Sec. 388.506. - Disposition of Abandoned or Lost Vessels.

(a) If, at the end of five days after posting the notice under Section 388.504 (c)(2), or at the end of 48 hours after posting the notice under Section 388.504 (c)(3), no party legally responsible for the vessel has removed the vessel from the waters of the county or shown reasonable cause for failure to do so, the vessel may be removed or relocated by law enforcement. Relocation or removal under this subsection does not prevent the issuance of a citation under this Part. As soon as practicable after the vessel has been removed or relocated pursuant to this subsection, notice shall be effectuated by the methods described for notice of violation in this Part. The notice shall include the location where the vessel is being held and how to reclaim the vessel, including that the owner or other interested party with legal standing on the disposition of the vessel must make a claim to the vessel within 21 days of notice of removal or relocation and must pay the costs for removal, relocation and storage, within 30 days of the attempt to reclaim the vessel. If no person makes a claim to the vessel within 21 days of notice of removal or relocation, or if a rightful attempts to reclaim the vessel within 21 days but fails to pay costs of removal, relocation and storage within 30 days of the attempt to reclaim, the vessel may be designated as a Lost or Abandoned Vessel, subject to subsection (f), below. (b) As to a vessel described in Section 388.411 (c), or a vessel described in Section 388.503 , if the owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel is not known or cannot be ascertained upon reasonable effort, after notice of violation as provided in Section 388.408 as to a Section 388.411 (c) vessel, and Section 388.504 as to a Section 388.503 vessel, and no person legally responsible for the vessel has caused the vessel to be removed within the term of days specified in the notice or shown reasonable cause for failure to do so, and no person has come forward to take responsibility for the vessel, the vessel may be designated as a Lost or Abandoned Vessel, subject to subsection (f), below. (c) As to a vessel described in Section 388.311 (a) or Section 388.411 (b), if the owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel is known or ascertained by reasonable effort, and 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 is known, the vessel may be designated as a Lost or Abandoned Vessel, subject to subsection (f), below. (d) As to a vessel described in Section 388.311 (a), if, at the end of 21 days after service of the notice of violation as provided in Section 388.306 , the owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel has not caused the vessel to be removed within the term of days specified in the notice or shown reasonable cause for failure to do so, or if a vessel has been removed by law enforcement pursuant to Section 388.305 (a), but the owner or other interested party with legal standing on the disposition of the vessel has not attempted to reclaim the vessel within the term of days specified in the notice, and if a citation has been issued the term of days to contest a citation has lapsed, the vessel may be designated as a Lost or Abandoned Vessel, subject to subsection (f), below. (e) As to a vessel described in Section 388.411 (a), if a vessel has been impounded and stored pursuant to Section 388.411 (a) for over 30 days and either, no owner or other interested party with legal standing on the disposition of the vessel has attempted to reclaim the vessel within the term of days specified in the notice or the owner or other interested party with legal standing on the disposition of the vessel made claim to the vessel but failed to timely pay the cost of towing, cost of impoundment and storage fees, the vessel may be designated as a Lost or Abandoned Vessel, subject to subsection (f), below. (f) An Abandoned Vessel or Lost Vessel may be removed or relocated by a law enforcement officer, and, (1) As to an Abandoned Vessel, the City may retain the property for its own use or for use, trade the property to another unit of local government or state agency, donate the property to a charitable organization, sell the property, or dispose of the property. (2) As to a Lost Vessel, the City shall take custody and the agency shall retain custody of the property for 90 days, and shall publish notice of the intended disposition of the property during the first 45 days of this time period, as provided, a. If the City elects to retain the property for use by the unit of government, donate the property to a charitable organization, surrender such property to the finder, sell the property, or trade the property to another unit of local government or state agency, notice of such election shall be given by an advertisement published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the property was found if the value of the property is more than $100. If the value of the property is $100 or less, notice shall be given by posting a description of the property at the law enforcement agency where the property was turned in. The notice must be posted for not less than two consecutive weeks in a public place designated by the law enforcement agency. The notice must describe the property in a manner reasonably adequate to permit the rightful owner of the property to claim it. b. If the City elects to sell the property, it must do so at public sale by competitive bidding. Notice of the time and place of the sale shall be given by an advertisement of the sale published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the sale is to be held. The notice shall include a statement that the sale shall be subject to any and all liens. The sale must be held at the nearest suitable place to where the lost or abandoned property is held or stored. The advertisement must include a description of the goods and the time and place of the sale. The sale may take place no earlier than ten days after the final publication. Notice of the intended disposition shall describe the property in a manner reasonably adequate to permit the rightful owner of the property to identify it. (g) Upon the expiration of the 90-day custodial time period and the notice requirements specified in Section 388.504 (f)(2), have been met, unless the rightful owner or a lienholder claims the property within that time, pursuant to F.S. § 705.104, title to a lost or abandoned vessel vests in the finder of the vessel. (h) If a lost vessel is sold at public sale pursuant to subsection (f)(2)b the City shall deduct from the proceeds the costs of transportation, storage, and publication of notice, including costs as described in Section 388.503 (c), and any balance of proceeds shall be deposited into an interest-bearing account not later than 30 days after the date of the sale and held there for 1 year. The City shall provide a bill of sale clearly stating that the sale is subject to any and all liens. The rightful owner of the property may claim the balance of the proceeds within 1 year from the date of the above stated deposit by making application to the agency. If no rightful owner comes forward with a claim to the property within the designated year, the balance of the proceeds shall be deposited into the Derelict and Abandoned Vessel and Floating Structure Enforcement and Removal Trust Fund, Section 111.787 . (i) The owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel, who after notice of violation as provided in Section 388.504 , does not remove such vessel within the specified period or show reasonable cause for failure to do so, is liable to the City for all costs incurred by the City to abate the violation, as described in Section 388.103 (l), less any salvage value obtained by disposal of the vessel. Upon final disposition of the vessel, the City shall notify the owner, if known, of the amount owed. Notice shall be effectuated by the methods described for notice of violation in this Part. If the rightful owner does not pay such costs within 30 days of making claim to the property, title to the property shall vest in the City. The City may recover the costs as provided in Section 388.503 (l). (j) Employees of any state, county, or municipal agency shall be deemed agents of such governmental entity, and a lost vessel or abandoned vessel found by them during the course of their official duties shall be turned in to the proper person or department designated to receive such property by the governmental entity. Such property turned in to the City shall be subject to the provisions of this Part, or F.S. Ch. 705, after which, if unclaimed by the rightful owner, the title to such property shall be vested in the City and not in the employee. (Ord. 2025-432-E , § 7)