Ordinance 97-30734•
ORDINANCE NO. 97-3073
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH,
FLORIDA, CREATING SECTION 14-3.1, ENTITLED
"ENFORCEMENT BY FIRE INSPECTORS; NOTICE OF
VIOLATION"; PROVIDING FIRE DEPARTMENT
INSPECTORS THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE CITATIONS
AND IMPOSE FINES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE SOUTH
FLORIDA FIRE PREVENTION CODE AND LIFE SAFETY
CODE AS FURTHER DEFINED HEREIN; PROVIDING FOR
REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION AND AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach Fire Department has determined that the current
existence of overcrowded conditions and locked exits at various assembly occupancies such as bars,
nightclubs, and restaurants on the City of Miami Beach may pose an immediate threat to the health,
safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of Miami Beach; and
WHEREAS, a procedure to issue citations for such violations by the City of Miami Beach
Fire Department will help to reduce the threat to the health, safety and welfare of the residents and
visitors of the City of Miami Beach.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1. That Miami Beach City Code, Chapter 14, entitled "Fire Prevention", Article I
thereof entitled "In General" is hereby amended by creating the following Section 14-
3.1 entitled "Enforcement by Fire Inspectors; Notice of Violation" to read as follows:
Sec. 14-3.1 Enforcement by Fire Inspectors; Notice of Violation.
(a) Notice of Violation.
If, upon inspection, a Fire Inspector fords either an overcrowded condition in excess
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of permissible occupant load criteria as defined in the South Florida Fire Prevention Code and
National Fire Protection Association, entitled "Life Safety Code 101", as amended from time to time,
or a locked, blocked or impeded exit, a violation of this Section shall exist. Upon the finding of such
violation, the Fire Inspector shall:
1. Inform the violator(s) that the conditions causing the violation must
immediately cease, and
2. Inform the violator(s) that additional penalties will be imposed if the
violation continues, and
3. Issue a Notice of Violation to the violator(s) as provided for in the South
Florida Fire Prevention Code.
The Notice of Violation shall also state, but not be limited to: the name(s) of the violator(s),
the date and time of the violation, address of the violation, amount of fine for which the violator(s)
may be liable, instructions and due date for paying the fine, notice that the violation may be appealed
by requesting an administrative hearing within ten (10) days after the date printed on the Notice of
Violation issued by the Fire Inspector, that failure to timely appeal shall constitute an admission of
the violation and waiver of the right to a hearing, that unpaid fines may result in the imposition of
larger fines and may result in revocation both the occupational license and Certificate of Use and/or
the imposition of injunctive proceedings as provided by law.
(b) Civil Fines for Violations; Appeals.
The following civil fines shall be imposed for violation of this Chapter:
First Offense $200.00
Second Offense and each
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offense thereafter (within 12 months
of the most recent offense) $500.00
(c) For purposes of this section, "offense" shall mean a Notice of Violation which has
not been appealed timely or a finding of violation by a Special Master. A person may receive a
separate Notice of Violation once every hour if a violation has occurred at any time within that
period. Each notice of violation shall constitute a separate offense for which a separate fine may be
imposed.
(d) A violator who has been served with a Notice of Violation shall elect either to:
(1) Pay the civil fine in the manner indicated on the Notice of Violation; or
(2) Request an administrative hearing before a Special Master to appeal the
decision of the Fire Inspector which resulted in the issuance of the Notice of
Violation.
(e) The procedures for appeal of the Notice of Violation shall be as set forth in Section
20-43 and 20-44 of the Miami Beach City Code as it may be amended from time to time. A courtesy
mail notice shall be provided the Complainant of any hearing regarding the Notice of Violation, and
the Complainant may testify at such hearings. Failure to give such notice shall not be a cause for
continuance or cancellation of any scheduled hearing of the matter.
(f)
Failure of the named violator(s) to appeal the decision of the Fire Inspector within
the prescribed time period shall constitute a waiver of the violator(s)' right to administrative hearing
before the Special Master. A waiver of the right to an administrative hearing shall be treated as an
admission of the violation and penalties may be assessed accordingly.
(g) Any party aggrieved by the decision of a Special Master may appeal that decision to
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a court of competent jurisdiction as provided in Section 162.11, Florida Statutes.
(h) The City of Miami Beach may institute proceedings in a court of competent
jurisdiction to compel payment of civil fines. A certified copy of an order imposing a civil fine may
be recorded in the public records and thereafter shall constitute a lien upon any other real or personal
property owned by the violator(s) and it may be enforced in the same manner as a court judgment
by the sheriffs of this state, including levy against the personal property, but shall not be deemed to
be a court judgment except for enforcement purposes. After two (2) months from the filing of any
such lien which remains unpaid, the City of Miami Beach may institute proceedings to foreclose or
otherwise execute on the lien.
(i)
As an alternative or additional means of enforcement, the City may institute
proceedings to revoke or suspend an occupational license and/or certificate of use pursuant to
Chapter 20 of the Miami Beach City Code entitled "Business Licenses". For purposes of
enforcement under Chapter 20, any offenses as defined herein shall be deemed an "emergency
condition" involving serious danger to the public health, safety or welfare. Additionally, the City
may seek injunctive relief as set forth in Section 24-7 of the Miami Beach City Code. Furthermore,
in cases of recurring violations, the Code Inspector may issue a citation for prosecution before the
Special Master as provided in Miami Beach City Code Chapter 9B.
SECTION 2. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, clause or provision of this Ordinance is held invalid, the remainder
shall not be affected by such invalidity.
SECTION 3. CODIFICATION.
It is the intention of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach, and it is
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hereby ordained that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code
of the City of Miami Beach, Florida. The sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or
relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section",
"article," or other appropriate word.
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect on the 15th day of March
, 1997.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 5th day March , 1'! 7.
ATTEST:
Roy locu. do&_
CITY CLERK
1st reading 2/19/97
2nd reading 3/5/97
PUTTO\SALL\MAX\FIREINSP.ORD
5
MAYOR
APPROVEDFORM
AS TO
GUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION
Mtomey "e
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
r Fl il- r- r
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO. / 7
TO: Mayor Seymour Gelber and
Members of the City C mission
FROM: Jose Garcia -Pedrosa
City Manager
DATE: March 5, 1997
SUBJECT: ESTABLISHM ij T OF AN OVERCROWDING AND LOCKED EXIT
ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR TICKETING AND FINES
ADMINISTRATIVE RECOMMENDATION:
Approve requested Ordinance.
BACKGROUND:
To offset the increasing costs of providing fire prevention and fire safety inspections in nightclubs,
restaurants and other occupancies used for public assembly, the Fire Department is recommending
an Ordinance be adopted to provide Fire Department Inspectors the authority to ticket and impose
a fine for violation of the South Florida Fire Prevention Code. Violations will be based on occupant
load criteria established in the Ordinance as follows:
A. The occupant load criteria will be 11 square feet per person, based on the "Authority Having
Jurisdiction" guidelines enumerated in the South Florida Fire Prevention Code and Life
Safety Code.
B. When Fire Inspectors discover an overcrowded condition or a locked exit violating the codes,
the violator will be ticketed on site.
C. If the violation is overcrowding, all occupants may be required to vacate and patrons would
be allowed to re-enter only up to the maximum occupant content load.
D. The following Civil Fines shall be imposed for violations:
1. First Offense $200.00
2. Second Offense and each Offense Thereafter
(within 12 months of the most recent offense) $500.00
E. After the third offense, the license of the establishment shall be subject to revocation.
AGENDA ITEM R 5 6
DATE
Commission Memorandum - Locked Exits
Page 2
March 5, 1997
ANALYSIS:
The City of Miami Beach has many night-time assembly occupancies, such as nightclubs, bars and
restaurants, which on many occasions, are found to have locked exits and overcrowded conditions
posing an immediate threat to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Miami Beach.
Presently, enforcement efforts are limited to writing a violation notice and the costs of conducted
night inspections are absorbed through overtime by the Fire Department. This Ordinance will
provide the Department with more authority to make corrections, enhance life safety for our citizens
and the fines will offset the costs for night inspections.
CONCLUSION:
Adoption of this Ordinance will improve the Fire Department's ability to correct violations involving
locked exits and overcrowding, improve the safety of our residents and visitors and offset the costs
for conducting night inspections.
It is my recommendation to approve this Ordinance.
JGP/LG/mc Hoog ,
C:Admin\LockExt.Cmj
Enforcement
entitiled
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