Sec. 388.412. - Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel.

(a) A vessel that is the subject of four of more violations within 12 months which result in dispositions other than acquittal or dismissal, as described in F.S. § 327.4108, is a vessel habitually in violation of anchoring limitations and shall, by operation of law, be declared an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel and may be disposed of as provided in this Section, or as provided in F.S. § 705.103. (b) A law enforcement officer with reasonable cause to believe a vessel anchored or moored on the waters of the county is an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel, the officer shall serve upon the owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel a notice of intent to remove and dispose a vessel declared to be an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel ("notice of intent"). Notice of intent shall be in writing and shall identify the vessel in violation [to include: the registration number of the vessel (if known); Hull identification number (if known); the general description of the vessel including, make, model, color and length; and the name of the vessel (if known)]; shall refer to Section 388.412, Ordinance Code, and F.S. § 327.4108; shall include the court case number or citation number of four or more previous violations within 12 months, with the dispositions and dates of disposition for each; and the notice shall include that the owner or other interested party with legal standing on the disposition of the vessel has 30 days from service of the notice of intent to request an administrative hearing regarding on the determination that the vessel is an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel and that failure to request such hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such administrative hearing. (c) Notice of intent to remove and dispose a vessel declared to be an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel shall be served by the methods described for a notice of violation pursuant to Section 388.408 , except that the content of the notice shall be as described in subsection (b) of this Section, and notice posted to the vessel shall be as described in subsection (d) of this Section. (d) Notice of intent to remove and dispose a vessel declared to be an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel posted to a vessel shall be not less than eight inches by ten inches and shall be sufficiently weatherproof to withstand normal exposure to the elements, and shall be in substantially the following form: NOTICE TO THE OWNER AND ALL PERSONS WITH LEGAL INTEREST IN THE ATTACHED PROPERTY. This vessel, to wit: (make, model, registration numbers, if available, HIN, if available) has been declared to be an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel, as described in Section 388.412, Ordinance Code, and Florida Statutes Section 327.4108, and is unlawfully on the waters of this county in violation of Section 388.405 , Ordinance Code, to wit: (brief description of location). The vessel having been the subject of four or more violations of anchoring limitations within 12 months, to wit: [court case number or citation number of four or more previous violations within 12 months, the dispositions and dates of disposition], the vessel is declared to be a public nuisance. The vessel owner or other interested party with legal standing on the disposition of the vessel has 30 days from the date of this notice to request an administrative hearing regarding the determination that the vessel is an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel, under Section 388.412 , Ordinance Code. Failure to request such hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such administrative hearing. THIS VESSEL MUST BE REMOVED WITHIN 21 DAYS OTHERWISE IT WILL BE REMOVED AND DISPOSED OF PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 705, FLORIDA STATUTES, OR PURSUANT TO SECTION 388.412, ORDINANCE CODE, AND A CITATION MAY BE ISSUED. The City may recover from the owner or other person legally responsible for the vessel for all costs incurred by the City to abate the violation, as described in Section 388.103 (l), Ordinance Code, which may include costs to abate the violation, costs to remediate or mitigate damage or threatened damage to the environment caused by the violation, and the costs of enforcement of Chapter 388 , Part 4, Ordinance Code. Dated this: (setting forth the date of posting of notice), signed: (setting forth name, title, address, and telephone number of the law enforcement officer). (e) The procedure for hearings requested by adversely affected vessel owners who have received notice of intent to remove and dispose a vessel declared to be an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel, under this Section shall be as described in Section 388.310 , Ordinance Code. (f) Disposal of an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel may occur as follows: (1) If, after the term of days required for posting, publishing, or mailing notice of intent to remove and dispose a vessel declared to be an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel, the owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel has not caused the vessel to be removed or shown reasonable cause for failure to do so, the owner or other interested party with legal standing on the disposition of the vessel has not timely requested an administrative hearing on the determination of the vessel as an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel, and if a citation has been issued the term of days to contest a citation has lapsed; or (2) If the owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel has disavowed responsibility for the vessel and no other owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel, or lien holder, can be ascertained by reasonable effort; or, (3) If, following a hearing pursuant to F.S. § 705.103(2)(a)2., a judge, magistrate, administrative law judge, or hearing officer, or in the instance of an administrative proceeding described in Section 388.310 , Ordinance Code, a Code Enforcement Officer named as a presiding officer or the Environmental Protection Board, has determined the vessel to be an Anchoring Limitation/Public Nuisance Vessel and a Final Order has been entered; the law enforcement agency or its designee may dispose of the vessel as a lost vessel as described in Section 388.506 (f), Ordinance Code. (Ord. 2025-432-E , § 6)