing from 48 hours to 24 hours.
Staff is also recommending a new single definition of Law Enforcement Officer to be used throughout the Code and replace various other definitions for consistency and clarity. Numerous minor wording changes were made in the affected chapters, also for consistency and clarification without functionally changing the provisions (such as the alphabetizing of certain charts and tables).
Other changes are being proposed to update code provisions to be compliant with changes in State law made in the 2023 session of the legislature, such as golf cart regulations (effective October 1, 2023) or to make provisions consistent with current practices that were missed in the drafting of the current Code of Ordinances such as changing the limitations of commercial vehicles on public roads from regulation by number of wheels to regulation by weight.
On August 8, 2023, Council approved the Code of Ordinances on first reading with a 5-0 vote.
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: NO
PUBLIC HEARING: YES QUASI-JUDICIAL: YES
FIRST READING: SECOND READING: YES
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: YES
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
WELLINGTON FUNDAMENTAL: Responsive Government
RECOMMENDATION: Approve Ordinance No. 2023-12.