HomeMy WebLinkAboutcocc_ordinance_no_07-2023_202306201. ORDINANCE NO. 07-2023
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3 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CAPE
4 CANAVERAL, FLORIDA; AMENDING SECTION 26-3 OF THE CITY
5 CODE REGARDING THE ELECTION QUALIFYING PERIOD
6 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OFFICE OF MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL IN
7 ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 2.02(B) OF THE CITY CHARTER;
8 PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF PRIOR INCONSISTENT
9 ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS, INCORPORATION INTO THE
10 CODE, SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
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12 WHEREAS, the City is governed by a municipal charter and is granted the authority, under
13 § 2(b), Art. VIII of the State Constitution, to exercise any power for municipal purposes, except
14 when expressly prohibited by law; and
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16 WHEREAS, Section 2.02(b) of the City Charter sets forth the eligibility requirements for
17 candidates for the office of mayor and city council; and
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19 WHEREAS, a municipal corporation created by charter derives all its powers from the
20 charter under which it acts as a body corporate and politic. See Abell v. Town of Boynton, 117 So.
21 507 (Fla. 1928) (charter as defining powers and duties); Gontz v. Cooper City, 228 So. 2d 913 (Fla.
22 4th DCA 1969) (paramount law of municipal corporation as its charter giving municipality all
23 powers it possesses unless other statutes applicable to it; Clark v. North Bay Village, 54 So. 2d 240
24 (Fla. 1951); and
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26 WHEREAS, Section 99.021, Florida Statutes, requires each candidate, in order to qualify
27 for nomination or election to any office other than a judicial office as defined in chapter 105 or a
28 federal office, shall take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation in writing that says, in part, that
29 he or she is qualified under the Constitution and the laws of Florida to hold the office to which he
30 or she desires to be nominated or elected; and
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32 WHEREAS, on November 8, 2022, the electors of the City of Cape Canaveral
33 overwhelmingly approved an amendment of Section 2.02 of the City Charter to require that each
34 candidate seeking the office of city council shall have been domiciled within the city at least one
35 (1) year immediately prior to the time of qualifying, and thereby amending the requirements to
36 qualify for such office under Florida law; and
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38 WHEREAS, the City Council has previously "made legislative findings that a one-year
39 requirement to qualify to run for a city council position is relatively common and has found favor
40 in the courts as a "reasonable residency requirement." For example, in Nichols v. State, 177 So. 2d
41 467 (Fla. 1965), the Florida Supreme Court held that a one-year durational residency requirement
42 to qualify to run for city commission was not unreasonable and valid. Additionally, in Daves v. City
43 of Longwood, 423 F.Supp. 503 (M.D. Fla., 1976), the United States District Court, Middle District of
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Ordinance No. 07-2023
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1 Florida, upheld a special act imposing one-year residency requirement to run for city council in
2 the City of Longwood; and
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4 WHEREAS, in furtherance of the will of the voters recently reflected in the November 8,
5 2022 referendum election, the City Council desires to amend the City's Election Code to require
6 candidates seeking the office of city council to file a qualifying statement under oath affirming
7 their eligibility and domicile within the City of Cape Canaveral for purposes of implementing the
8 domicile requirement as set forth in the Section 2.02 of the City Charter; and
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10 WHEREAS, the City Council also finds that the City's successful election administration of
11 properly qualifying candidates to run for mayor and city council and maintaining the integrity of
12 City elections is of the utmost importance to democracy and the citizens of Cape Canaveral; and
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14 WHEREAS, the City Council finds this Ordinance to be in the best interests of the public
15 health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Cape Canaveral.
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17 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL HEREBY
18 ORDAINS, AS FOLLOWS:
19 SECTION 1. Recitals. The foregoing recitals are hereby fully incorporated herein by
20 this reference as legislative findings and the intent and purpose of the City Council of the City of
21 Cape Canaveral.
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23 SECTION 2. Amending Chapter 26 - Elections. The City of Cape Canaveral Code of
24 Ordinances, Chapter 26 — Elections is hereby amended as set forth below (underlined type
25 indicates additions and strikeout type indicates deletions, while *** indicate deletions from this
26 Ordinance of said Chapter 26 that shall remain unchanged in the City Code):
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28 CHAPTER 26 — ELECTIONS
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30 ***
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32 Sec. 26-3. — Qualifying period —Generally.
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34 (a) Candidates for the offices of the mayor and city council shall meet the eligibility
, 35 requirements set forth in Section 2.02(b) of the City Charter and shall qualify with the city clerk by
36 completing and filing qualifying papers designating the office for which they are a candidate and
37 paying the applicable qualifying fee and assessment during regular business hours of the city at
38 any time after 12:00 noon of the 92nd day prior to the municipal election and no later than 12:00
39 noon of the 81st day prior to the date of the municipal election. However, in the event that the
40 first or last filing day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, then, as may be applicable, the
41 subject first filing date shall be rescheduled to the next regular business day and the last filing
42 date shall be rescheduled to the last preceding regular business day. Such qualifying papers shall
City of Cape Canaveral
Ordinance No. 07-2023
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1 include all forms required by the Florida Election Code and a qualifying statement on a form
2 approved by the City Council by resolution attesting to satisfying the eligibility requirements set
3 forth in Section 2.02(b) of the City Charter.
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5 ***
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7 SECTION 3. Repeal of Prior Inconsistent Ordinances and Resolutions. All prior
8 inconsistent ordinances and resolutions adopted by the City Council, or parts of prior ordinances
9 and resolutions in conflict herewith, are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict.
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11 SECTION 4. Incorporation Into Code. This Ordinance shall be incorporated into the
12 Cape Canaveral City Code and any section or paragraph, number or letter, and any heading may
13 be changed or modified as necessary to effectuate the foregoing. Grammatical, typographical,
14 and like errors may be corrected and additions, alterations, and omissions, not affecting the
15 construction or meaning of this ordinance and the City Code may be freely made.
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17 SECTION 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, word or
18 provision of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of
19 competent jurisdiction, whether for substantive, procedural, or any other reason, such portion
20 shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such holding shall not affect
21 the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.
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23 SECTION 6. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon
24 adoption by the City Council of the City of Cape Canaveral, Florida, and pursuant to the City
25 Charter.
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27 ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Cape Canaveral, Florida, this 20th day of June, 2023.
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s a ns stir p _ y w r �s
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31 = Wes Morrison, Mayor
32%:
33 ATTEST: — ' For Against
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35 Kim Davis _x__
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37 Mia Goforth, C
38 City Clerk
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Mickie Kellum Motion
Wes Morrison x
Angela Raymond
Don Willis Second
City of Cape Canaveral
Ordinance No. 07-2023
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4 First Reading: May 16, 2023
5 Advertisement: June 8, 2023
6 Second Reading: June 20, 2023
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10 Approved as to legal form and sufficiency
11 for thCity of Cape Canaveral only by:
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14 Kristin Eick, Assistant City Attorney
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City of Cape Canaveral
Ordinance No. 07-2023
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