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 of North Port, Florida, Clarifying the Qualifications for Appointment as a Hearing Officer and Alternate Hearing Officers; Amending the City Code of the City of North Port, Florida, Section 2-111 and 2-505; Providing for Findings; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; Providing for Codification; and Providing an Effective Date.
Recommended Action
Approve Ordinance No. 2025-16 on first reading and continue to second reading on July 22, 2025.
Background Information
The proposed amendment relocates qualifications of a hearing officer from Chapter 2, Article IX, Code Enforcement, Sec. 2-505 to Chapter 2, Article IV, Officers and Employees, Division 1, Hearing Officers, and removes the requirement for a hearing officer to reside in or practice law in Sarasota County. Approval of this ordinance will facilitate appointment of alternate hearing officers to help prevent cancellation of Code Enforcement and Zoning Appeal hearing, thereby avoiding delayed abatement or correction of code violations that negatively impact neighborhoods and ensuring the City processes appeals and variance applications within the required statutory timelines.
Strategic Plan
Good Governance
Economic Development and Growth Management
Financial Impact
Not applicable.
Procurement
Not applicable.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance No. 2025-16
2. Business Impact Statement
Prepared by: Lori Barnes, AICP, CPM, Development Services Deputy Director
Department Director: Alaina Ray, AICP, Development Services Director