§ 100.09. LANDS TO BE KEPT FREE OF PALM TREES INFECTED WITH LETHAL YELLOWING.

(A)

Nuisance Declared. The existence of palm trees infected with, or clearly exhibiting the symptoms of, lethal yellowing is hereby declared a public nuisance as those palms continue to be infectious and are a threat to healthy palm trees in the area. The disease is characterized by the blackening of the young inflorenscences (flower stalks) on infected palms. On coconut palms, developing fruits will suddenly drop off the stems. Mature leaves begin to yellow, until all leaves in the canopy wilt and die. In other palm species, the yellowing may not be conspicuous; instead, leaves collapse and the palm quickly dies.

(B)

Inspections Authorized; Hindering Inspections Declared Unlawful.

(1)

The City Manager, or the authorized designee, is authorized and empowered to enter upon any lot or parcel of land in the City at any reasonable hour for the purpose of inspecting any palm tree(s) situated thereon. The authorized individual may remove tissue samples from any palm for the purpose of laboratory analysis, if needed, to determine whether the palm is infected with lethal yellowing. The removal of plant tissue for analysis is at the sole discretion of the City Manager or the authorized designee. The City Manager or the authorized designee may require the removal of a palm tree on the basis of the obvious physical demise of the palm alone, where symptoms are consistent with the patterns of decline associated with lethal yellowing.

(2)

It shall be unlawful for any person to take any action to prevent the City Manager, or authorized designee, from entering on any lot or parcel of land in the City for the purpose of such inspection, or to interfere with the City Manager, or authorized designee, in the performance of any duties provided for under the provisions of this Section.

(C)

Removal of Trees; Notice Required. Whenever the City Manager or authorized designee determines that a particular palm is infected with lethal yellowing and said tree poses a threat of infecting other healthy trees, the City Manager or the authorized designee shall notify the owner of the property on which the palm tree is located in writing, and shall require the owner to cause the condition to be remedied by removal no later than ten (10) days from the date of notice. The notice shall be sent by first-class mail, addressed to the owner of the property as indicated by the county tax records pursuant to the notice provisions in Sections 100.21 and 100.22 of the Code of Ordinances. Prior to the removal, the owner or owner's contractor shall obtain a tree removal permit pursuant to Section 2.4.6(G)(1) of the City's land Development Regulations. If the owner of said property has not caused said palm(s) to be removed within the time period, the City Manager or authorized designee shall enter upon the property and remove the infected palm(s) at the owner's expense.

(D)

Lien for Removal by City.

(1)

After the removal of the palm(s), the City Manager or the authorized designee shall certify the expenses incurred in such removal. Such expenses shall become payable within sixty (60) days. If payment is not received, a lien and charge will be made upon the property equal to the cost of removal plus administrative, mailing and recording costs. The lien amount shall be payable with interest at the rate of eight (8) percent per annum from the date such payment has become delinquent.

(2)

Such lien shall be enforceable in the same manner as a special assessment lien in favor of the City of Delray Beach, except that the City of Delray Beach may file suit to foreclose such lien at any time after the expiration of sixty (60) days from the date the assessment was certified by the City Manager or his authorized designee to the Director of Finance. Notice of such lien shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and recorded among the public records of Palm Beach County, Florida.

(E)

Violation; Penalty. Anyone who resists or obstructs an individual who is carrying out the provisions of this Section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding sixty (60) days, or by both a fine and imprisonment. Each day any violation of any provision of this code or of any ordinance shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. No. 14-96, passed and adopted as an emergency ordinance on 3/5/96)