Item S3
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY
Meeting Date: 20 April 2005
Division:
Growth Management
Bulk Item: Yes No ~
Department:
Marine Resources
Staff Contact:
George Garrett
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
A public hearing to adopt an Ordinance amending Section 5.5-17 Monroe County Code to provide clarity and
specificity to the existing ordinance requiring the maintenance of overhanging shoreline vegetation on
manmade waterbodies.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
Recently the specificity of Section 5.5-17 Monroe County Code has come into question concerning what
constitutes a navigational obstruction thus requiring a property owner to trim vegetation along hisjher shoreline.
The attached amendment to the ordinance provides additional specificity adopting a standard which would
allow vegetation to extend up to 10 % of the perpendicular width of a manmade waterbody. The revision will
provide Code Enforcement officers with a tool allowing them to measure the degree of any potential
navigational obstruction. The revision will also help minimize frivolous code cases,
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
2001 - Adoption of the trimming ordinance
May 2003 - ordinance amendment
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
NA
STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS;
Approval
None
BUDGETED: Yes
SOURCE OF FUNDS:
No
TOTAL COST:
None
COST TO COUNTY:
REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes
No -X- AMOUNT Per Month
Year
APPROVED BY: County Atty ~ OMB/Purcha,mm ~~i, Risk Management NA
L1rj, {;j
! il' , L!--:,
DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL: ' ,\ ,;Jr\ (' 1
Timothy McGarry, Dire~ ,Jbf 9~ Management
\ '
DOCUMENTATION: Included ~ Not Required v
DISPOSITION:
AGENDA ITEM NO.:
BC050420
3/31/200512:14 PM
ORDINANCE NO.
- 2005
AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, AMENDING SECTION 5.5-1', MONROE
COUNTY CODE, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE GREATER SPECIFICITY
CONCERNING THE REQUIRED MAINTENANCE OF TREES WHICH
EXTEND OVER A MAN"'MADE WATER BODY AS DEFINED;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF
ALL ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR
INCORPORATION INTO THE MONROE COUNTY CODe OF
ORDINANCES; AND PROVIDING AN EfFECTIVE DATE.
WHERAS, it is the intent of Monroe County to provide dear, concise, and easily
interpretable ordinances to the public, and
WHERAS, Section 5.5-17 Monroe County Code regarding the required
maintenance of trees extending from the shoreline over a manmade water body f lacks
specificity as to how far trees or other vegetation may extend over water before
constituting an obstruction to navigation, now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD Of COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF
MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA:
;iection 1. Sec. 5.5-17 (b), Monroe County Code, is hereby amended to add the
following language:
(b) Prohibition on causing or permitting trees to interfere with vessels
upon any man-made waterbody. No real property owner may cause, suffer,
or permit a tree, trees or other vegetation, to grow, or otherwise extend,
from his or her real property into or over a man-made water body in such a
way or manner as to constitute a navigational hazard to, or to interfere
with, vessels engaged in a journey or ride upon the man-made water body.
It shall be presum~ that vegetation extending from the shoreline of a
manms;1Qe wat~r. body beyonQ the approximate m~n tow water mark by
more than ten percent (10 0/0) of the overall perpendicular width of the
w9ter Qody at the point of measurement CQn~titutes a navigational nqzard.
This presumgtion is ?1ligned with the permitte{i limits for the construction of
docking f~cilities in the land development regulatjon~.
~ction 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or provision of this
ordinance is held invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall not be affected by such
invalidity,
Section J. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance
are hereby repealed to the extent of said conflict.
$ection 4. The prOVisions of this ordinance shall be included and incorporated in
the Code of Ordinances of the County of Monroe, Florida, as an addition or amendment
thereto, and shall be appropriately renumbered to conform to the uniform numbering
system of the Code.
Se.:;tion 5, This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon receipt of official notice
from the Office of the Secretary of State of the State of Florida that this ordinance has
been filed with said Office.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida,
at a regular meeting of said Board held on the day of < :W05.
Mayor Spehar
Mayor Pro Tern MCCoy
Commissioner Neugent
Commissioner Rice
Commissioner Nelson
(SEAL)
Attest: DANNY l.KOLHAGE, Clerk
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA
By
By
Deputy Clerk
Mayor/Chairperson
J ordcam\l. trees