Conduct of Meetings

1.) A hearing shall be held upon written request of the alleged violator. Written requests should be submitted to the Code Enforcement Administrative Support Specialist within 20 days of the citation issue date. All hearings and proceedings shall be open to the public and shall be held at City Hall located at 17007 Panama City Beach Parkway Panama City Beach, FL 32413 at a time and date noticed by the Hearing Officer.

2.) The Code Enforcement Division as well as the respondent (alleged violator) have the right to be represented by an attorney. All testimony shall be in person, under oath and shall be recorded. The Hearing Officer shall take testimony from the Code Enforcement Officer, the respondent and any other relevant witnesses.

3.) The Hearing Officer issues orders having the force of law to command whatever steps are necessary to bring a violation into compliance, including fines, repair costs, and administrative costs. However, a separate hearing is not required to issue an order acknowledging compliance. 

 4.) Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but fundamental due process shall be observed and shall govern the proceedings. Formal discovery, including depositions, is not permitted.

 5.) Copies of exhibits, memos, written materials, photos or any additional information must be submitted to the Hearing Officer and other party at the hearing.

6.) The Hearing Officer shall generally allow wide latitude in allowing persons to speak, reserving the right to limit testimony that is not relevant to the case under review or are repetitive of points previously made. The Hearing Officer may limit testimony.

7.) During the public hearing all comments and discussions concerning the case shall be made at the podium/ table, to the Hearing Officer, into the microphone, and visible to the TV/Video audience. All questions must be directed to the Hearing Officer and shall not be directed to staff by the respondent or others in the audience, although testimony on the staff presentation may result in the Hearing Officer asking a question of staff to clarify an issue.

8.) Discourtesy and disorderly or contemptuous conduct or personal attacks shall be considered a breach of privileges of the Hearing Officer and shall not be tolerated. The Hearing Officer may request the individual to leave the hearing and any testimony deemed discourteous, disorderly, or contemptuous or an unnecessary attack personal in nature by the Hearing Officer shall not be considered by the Hearing Officer in making a decision.

Imposition of Costs/ Fines and Liens

1.) The City of Panama City Beach may institute proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel payment of civil penalties. In an action to compel payment of civil penalties, the prevailing party is entitled to recover all costs, including a reasonable attorney's fee, that it incurred in the action. The City shall be entitled to collect all costs incurred in recording and satisfying a valid lien.

2.) A certified copy of an order imposing a civil penalty, or a penalty plus repair costs, may be recorded in the public records and thereafter shall constitute a lien against the land on which the violation exists or, if the violator does not own the land, upon any other real or personal property owned by the violator. Upon petition to the circuit court, such order shall be enforceable in the same manner as a court judgment by the sheriffs of this State, including execution and levy against the personal property of the violator, but such order shall not be deemed to be a court judgment except for enforcement purposes. After three (3) months from the filing of any such lien which remains unpaid, the City of Panama City Beach may foreclose or otherwise execute on the lien.

3.) If an order is recorded in the public records, and the order is complied with by the date specified in the order, the Hearing Officer shall issue an order acknowledging compliance that shall be recorded in the public records. A hearing is not required to issue such an order acknowledging compliance.

4.) Notwithstanding any provisions of this Code, no municipal officer, agent, employee or board shall approve, grant, or issue any operating permit, license, building permit, certificate of use and occupancy, occupational license, platting action or zoning action to any named violator with:

(a) unpaid civil penalties; 

(b) unpaid administrative costs of hearing; 

(c) unpaid investigative, enforcement, testing or monitoring cases; or

(d) unpaid liens, any or all of which are owed to the City pursuant to the provisions of the Code of the City of Panama City Beach.

Appeals

1.) The named violator or the City may appeal a final order of the Hearing Officer for all violations by filing a notice of appeal in the Circuit Court in and for Bay County, Florida. Such appeal shall not be a hearing de novo but shall be limited to appellate review of the record created before the Hearing Officer. An appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days of the execution of the order to be appealed.

2.) Unless the findings of the Hearing Officer are overturned in a proceeding held pursuant to Section 23-35(a), all findings of the Hearing Officer shall be admissible in any proceeding to collect unpaid penalties.