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1922 ORDINANCE NO. 1922 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CLEARWATER, FLORIDA AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF CLEARWATER, FLORIDA BY ENACTING A NEW CHAPTER 3.A, RELATING TO FRANCHISES AND PUBLIC UTILITIES, PROVIDING FOR PUBLIC WORKS, LIGHTS, HEAT, AND POWER, WATERWORKS, SANITARY SEWER SERVICE OUTSIDE CORPORATE LIMITS, GRANTING FRANCHISES, PRESCRIBING CONDITIONS TO WHICH FRANCHISES WILL BE SUBJECT, THE REGULATION BY THE CITY OF PUBLIC UTILITY FIXTURES, FORFEITURE OF GRANTS, AUDITING AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF FINANCES, THE EXERCISE OF FURTHER RESTRICTIONS NOT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED, THE GRANTING OF SPECIAL PRIVILEGES AND ALSO TO PROVIDE FOR THE MAXIMUM TIME PERIOD OF GRANTS, RESTRICTIONS ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF GRANTS, EXTENSION BY ANNEXATION, GRANTS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS ACT; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; PROVIDING FOR THE SEPARABILITY OF THE PROVISIONS HEREOF; PROVIDING FOR PROPER NOTICE OF THE PROPOSED ENACTMENT; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CLEARWATER, FLORIDA: Section 1. The Code of Ordinances of the City of Clearwater, Florida, 1962, is hereby amended by the enactment of Chapter 3B, Franchises and Public Utilities, to read as follows: CHAPTER 3 B FRANCHISES AND PUBLIC UTILITIES Section 313- 1. Public Works. The city commission shall have the power within and without its corporate limits, to construct, condemn, purchase, acquire or lease, and to maintain, conduct and operate, within and without its corporate limits, wharves, warehouses, ship channels, breakwaters, parks, drives, boulevards, causeways and bridges, telephone systems, transportation systems, cemeteries, pest houses, schools, hospitals and libraries, and to make a contract of whatever nature in connection therewith; and shall enforce such purchase, if necessary, by eminent domain proceedings; and shall have the right and power to issue bonds upon a majority vote of the electors of said city possessing the qualifications of electors in bond elections, at any general or special election, and to any amount necessary, to carry out any of said powers or purposes. Section 3B .•2. Lights, Heat and Power. The city commissiou'shall have power to provide for lighting the streets, parks, public buildings and public places of the city; and to purchase or otherwise acquire, establish, maintain and operate plants either within or without the corporate limits of the city for lighting and ..1 Ord. 1922' 4/19/79 i ate' ' -6t•' ? t, [ JP ' -•,•r s ;11 heating by electricity, gas or any other method, and to supply the inhabitants of said city with artificial light, heat, and power, for domestic, business and other purposes, and to charge and collect reasonable rates, prices and compensation for furnishing and supplying the same. Section 3B-3. Waterworks, The city commission shall have the power to construct, establish, and maintain waterworks, and to bore and dig wells, construct reservoirs, lay pipes, and do such other things as may be necessary, essential or conven- tent for procuring and distributing an abundant supply of good and wholesome water to the inhabitants of said city for domestic and other purposes, and to protect the property of said city and its inhabitants against fire; and to collect reasonable rates, prices and compensation for furnishing and supplying same, except for fire protection, which may be provided for in the tax levy. Section 3B-4. Sanitary Sewer Service Outside Corporate Limits. The city shall have the power to install, improve and maintain sanitary sewer lines and facilities outside of the corporate limits of the City of Clearwater and to, assess the abutting property so benefitted by such facilities under the following conditions: (1) when the city receives a petition requesting sanitary sewer service signed by at least fifty percent (5016) of the property owners within a given unincorporated geographic area, or (2) when the state division of health shall officially notify the City of Clearwater that a health hazard exists within a given unincorporated area, which health hazard shall be determined by a field survey appropriate tests inspections by the state division of health. After receiving the said petition or the written official report of the state division of health, the city commission shall, by resolution, declare its intention to hold a public hearing to determine the need and necessity to construct sanitary sewer lines and facilities in the said geographic area, and shall notice by publication in a newspaper published in the city once a week for at least two (2) weeks, the first publication of the notice to be not less than ten (10) days prior to the hearing provided for in the notice, and in addition, the City of Clearwater shall send written notice to all property owners within the geographic area or determined by the current Pinellas County tax rolls, at least ten (10) days before the scheduled public hearing. The notices shall require all persons interested to show cause why said sewer lines and facilities should not be constructed, and if at the time designated in the notice, no objections are filed, or if objections are filed and the same shall be deemed insufficient by the city commission, then the commission shall, by resolution, order the sanitary sewer lines and facilities constructed in accordance with plans and specifications therefor to be kept on file in the office of the city clerk. The resolution shall be published in a newspaper published in the City of Clearwater, once a week for at least two (2) weeks. "2- Ord.,-1922 4/19/79 + After the completion of the construction of said sanitary sewer lines and facilities, the city shall assess the actual cost thereof against the property abutting said sewer lines and facilities which said costs shall be itemized and subject to audit. If the assessments are not paid within thirty (30) days of the making thereof, the city may at any time thereafter issue certificates of indebtedness against the abutting property for such assessments or parts thereof as is unpaid, said certificates to be payable in not less than three (3) nor more than ten (10) equal annual installments and shall bear interest at the rate of eight percent (816) per annum until paid, interest payable annually, which said certificates shall constitute and be a prior lien to all other liens, except the lien for taxes. The said certificates shall be processed and administered in accordance with sections 12+4, 125, 126, and 127 of the Charter of the City of Clearwater, Florida, which shall provide that the method of collecting special improvement assessments on property within sanitary sewer project areas shall be the same as that followed on property situated within the corporate limits of the city. The City of Clearwater shall charge a rate for sanitary sewer service outside of the corporate limits of the city developing such rate in accordance with the guidelines set out in Section 180. 191 Florida Statutes. Section '3B»5. Granting Franchises. The city commission may by ordinance, grant permission to any individual, company, firm, or corporation, to construct and operate a public utility in the streets and public grounds of the city, but no such ground or renewal thereof shall be made in violation of any of the limitations contained in this ordinance. Section 3B-6. Period of Grants. No such grant or franchise shall be exclusive, nor shall it be made for a longer period than thirty (30) years. All grants of rights to make extensions of any public utility shall be subject as far as practicable to the terms of the original grant and shall expire therewith. Section 3B»7. Conditions. The city commission shall in ordinances granting or renewing any franchise to construct and operate a public utility, prescribe the kind and quality of product or service to be furnished, the manner in which public streets and grounds shall be used and occupied, and other terms and conditions conducive to the public interest. Such grants or franchises shall provide that the rate to be charged shall at all times be under the supervision, direction, and control of the city commission, and no rate shall be in effect unless same is approved by said city commission; provided, the rate allowed shall be sufficient to insure a reasonable return on the investment. ..3_ .<. : Oid. 19 22 .4119/79 t t ,nr?sw?t$ AMML 0 0 All such grants and renewals thereof shall reserve to the city the right to terminate the same upon purchasing all of the property and property rights of the utility as well as the extensions thereof within and without the city, used in or useful in or connected with such utility and the extensions thereof within and without the city or may be provided for in ordinance making the grant or renewal and including all contracts for the service or motor power fairly and reasonably made in good faith by the utility, at a price either fixed in the ordinance or to be fixed in the manner provided in the ordinance making the grant or renewal of the grant, if so purchased by the city. Nothing in such ordinance shall prevent the city from acquiring said property of any such utility by condemnation proceedings, or in any other lawful manner; and all such 'methods of acquisition shall be alternative to the power or purchase reserved in the grant or renewal thereof as herein provided. In such event, however, said contracts of such utility shall be performed by the city. Upon the acquisition by the city of the property of any utility, by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, all grants or renewals shall at once terminate. Section 3B-8. Assignment of grants. No such grant or franchise, or renewal thereof, shall be leased, assigned, or otherwise alienated, except with the express consent of the city commission. Section 3B-9. Extension by annexation. It shall be provided in every such grant or franchise, that upon the annexation of any territory to the city, the portion of such utility that may be located within such annexed territory and upon the streets, alleys or public grounds thereof, shall be thereafter subject to all the terms of the grant as though it were an extension made thereunder. Section 38-10. Right of regulation. All grants shall be subject to the right of the city, whether its terms reserved or not, to control at all times the distribu- tion of space in, over, under or across streets, alleys, or public grounds occupied by the public utility fixtures, and when in the opinion of the city commission the public interest so requires such fixtures may be caused to be removed, re- constructed, relocated, altered, or discontinued; and said city shall at all times have the power to pass all regulatory -ordinances affecting such utilities which in the opinion of the city commission are required in the interests of the public health, safety, or accommodation. Section 313-11. Forfeitures. If any action shall be instituted or prosecuted directly or indirectly by the grantee of any such grant, or by the stockholders or creditors, to set aside or have declared void any of the terms of any such grant, the whole of such grant may be thereupon forfeited and annulled at the option of the city commission. All such grants shall make provision for the declaration of a forfeiture by the city commission for the violation by the grantee of any of the terms thereof. -4- Or 1922 4/19/79 Section 3B-12. Accounts and Reports. 0 Every person or corporation operating a public utility within the city limits, whether under a grant heretofore or hereafter made and obtained, shall keep and maintain at some place within the city suitable and complete books of accounts showing in detail, the assets, financial obligations, gross revenue, net profits, and all of the operations of such utility which are usually shown by a complete system of bookkeeping. Each such person or corporation within ninety days after the end of its fiscal year, when thereunto required by the city commission, shall file with said commission a report for the preceeding fiscal year, showing the gross revenue, the net profits, expense of repairs, betterments and additions, amount paid for salaries, amount paid for interest and discount, and other expenses of operation, and such other information as the city commission may from time to time prescribe. If the city commission shall prescribe the form for such reports, then the same shall be made in the form from time to time prescribed. It shall be the duty of each such person or corporation to furnish such supplementary or special information about its affairs as the commission may demand, and said commission or its authorized representatives shall at any and all reasonable times have access to all the books, records and papers of each and every such person or corporation, with the privilege of taking copies of the same or any part thereof. The duties herein prescribed may be specifically enforced by appropriate legal proceedings; and, in addition, each such person or corporation, for failure to comply with the provisions of this section, shall be liable to the City of Clearwater, in the sum of twenty-five dollars ($25. 00) per day for each day of such failure, to be recovered in a civil action in the name of the city. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any utility extending in its operations to other communities not property suburban to the City of Clearwater, but the city commission may make the same or any part thereof, applicable to the portion of such utility operated within the limits of the City of Clearwater. Section 3B-13. Grants not included. Revocable permits for laying spur tracks across or along streets, alleys, or public grounds, to connect a railroad of any kind or nature with any other property in need of switching facilities, shall not be regarded as a grant within the meaning of this ordinance, but may be permitted in accordance with the terms and conditions as the city commission may prescribe. Section 3B-14. General provisions. Nothing in this ordinance contained shall operate in any way, except as herein specifically stated, to limit the city commission in the exercise of any of its lawful powers respecting public utilities, or to prohibit the city com- mission from imposing in any such grant such further „ Ord,'. 1922 . 4/19/79' -5- Y? `YCr .,.y?,?=? g, Ord? ,e.a? ... lr: .?..._.....-.}i'?_.+..,ts _..'.S:i..,.7L .,.._-.;'';a ..... ,.. S.Y'•r:... .^ii!,.? ?._r?...,. ?'r. .. .?S_ `a: a.9..,.•. a t , ? 1 ?1 { t,t i ?- provisions and restrictions as it may deem to be in the . 4 public interest, provided only that the same are not ?:_ •;,' . -? °ia?`r. inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance or the Y ' constitution of this state, r° t Section 323-15. Private special privileges. .': The city commission may grant special privileges or permits to persons, firms or corporations for the use ` of sidewalks, parkways, or public grounds, or any part .<?r ?>' thereof, but the same shall be revocable at the pleasure tau?,f?,,:',wa ' of the city commission. r i` "- .? VA ? ? • tom' Section Z. That Section 142 through Section 156, inclusive, of ,.' Chapter 9710, Special Acts of Florida, 1923, as amended by Chapter d 5 ' 30659, Special Acts of Florida 1955; Chapter 67-1215 Special Acts of ` Y Florida, 1967; Chapter 69-975 Special Acts of Florida, 1969 and { r Chapter 70-63Z, Special Acts of Florida, 1970, which have become an ordinance pursuant to Section 10. 01 of Ordinance No, 1830, be and the same are hereby repealed. Section 3. Should any part or provision of this ordinance be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of the ordinance as a whole, or any part thereof other than the part declaredto be invalid. Section =4. Notice of the proposed enactment of this ordinance has been properly advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with Section 166. 041, Florida Statutes. Section S. This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage. PASSED ON FIRST READING April 5, 1979 PASSED ON SECOND AND FINAL READING AND ADOPTED April 19, 1979 AS AMENDED Mayor-Commissioner Attest: City Clerk -6- Ord.' 1912 4/19/79'.