HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-13842City of Miami
Ordinance 13842
Legislation
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
File Number: 6020 Final Action Date: 6/13/2019
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION, BY A
FOUR -FIFTHS (4/5THS) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE, AMENDING CHAPTER
35/ARTICLE VIII OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS
AMENDED, TITLED "MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC/PRIVATE PARKING
LOTS," MORE PARTICULARLY BY AMENDING SECTION 35-292, TITLED
"ISSUANCE OF PRIVATE PARKING VIOLATIONS PROHIBITED," TO
PROVIDE FOR ENHANCED PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT; CONTAINING
A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE
DATE.
SPONSOR(S): Mayor Francis X. Suarez
WHEREAS, on May 23, 2019, the Miami City Commission adopted Ordinance No.
13840 prohibiting the issuance of parking violations by private property parking lot owners and
their agents, based upon numerous allegations of certain parking lot owners and operators
placing parking tickets on the windshields of their customers, who either did not pay a parking
fee or customers whose time for parking elapsed; and
WHEREAS, there is no basis in the Code of the City of Miami, Florida, as amended
("City Code"), or the Code of Metropolitan Miami -Dade County, Florida, as amended, for a
private parking lot owner or operator to issue any such parking violations, thereby rendering the
parking tickets null and void; and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 13840 only permits the City to issue a single violation when
a parking lot owner or its agent issues multiple parking tickets on its lot; and
WHEREAS, this proposed amendment will permit the City to issue a separate violation
for each illegal ticket issued in said parking lot; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that this Ordinance is necessary on the grounds
of an urgent need for the preservation of health, safety, welfare, or property of the public and the
City;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Ordinance are
adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section.
Section 2. Chapter 35 of the City Code is amended in the following particulars:1
1 Words and/or figures stricken through shall be deleted. Underscored words and/or figures shall be
added. The remaining provisions are now in effect and remain unchanged. Asterisks indicate omitted and
unchanged material.
City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 6020 (Revision:) Printed On: 4/18/2025
File ID: 6020 Enactment Number: 13842
"CHAPTER 35
MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC
ARTICLE VIII. PRIVATE PARKING LOTS
Sec. 35-292. Issuance of private parking violations prohibited.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in the operation of a private parking lot to
issue a notice of violation, citation, or ticket to any vehicle that is parked on the lot under
their control. Any such notice of violation, citation, ticket, or invoice is declared null, void,
and unenforceable.
(b) Any person issuing any such notice of violation, citation, ticket, or invoice to any vehicle
that is parked on the lot under their control shall be subject to penalty described in
Section 1-13 of the City Code.
(c) Any parking lot owner or operator who authorizes the issuance of any such notice of
violation, citation, ticket, or invoice to any vehicle that is parked on a lot under their
control shall be subject to a five hundred dollar ($500.00) civil violation which shall be
enforced in accordance with Chapter 2/Article X of the City Code. Any such notice of
violation, citation, ticket, or invoice found to be placed upon any vehicle or electronically
issued against the vehicle parked on a lot under their control shall be prima facie
evidence of a violation of this Subsection. Each and every such issuance of a notice of
violation, citation, ticket, or invoice shall be considered as a separate offense.
(d) Any parking lot owner or operator found to have authorized the issuance of any such
notice of violation, citation, ticket, or invoice to any vehicle that is parked on a lot under
their control shall be subject to having their business tax receipt revoked in accordance
with Section 31-48 of the City Code.
In addition to any other remedies provided by this Section or any other City ordinance,
the City Manager or designee shall have judicial remedies available for violations of this
Section including but not limited to:
(1) The institution of a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to establish liability
and to recover damages for any costs incurred by the City in conjunction with the
abatement of any condition prohibited by the provisions of this Chapter.
(2) The institution of a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to seek injunctive
relief to enforce compliance with the terms of this Chapter or any rule or regulation
promulgated hereunder, to enjoin and prohibit said violation, or to compel the
performance of actions which will result in compliance with the terms of this Chapter.
(e) Educational institutions are exempt from the provisions of this Section. In addition, a
parking lot whose owner(s) has entered into an agreement with the Miami Parking
Authority for management of the parking lot is exempt from the provisions of this
Section.
*11
Section 3. If any section, part of a section, paragraph, clause, phrase, or word of this
Ordinance is declared invalid, the remaining provisions of this Ordinance shall not be affected.
City of Miami Page 2 of 3 File ID: 6020 (Revision:) Printed on: 4/18/2025
File ID: 6020 Enactment Number: 13842
Section 4. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately after its adoption and
signature of the Mayor.2
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
ndez, ity ttor ey ) 6/4/2019
2 This Ordinance shall become effective as specified herein unless vetoed by the Mayor within ten (10)
days from the date it was passed and adopted. If the Mayor vetoes this Ordinance, it shall become
effective immediately upon override of the veto by the City Commission or upon the effective date stated
herein, whichever is later.
City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 6020 (Revision:) Printed on: 4/18/2025