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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Item Cover PageAGENDA ITEM COVER PAGE File ID: #5908 Ordinance Sponsored by: Francis Suarez, Mayor, Joe Carollo, Commissioner, Manolo Reyes, Commissioner 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", ON AN EMERGENCY BASIS, BY CREATING A NEW SECTION 35-292 PROHIBITING PRIVATE PARKING LOT OPERATORS FROM ISSUING PARKING VIOLATIONS TO MOTOR VEHICLES PARKED IN SAID PRIVATE PARKING LOTS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. City of Miami File ID: 5908 (Revision: 8) Printed On: 6/4/2019 File Number: 5908 City of Miami Legislation Ordinance Enactment Number: 13840 Final Action Date: 5/23/2019 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", ON AN EMERGENCY BASIS, BY CREATING A NEW SECTION 35-292 PROHIBITING PRIVATE PARKING LOT OPERATORS FROM ISSUING PARKING VIOLATIONS TO MOTOR VEHICLES PARKED IN SAID PRIVATE PARKING LOTS; CONTAINING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Miami ("City") has received numerous allegations of certain parking lot owners and operators placing fake 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, these fake parking tickets are designed to look like real Miami -Dade County parking tickets in form and appearance and even have the orange stripe that is identical to the official Miami -Dade County Uniform Parking Citation; 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 ("County Code"), for a private parking lot owner or operator to issue any such fake parking tickets thereby rendering the parking tickets null and void; and WHEREAS, unsuspecting motorists may not realize that they have received a fake parking ticket versus a valid Miami -Dade County Uniform Parking Citation and actually pay the violation to what they think is the City of Miami or Miami -Dade Country and thereby unjustly enrich the parking lot owner or operator; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the City to prohibit the practice of the issuance of private parking tickets; and WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that this emergency 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. City of Miami File ID: 5908 (Revision: 8) Printed On: 6/4/2019 Section 2. Chapter 35 of the Code, titled "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," is amended in the following particulars:' "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 penalties 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. (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 Citv Code. (e) 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. (f) Exemptions. 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 ' 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 unchanaed material. City of Miami File ID: 5908 (Revision: 8) Printed On: 6/4/2019 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. Section 4. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately after its adoption and signature of the Mayor.2 APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: 1 i 4i�nd6-z, City Httor ey 5/14/2019 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 File ID: 5908 (Revision: 8) Printed On: 6/4/2019