HomeMy WebLinkAbout3159 ORDINANCE NO. 3159
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANFORD, FLORIDA,
CREATING CHAPTER 18 1/2, ARTICLE V, OF THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF SANFORD, FLORIDA,
TO BE KNOWN AS THE "INTERIM GENERAL SERVICES
FEE"; ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY; PROVIDING FOR
DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING A PURPOSE THEREFORE;
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPOSITION
OF SUCH INTERIM GENERAL SERVICES FEE;
PRESCRIBING THE RATES TO BE CHARGED THEREFORE;
PROVIDING FOR THE YEARLY REVISION OF SUCH
RATES; PROVIDING FOR COLLECTION; PROVIDING
CODIFICATION, SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, finds the
ever-continuing growth and development within the City's incoFporated Hmits places
additional strains on the City's finances and resources necessary to provide
adequate CRy services; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission recognizes the demand for services associated
with the increased development of real property located within the City's
incorporated limits and the subsequent occupancy of those developed properties;
and
WHEREAS, between the time new development to real property has been
competed and the time the developed real property is placed on the county's tax roll,
there is no assessment of ad valorera taxes on said real property; yet the City is
obligated to provide City services to the newly developed real property and its
occupants for which the City receives no monies; and
WHEREAS, the City finds the imposition of an Interim General Services Fee to
be sound fiscal policy and an appropriate manner to obtain additional funds
necessary to meet the increased demand for City services associated with new
development; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to maintain a fair and equitable allocation of the
incremental cost of making available City services to newly developed real properties
and their occupants; and
WHEREAS, the City has established by study the need for an Interim General
Services Fee, an equitable distribution of the fee among different land uses, and a
direct benefit to the newly developed property and occupants; and
WHEREAS, the City finds it in the best interest of the City of Sanford to
impose an Interim General Services Fee to meet the increased financial burden
resulting from new development and the City finds that said fee will help pay for
City services to new development which promotes the health, safety and general
welfare of the citizens of the City of Sanford.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF
SANFORD, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1: Chapter 18 1/2, Article V, of the City of Sanford City Code is
hereby created, to be known as the "Interim General Services Fee" and shall read
as follows:
CHAPTER 18 1/2, Article V, INTERIM GENERAL SERVICES FEE.
Section 18 1/2-1. Authority. The City has authority to adopt this Ordinance
pursuant to Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Florida, Chapter 166 of
the Florida Statutes, and the City Charter of the City of Sanford.
Section 18 1/2-2. Definitions.
A. "City Services." The following municipal services provided by the City:
general administration, parks and recreation, planning and development, public
safety (i.e. police, fire, etc. ), and public works.
B. "Dwelling." Any structure or portion thereof intended for Residential Use,
including, but not limited to a house, duplex, apartment, condominium or mobile
home.
C. "Dwelling Unit." Any portion of a multiple-family dwelling consisting of
its own sleeping quarters and constituting a separate residence for single-family
occupancy.
D. "Interim General Services Fee or Fee." An annual user fee imposed on a
structure certified for occupancy by the City Building Official or his designee, but
not yet listed on the Seminole County tax rolls as an improvement to real property.
E. "Lodging Unit." Any room or sleeping quarters in a hotel, motel or other
lodging establishment.
F. "New development." or "newly-developed." The construction of a
structure to improve or alter real property, either from its natural state or where
there exists or once existed another structure, to facilitate a residential, retail,
commercial, office, or industrial use.
G. "Non-Residentiai Unit." Any retail store or single-occupancy commercial
structure; each individual retail space in a multiple-occupancy retail structure; each
individual commercial space in a multiple-occupancy commercial structure; any
single-occupancy industrial structure; each individual space in a multiple-occupancy
industrial structure; any single-occupancy office building; each individual office
space in a multiple-occupancy office building; and any warehouse or any unit in a
warehouse facility subdivided into individual units and used primarily as leased
storage space.
OPrlln~nCe No. 3159
H. "Owner." That person or legal entity reflected on the public records of
Seminole County, including the Seminole County tax records, as the owner of real
property, upon which a structure has been erected.
I. "Residential Unit." Any single-family dwelling; and each dwelling unit of
a townhouse, duplex, condominium or other multiple-family dwelling, including, but
not limited to, nursing homes providing long-term care.
J. "Square Feet" or "Square footage." The total gross square footage of a
Non-Residential Unit as determined by the Building Official and/or indicated on the
applicable City building permit.
K. "Structure." Any temporary or permanent residential, lodging or non-
residential building or building-unit built for the support, shelter or protection of
persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind, for which a certificate of
occupancy is required, and constructed upon real property located within the
incorporated municipal limits of the City of Sanford, Florida.
Any words or terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning
ascribed to them under normal usage.
Section 18 1/2-3. Purpose. The cost for City services is borne in large part
through ad valorera taxation. Between the time that a new structure is completed
and occupied and the time the value of the new structure on such real property is
reflected on the County's tax roll (usually as of the ensuing January lst), the City
is obligated to provide City services for which no part of the cost of said services
does the City receive monies. The Interim General Services Fee will defray the cost
to the City in providing City services to newly-developed real properties and their
occupants prior to the imposition of ad valorera taxes on said Property. The fee is
not in any manner, directly or indirectly, intended as an ad valorera tax, nor is the
amount of the fee established herein related to the valuation of the property
receiving and benefiting from said City services. The fee is equitably distributed
and reasonably covers the cost of making such City services available to newly-
developed real properties and their occupants.
Section 18 1/2-4. Fee Levied for Services to Certain Pro~oerties. There is
hereby levied an Interim General Services Fee which shall apply to those real
properties located within the City limits with structures, either permanent or
temporary, for which a certificate of occupancy is required, for full or partial use
of the premises, and which shall cover the period from the date of issuance of the
certificate of occupancy until and including the ensuing December 31st (i.e. the day
normally preceding the date the structure necessitating the certificate of occupancy
OrdjnanCe No. 3159
is assessed by the Seminole County Property Appraiser and extended on the tax
roll).
Section 18 1/2-5. Fee; When paid. The Interim General Services Fee shall be
paid in full by the owner of the real property prior to the issuance of a certificate
of occupancy, and the certificate of occupancy shall not be issued until such time as
the Interim General Services Fee has been fully paid.
Section 18 1/2-6. Rate Charged. The Interim General Services Fee shall be
imposed at the following rates, according to land use:
A. For Residential Units:
(1) One hundred eighty-seven dollars and fifty-two cents
($187.52) per year per single family dwelling unit.
(2) One hundred eighty-seven dollars and fifty-two cents
($187.52) per year for each dwelling unit within a multiple-family dwelling or long-
term care nursing home and for each residential unit.
B. For Retail Establishment: Two hundred twenty dollars and fifty-
three cents ($220.5S) per year per 1,000 square feet of office space or commercial
space in each retail store, or for every 1,000 square feet of retail or commercial
space in each non-residential unit of a multiple-occupancy retail or commercial
structure.
C. For Office Space: Two hundred twenty dollars and fifty-three cents
($220.53) per year per 1,000 square feet of office space in a single-occupancy office
building or in each non-residential unit of a multiple-occupancy office building.
D. For Industrial Warehouse Space: Thirty-six dollars and seventeen
cents ($36.17) per year per 1,000 square feet of industrial warehouse space in a
single-occupancy industrial building or warehouse or in each non-residential unit
of a subdivision industrial building or warehouse.
E. For Industrial Manufacturing Space: Sixty-four dollars and thirty-
eight cents ($64.38) per year per 1,000 square feet of industrial manufacturing
space in a single-occupancy industrial building or manufacturing facility or in each
non-residential unit of a subdivided industrial building or manufacturing facility.
F. For Lodging Units: One hundred and three dollars and thirteen
cents ($103.13) per year per sleeping quarter in a hotel, motel or other lodging
establishment.
All such fees will be imposed, at the applicable rates, from the date the
certificate of occupancy is issued through and including the following December
31st, calculated on a prorated daily basis and applied at a monthly rate on a full
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Ord'in~nce No. 3159
month basis. All newly developed real property shall be classified as one of the
above-stated land uses. The Buildin~ Official shall have the authority to determine
which of the above-stated land uses best applies to a particular structure not
otherwise definitively classified. While all fees for convenience, are stated in terms
of every thousand square feet, the actual fee assessed shall be calculated on each
square foot.
Section 18 1/2-7. Fee Revisions. Upon the recommendation of the Finance
Department, the City Commission may, by adoption of a resolution, revise the
Interim General Services Fee rate by increasin~ or decreasin~ the annual rate and
roundin~ to the nearest dollar. Any rate revision to the Interim General Services
Fee shall take effect on the first day of the calendar month that follows the adoption
of the rate revision by the City Commission unless the resolution shall state
otherwise. The revised fee shall be calculated based upon a reasonable estimate of
the annual net cost of all City services divided by the total numbe~ of Residential,
Non-residential and Lod~in~ Units actually existin~ as of January 1 of the year in
which the revised fee is to be adopted, then ad~ustinE that cost for each of the
respective land uses. The revised fee shall be stated in annual dollar rates, but
shall be assessed on a prorated daily basis and applied at a monthly rate of a full
month basis. The fee, however, may only be revised once a year and may not be
increased by more than twenty-five percent (25%) from one year to the next.
Section 18 1/2-8. Exemptions. The followin~ shall be exempt from payment of
the Interim General Services Fee:
A. Property for which a bnildin~ permit (in proper form and order) was
issued in Eood faith prior to the effective date of this Ordinance;
B. Property consistinE of a structure currently reflected on the County tax
roll, where a certificate of occupancy is required for the purposes of either a chan~e
of use of the property; an alteration or remodelin~ of an existin~ Residential, Non-
residential or Lod~in~ Unit which does not entail an increase in square foota~e; or
an expansion to a single-family dwelling;
C. Property that would otherwise be totally exempt from ad valorera taxation.
(There shall be no partial exemption from the Interim General Services Fee for any
property partially exempt from ad valorera taxation. ); or
D. Property owned and operated by Federal, State or local ~overnment and
used for a ~overnmental or public purpose, or ~overnment owned property leased
to a person or organization which uses the property exclusively for tax-exempt
purposes under State or Federal laws. Any claim of exemption under A through D
Ordin.T. ee No. 3159
of this Section must be made at the time of application for the building permit; any
claim made subsequent thereto shall be considered untimely and not entitled to an
exemption. The property owner must present to the Building Official sufficient and
satisfactory documentation to verify that the property owner or property owner's
land use qualifies for one of the above exemptions.
Section 18 1/2-9. Lien Provisions. Any form of payment of the Interim General
Services Fee which, subsequent to the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, is
not honored or accepted, for whatever reason, by a national banking institution,
shall remain due and payable and shall constitute, and is hereby imposed as, a
special assessment lien against the real property upon which such fee remains due;
and until fully paid and discharged, or otherwise barred by law from being
assessed, shall remain a lien equal in rank and dignity with the Hen of a city or
county for ad valorera taxes and senior in dignity to all other property containing the
structure. Such special assessment line may be enforced by any of the methods
provided for in Chapter 85, Florida Statutes, or in the alternative, foreclosure
proceedings may be instituted under Chapter 173, Florida Statutes, or the collection
allowed by law.
The owner shall pay all costs associated with enforcement and collection of
unpaid Interim General Services Fees, including reasonable attorney fees, court
costs, abstracting expenses and other related costs incurred.
Section 18 1/2-10. Collection and Deposit. All monies collected in the form of
Interim General Services Fees shall be collected by the City's Building Official or his
designee and shall be deposited into the General Fund of the City of Sanford.
SECTION 2: Codification. Specific authority is hereby granted to codify and
incorporate this Ordinance in the existing Code of Ordinances of the City of
Sanford.
SECTION 3: Conflicts. If any section or portion of a section of this ordinance
proves to be invalid, unlawful or unconstitutional, it shall not be held to impair the
validity, force or effect of any other section or part of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4: Severability. That all ordinances or parts of ordinances in
conflict herewith be and the same are hereby revoked.
SECTION 5: Effective Date. That this Ordinance shall become effective
immediately upon its passage and adoption.
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Ol~]~ins~rsce No. 3159
City of Sanford, Florida
CERTIFICATE
I, Janet R. Donahoe, City Clerk of the City of Sanford,
Florida, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the
foregoing Ordinance No. 3159, PASSED and ADOPTED by the City
Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, on the 28th day of
June, 1993, was POSTED at the front door of the City Hall in the
City of Sanford, Florida, on the 29th day of June, 1993.
~the City Clerk of the
City of Sanford, Florida
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Or~n--ee No. 3159