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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/20/2005 - EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 110, 2005, SUSPENDING ENFO ITEM NUMBER: 16 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: September20, 2005 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Darin Atteberry SUBJECT Emergency Ordinance No. 110,2005, Suspending Enforcement of the Rule Prohibiting More than Three Unrelated Persons From Occupying a Dwelling Unit as Such Rule Applies to Victims of Hurricane Katrina. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance. SUMMARY On September 6, 2005, as a part of the Council's consideration of Resolution 2005-099, which Resolution encouraged local support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Council directed staff to prepare an emergency ordinance which would have the effect of suspending the "three-unrelated rule" as it applied to victims of Hurricane Katrina. It was also requested by the Council that this suspension of the "three-unrelated rule" be continued for only one year. This emergency ordinance will suspend for one year the enforcement of the rule which prohibits more than three unrelated persons from occupying a dwelling unit for the limited purpose of accommodating victims of Hurricane Katrina, provided that such victims can show the enforcing officer bona fide evidence that they are persons who were displaced by the hurricane. Since the Land Use Code is the present tool available to the City to enforce the "three-unrelated rule," and since it is anticipated that, in October, Council will be considering a more detailed ordinance containing that prohibition, it was decided to utilize a kind of "moratorium/suspension" as the mechanism whereby the Council's request can be most easily accommodated. Since the Ordinance is only effective for one year, the Ordinance is not of such a permanent nature as to need to be codified, and since it is broadly worded, it will cover both the existing Land Use Code prohibition as well as the new prohibition anticipated to be enacted in October. EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 110, 2005 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUSPENDING ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULE PROHIBITING MORE THAN THREE UNRELATED PERSONS FROM OCCUPYING A DWELLING UNIT AS SUCH RULE APPLIES TO VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA WHEREAS, on Monday, August 29,2005, Category 5 Hurricane Katrina, and its resulting flooding,pummeled the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana,Mississippi,and Alabama causing massive destruction and the loss of many lives; and WHEREAS, immediate reports of the aftermath of this disaster called upon individuals and communities from around the world to provide support and aid to the areas in need; and WHEREAS,the residents of Fort Collins have consistently been known for their generosity and have responded to the Gulf Coast disaster by donating money and supplies to local relief organizations; and WHEREAS, on September 6, 2005, the City Council passed Resolution 2005-099 recognizing and encouraging local support for victims of Hurricane Katrina; and WHEREAS, on September 6, 2005, the City Council requested that the staff prepare, and present to the Council an emergency ordinance suspending for a period of one year the City's prohibition on more than three unrelated persons occupying a dwelling unit, for the limited purpose of coming to the assistance of victims of Hurricane Katrina; and WHEREAS, Article II, Section 6 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins authorizes the Council to adopt emergency ordinances, which shall be finally passed on first reading by the affirmative vote of at least five members of the Council and which shall contain the specific statement of the nature of the emergency. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That Hurricane Katrina, having caused the death of an unknown number of Americans,the injury of many more,and the displacement of thousands of Americans,has presented an emergency not only to the citizens and governmental jurisdictions of the Gulf Coast area but of the nation as a whole, including the City of Fort Collins; and that in response to this emergency, it is fitting and appropriate for the Council to suspend any prohibition in the Code of the City of Fort Collins and/or the Land Use Code against the occupancy of a dwelling unit by more than three unrelated persons,but only as such prohibition might apply to that special and unique classification of persons who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and provided that such suspension shall continue for no longer than one year from the date of this Ordinance. Section 2. That any rule or regulation contained in the Code of the City or the Land Use Code,whether existing at the time of the enactment of this Ordinance, or subsequent hereto,which prohibits more than three unrelated persons from occupying a dwelling unit, shall be, for a period of one year from the date of this ordinance, suspended, and held in abeyance as such prohibition might otherwise lawfully be applied but only if the violation of such prohibition is caused because of the occupancy of a dwelling unit but only by persons who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina and who have produced bona fide information proving such displacement. Section 3. That the City Clerk is hereby directed to cause the publication of this Ordinance in the Fort Collins Coloradoan no later than September 27, 2005. Introduced, considered favorably by five (5) members of the Council of the City of Fort Collins and finally passed as an emergency ordinance and ordered published this 20th day of September, A.D. 2005. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk