TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: An Ordinance of the City Commission of the City of North Port, Florida, Relating to Fines and Liens; Amending the Code of the City of North Port, Florida, Section 2-511 to Expand and Clarify the Lien Reduction Program for Code Enforcement Fines; Providing for Conflicts, Providing for Severability; and Providing an Effective Date.
Recommended Action
Option 1: Approve Ordinance No. 2025-23 on first reading and continue to second reading on September 23, 2025.
Recommended Action for Second Reading
Adopt Ordinance No. 2025-23.
City Commission Options
Option 1: Approve Ordinance No. 2025-23 on first reading and continue to second reading on September 23, 2025.
* Pros: Facilitates the remediation of code violations and encourage the re-occupancy of vacant or neglected properties, thereby improving neighborhood conditions and the overall quality of life for residents. Ensures that administrative costs, contractor or vendor abatement fees and/or labor and supply costs incurred by the City for abatement, if applicable, and recording fees associated with enforcement, are not borne by the taxpayers.
* Cons: May result in a reduction of recovered lien revenue, however, the City's lien collection rate is historically low and often unrecoverable due to primary lien holders on properties at time of sale.
Option 2: Amend Ordinance No. 2025-23 to require payment of maximum cumulative fines for all lien reduction applications, then approve Ordinance No. 2025-23 on first reading and continue to second reading on September 23, 2025.
* Pros: Ensures payment of the following minimum fines for all lien reduction requests:
> $2,000.00 for any violation of the unified land development code;
> $5,000.00 for any violation of the Florida Building Code except for violations as defined as 2-511(b)(1)(d); as it pertains to unsafe abatement as determined by the B...
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