§ 9-31. Notice to appear.

(a)

Pursuant to Section 162.23, Florida Statutes, as amended, in addition to other provisions authorizing the enforcement of this chapter, a code enforcement officer may issue a notice to appear at any hearing conducted by a county court if the officer, based upon personal investigation, has reasonable cause to believe that the person has violated a provision of Chapter 9. A notice to appear means a written order issued by a code enforcement officer in lieu of physical arrest requiring a person accused of violating the law to appear in a designated court or governmental office at a specified date and time. If a person who is issued a notice to appear under this section refuses to sign such notice, the code enforcement officer has no authority to arrest such person.

(b)

Prior to issuing a notice to appear, a code enforcement officer shall provide written notice to the person that the person has committed a violation of a code or ordinance and shall establish a reasonable time period within which the person must correct the violation. Such time period shall be no fewer than five (5) days and no more than thirty (30) days. If, upon personal investigation, a code enforcement officer finds that the person has not corrected the violation within the prescribed time period, a code enforcement officer may issue a notice to appear to the person who has committed the violation.

(c)

A code enforcement officer is not required to provide the person with a reasonable time period to correct the violation prior to issuing a notice to appear and may immediately issue a notice to appear if a repeat violation is found or if the code enforcement officer has reason to believe that the violation presents a serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare or that the violator is engaged in violations of an itinerant or transient nature, or if the violation is irreparable or irreversible. Transient or itinerant shall mean wandering or traveling from place to place; passing across, as from one thing or person to another; passing with time of short duration; not permanent; not lasting; temporary.

(Ord. No. 2007-05, § 7, 4-24-07; Ord. No. 2010-15, § 1, 4-13-10)