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Home My WebLink AboutVII (A) First Reading: Ordinance No. 99-25, Building Complaint Log Agenda 6-15-99 Item VII A ..CENTER OF GOOD LIVING-PRIDE OF WEST ORANGE" MAYOR•COMMISSIONER S. SCOTT VANDERGRIFT Ocoee CITY OF OCOEE MMISMOW i DANNY HOWELL ��4t SCOTT ANDERSON i 1W� ON.LAK1!SHORaDRIVE p, RUSTY JOHNSON p OCOEE,FLORIDA 34761-2258 P �V (407)656-2322 NANCY J.PARKER C�J' .Q CITY MANAGER FR Of Goon'` ELLIS SHAPIRO STAFF REPORT TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND BOARD OF CITY COMMISSIONERS FROM: D.W. FLIPPEN, BUILDING AND ZONING OFFICIAL b' DATE: JUNE 8, 1999 SUBJECT: BUILDER COMPLAINT LOG ISSUE Should the Honorable Mayor and Board of City Commissioners approve the adoption of an ordinance that would create a Builders Complaint Log? BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION As a result of discussion with the City Commission at a regularly scheduled commission meeting, an ordinance has been prepared by our City Attorney. Adoption of this ordinance would require the City Building Official to maintain a Complaint Log which would be available for public inspection. The Complaint Log would contain all of the Complaint Forms filed by citizens against builders. Upon receipt of a completed Complaint Form, the Building Official would send a Builder Response to Complaint Form to the builder. If the builder responds by completing the form, the Builder Response to Complaint Form would be filed alongside the Complaint Form in the Complaint Log and a copy would be sent to the complainant. Complaint Forms would be removed from the Complaint Log upon request of the builder provided there has been no Complaint Forms filed within one (1) year of the request. A notice of the existence of the Complaint Log would be required in realtor and home sales offices similar to the notice required regarding zoning as contained in Chapter 137-1 of the Code. RECOMMENDATION I would be respectfully recommend that the Honorable Mayor and Board of City Commissioners approve this proposed ordinance. ORDINANCE NO. 99-25 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA AMENDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA BY ADOPTING AN ARTICLE IV OF CHAPTER 51 OF THE CODE ENTITLED `BUILDER COMPLAINT LOG" WHICH PROVIDES FOR A CITY LOG TO RECORD AND COMPILE COMPLAINTS AGAINST BUILDERS ENGAGED IN CONSTRUCTION WITHIN THE CITY; PROVIDING FOR A BUILDER COMPLAINT LOG, A COMPLAINT FORM, A BUILDER RESPONSE TO COMPLAINT FORM, INSPECTION OF COMPLAINT LOG, REMOVAL OF COMPLAINT FORMS AND NOTICE OF COMPLAINT LOG; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Ocoee recognizes that the purchase of a home is one of the largest investments many residents will ever make; and WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to provide as much information as possible regarding builders so that the residents of the City can make informed decisions when purchasing a home within the City; and WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to establish a procedure whereby residents may log complaints regarding builders and the City may in turn make this log available for inspection as a public record. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: 1. Authority. The City Commission of Ocoee has the authority to adopt this Ordinance pursuant to Article VIII of the Constitution of the State of Florida and Chapters 163 and 166, Florida Statutes. 2. Amendment to Code. Article IV of Chapter 51 of the Code of the City of Ocoee, Florida entitled Builder Complaint Log is hereby adopted as follows: Article IV Builder Complaint Log § 51-60 Builder Complaint Log. The City Building Official shall prepare and maintain the Ocoee Builder Complaint Log (the "Complaint Log"). The Complaint Log shall be housed in the office of the Building Official and shall be made available for public inspection consistent with Section 51-57 of this Chapter. The Complaint Log shall contain the following paragraph prominently displayed on its cover: NOTICE This Complaint Log is provided and kept as a public service to persons contemplating the purchase of a home within the City of Ocoee. The accuracy of the information contained herein has not been verified nor investigated by the City of Ocoee. The City of Ocoee makes no representations or recommendations concerning any of the builders that construct homes within the City. § 51-61 Complaint Form. In order for a complaint to be filed in the Complaint Log, the complainant must complete a Complaint Form prepared by the Building Official. Upon return of the Complaint Form to the Building Official, the document shall be promptly filed in the Complaint Log in alphabetical order according to the name of the listed builder. § 51-62 Builder Response to Complaint Form. Within ten (10) days of receipt of a Complaint Form, the Building Official shall send to the listed builder a copy of the Complaint Form along with a Builder Response to Complaint Form prepared by the Building Official. In the event the builder elects to complete the Builder Response to Complaint Form and return it to the Building Official, the Building Official shall promptly file it in the Complaint Log either attached to or immediately following the corresponding Complaint Form and provide a copy of the response to the person who filed the original complaint. § 51-63 Inspection of Complaint Log. Except as otherwise provided under the laws of Florida, the Complaint Log shall be a public record available for inspection at all reasonable times. § 51-64 Removal of Complaint Forms. Provided there have been no Complaint Forms filed in the Complaint Log within one (1) year against a particular builder, all existing Complaint Forms against that particular builder will be removed from the Complaint Log by the Building Official. § 51-65 Notice of Complaint Log. a. A Notice of Complaint Log sign shall be conspicuously displayed at the following locations within the corporate limits of the city: At each office or other structure, whether permanent or temporary, maintained or utilized by a developer, builder, property owner, real estate broker, salesperson or other person for the sale of residential dwelling units or vacant lots on which residential dwelling units are to -2- be constructed; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not apply to existing residential structures being utilized for the sale of such residential structures. ii. At each sales office located within a residential subdivision. iii. At the office of every real estate broker. b. The owner of the property on which the above referenced offices or other structures are located shall be responsible for compliance with the provisions of this section. Additionally, as to Subsection A(2) above, the developer of the residential subdivision shall also be responsible for compliance, and as to Subsection A(3) above, the real estate broker shall also be responsible for compliance. All signs shall be displayed in an unobstructed location clearly visible to persons visiting such office or other structure. c. The Notice of Complaint Log Sign referenced above shall he prepared by and distributed by the Building Official. The sign shall be no smaller than I l inches by 17 inches, shall disclose where information can be obtained within the city and shall include such other information as may be determined by the Building Official. It shall be unlawful to change or mutilate a Notice of Complaint Log sign. d. The Building Official shall provide a copy of this article to all persons seeking a building permit for the construction of a real estate sales office or an occupational license for real estate sales. e. The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed in order to effectively carry out the purposes of this article in the interest of making builder information available to members of the public. f. Any person violating any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided in § 1-12 of Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ocoee. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense. 3. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion hereto. 4. Codification. It is the intention of the City Commission of the City that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Ordinances of the City; and that sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "chapter," "section," article, or such other appropriate word or phrase in order to accomplish such intentions; and regardless of whether such inclusion in the Code is accomplished, sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and the correction of typographical errors which do not affect the intent may be authorized by the City Manager, without need of public hearing, by filing a corrected or recodified copy of same with the City Clerk. -3- 5. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this day of , 1999. ATTEST: APPROVED: CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA Jean Grafton, City Clerk (SEAL) S. Scott Vandergrift, Mayor FOR USE AND RELIANCE ONLY BY THE CITY OF OCOEE, FLORIDA; ADVERTISED , 1999 APPROVED AS TO FORM AND REM) FIRST TIME , 1999 LEGALITY this day of ,1999. READ SECOND TIME AND ADOPTED , 1999 FOLEY & LARDNER UNDER AGENDA ITEM NO. By: City Attorney -4- PLANTATION GROVE WEST Windermere Groves Homeowners Association Ocoee, FL 34765 (407) 877-4781 David Stephens, President June 14, 1999 Ocoee City Commissioners Ocoee, Florida Dear Commissioners, The Windermere Groves development is directly across the street from the planned Esplanade Apartment development. The Windermere Groves Home Owners Association represents 125 homes. We are opposed to the requested change from a brick wall to a block wall and we urge you to refuse the request to deviate from the originally agreed brick wall. Brick walls are consistant with the existing communities along the Maguire Road corridor and the scheduled brick wall for the future Brookstone development. Continuing brick walls throughout the Esplanade Apartment development will enhance the overall look and values of the Maguire corridor and will set the style for all future developments in this area. Thank you for you continued support of this request. Sincerely 6 %/nA) David Stephens President Windermere Groves Homeowners Association DS/rpm Wesmere, Maintenance A ssociation, ,Inc. 501 Wesmere Parkway Ocoee, Florida 34761 (407)656-0336 FAX (407)654-6824 Barbara /&itz Prapertg,�llaaager Property Manager June 11,1999 Ocoee City Commissioners Ocoee, Florida Dear Commissioners, The Wesmere Homeowners Association represents 565 homes in Ocoee. It was recently brought to our attention that there is an attempt to substitute a cinderblock wall for a brick wall that was promised by the developer of the apartment complex being built to the East of Maguire Road across from Windermere Groves. This substitution is not acceptable to our homeowners. We request that you ensure that a brick fence is installed that is compatible with the surrounding communities. This is your chance to see that Maguire Road is developed in an upgrade manner throughout and results in an area that all of our citizens will be proud. We believe that a cinderblock wall would detract from all of the subdivisions of the surrounding community. Thank you for your attention and support of this request. Sincerely, JC Robe 4iY `�""i--cam_•----- Jensen President Wesmere Maintenance Association RJ/br