HomeMy WebLinkAbout110 - 09/20/2005 - EMERGENCY ORDINANCE SUSPENDING FOR ONE YEAR THE ENFORCEMENT OF ANY OCCUPANCY LIMIT ON DWELLING UNITS EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 110, 2005
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
SUSPENDING FOR ONE YEAR THE ENFORCEMENT OF
ANY OCCUPANCY LIMIT ON DWELLING UNITS
AS APPLIED 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 in the Code of the city or the Land Use Code,
whether existing at the time of the enactment of this Ordinance or subsequent thereto, which
imposes a limit on the number of persons who can occupy a dwelling unit in the city, shall, for a
period of one year from the date of this Ordinance,be suspended and held in abeyance, but only if
the violation of said rule or regulation is caused by the occupancy of a dwelling unit 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:
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City Clerk