2001-02 ORDINANCE NO. 2001-02
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF AVENTURA,
FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CITY CODE OF THE CITY
OF AVENTURA BY CREATING SECTION 48-20
"PROHIBITION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY VENDORS AND
SOLICITORS ON CERTAIN ROADS" OF ARTICLE II
"USE OF RIGHT-OF-WAY; PARKING; OTHER
REGULATIONS" OF CHAPTER 48 "VEHICLES; USE
OF RIGHT-OF-WAY; PARKING; AND OTHER
REGULATIONS;" PROHIBITING RIGHT-OF-WAY
VENDORS AND SOLICITORS ON CERTAIN STREETS
IN THE CITY; CREATING A DEFINITION FOR THE
TERM "RIGHT-OF-WAY VENDOR AND SOLICITOR;"
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR
INCLUSION IN CODE; PROVIDING FOR PENALTY;
PROVIDING FOR EFFECTIVE DATE.
IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
AVENTURA, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That the City Code of the City of Aventura is hereby amended by creating
Section 48-20 "Prohibition of Right-of-Way Vendors and Solicitors On Certain Roads" of
Article II "Use of Right-of-Way; Parking; Other Regulations" of Chapter 48 "Vehicles; Use of
Right-of-Way; Parking; and Other Regulations" to read as follows:
Section 48-20. Prohibition of Right-of-Way Vendors and Solicitors On
Certain Roads.
A. Findings; Purpose; Intent.
(1) The City Commission of the City of Aventura desires to adopt an
ordinance prohibiting right-of-way vendors and solicitors on
certain streets located in the City because such vendors and
solicitors pose a danger to themselves and the public at large by
interfering with the safe movemem of normal vehicular traffic; and
(2) Based upon statistics collected by the Surface Transportation
Policy Project, on average, 565 pedestrians are killed every year in
Florida (of which 99 are in Miami-Dade County), and the Miami-
Fort Lauderdale area is one of the most dangerous areas in the
United States for pedestrians; and
Ordinance No. 2001-02
Page 2
(3) Numerous types of right-of-way vendors and solicitors operate or
may seek to operate within the City of Aventura, including, but not
limited to, children, adolescents and adults who seek to collect
money for school and community activities; vendors who sell
flowers, newspapers and other products and people who seek
donations or to distribute information; and
(4) Right-of-way vendors and solicitors approach motorists and
passengers in motor vehicles engaged in travel on roads, and are
particularly susceptible and vulnerable to serious injury or death
due to the speed and number of motorists who operate vehicles on
busy roads within the City; and
(5) Roads are primarily designed for vehicular traffic and are not
suited to safely accommodate fight-of-way vendors and solicitors;
and
(6) Over the past ten years, at least ten right-of-way vendors have been
killed by motor vehicles in the South Florida area, and many more
have been seriously injured (including a Sun Sentinel newspaper
vendor who was struck by a car while carrying papers on U.S. 1
and Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale on July 30, 2000); and
(7) The presence of right-of-way vendors and solicitors interferes with
the safe movement of normal vehicular traffic; and
(8) The road network in the City is substantially burdened by a high
volume of traffic; and
(9) It is the intention of the City Commission to use the least
restrictive means to advance the significant goverumental interests
of traffic safety and public safety and, consequently, the City Staff
has analyzed each of the major roads within the City and has
determined that the roads listed in subsection C below, pose the
greatest threat to traffic and public safety in reference to activities
and use by right-of-way vendors and solicitors, and therefore the
City Commission has determined that the prohibition on right-of-
way vendors and solicitors shall be limited to those listed roads;
and
Ordinance No. 2001-02
Page 3
(10) It is the finding of the City Commission that many other alternative
channels of communication (other than right-of-way vending and
solicitation) exist for persons who seek to exercise their First
Amendment freedoms, such as, but by no means limited to,
solicitation of funds or distribution of literature through the mail or
at alternate locations (such as houses of worship, shopping areas
and special events); the sale and/or distribution of newspapers
through home delivery, vending machines and retail stores; and the
sale of items of all kinds at retail stores, through the intemet and
from vending machines; and
(11) The City Commission desires to preserve and protect the personal
safety and quality of life of its residents and of those who use City
streets, both pedestrians and motorists alike; and
(12) The City Commission has reviewed the proposed regulations
provided by this Section and finds that such regulations
accomplish the purposes intended while utilizing the least
restrictive method possible; and
(13) The City Commission finds that it is in the best interests of the
residents of the City to adopt this Section.
B. Definitions.
As used in this Section, the following term(s) have the meaning set forth herein,
except as otherwise indicated by the context.
Right-of-Way Vendor or Solicitor. Any person who sells or offers for sale any
thing or service of any kind, or who seeks any donation of any kind, or who
personally hands to or seeks to transmit by hand or receive by hand any thing or
service of any kind, whether or not payment in exchange is required or requested,
to any person who operates or occupies a motor vehicle of any kind, which
vehicle is engaged in travel on or within any portion of any of the roads
designated in subsection C, whether or not such vehicle is temporarily stopped in
the travel lanes of the road. The term shall not apply to any person who merely
holds or displays a sign lawfully permitted to be displayed by a person, as long as
there is no entry by such person or sign into any portion of the roadway or its
median. Further, this term shall not apply to official citations or notices provided
pursuant to governmental authority.
Ordinance No. 2001-02
Page 4
C. Prohibition.
(1) It is a violation of this Section for any person to act as a Right-
of-Way Vendor or Solicitor in, at or upon Biscayne Boulevard,
Ives Dairy Road, Miami Gardens Drive, Country Club Drive,
William Lehman Causeway, Aventura Boulevard, Northeast
207th Street, and Northeast 213 Street (including the swales
and medians abutting such roads).
(2) No person shall act as a Right-of-Way Vendor or Solicitor in,
at or upon any of the roads described in (1) above, including
the swales and medians abutting such roads.
Section 2. Severability. The provisions of this Ordinance are declared to be severable and
if any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance shall for any reason be held to be invalid
or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections, sentences,
clauses, and phrases of this Ordinance but they shall remain in effect, it being the legislative intent
that this Ordinance shall stand notwithstanding the invalidity of any part.
Section 3. Inclusion in the Code. It is the intention of the City Commission, and it is
hereby ordained that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code
of the City of Aventura; that the sections of this Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to
accomplish such intentions; and that the word "Ordinance" shall be changed to "Section" or other
appropriate word.
Section 4. Penalty. Any person who violates any provisions of this Ordinance shall, upon
conviction, be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00 or imprisonment in the County jail not to
exceed sixty (60) days or both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that a violation continues
shall be deemed a separate violation. This Ordinance shall also be subject to enforcement under the
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Ordinance No. 2001-02
Page 5
Local Government Code Enforcement Act, Chapter 162, F.S., as amended, and City Code Section
2-331, et. seq., as amended. Enforcement may also be by suit for declaratory, injunctive or other
appropriate relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 5. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective immediately upon adoption
on second reading.
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Perlow, who moved its adoption on
first reading. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Rogers-Libert, and upon being put to a
vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Arthur Berger yes
Commissioner Ken Cohen yes
Commissioner Harry Holzberg yes
Commissioner Jeffrey M. Perlow yes
Commissioner Patricia Rogers-Libert yes
Vice Mayor Jay R. Beskin no
Mayor Arthur I. Snyder yes
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Berger, who moved its adoption on
second reading. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Perlow, and upon being put to a vote,
the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Arthur Berger yes
Commissioner Ken Cohen yes
Commissioner Harry Holzberg absent
Commissioner Jeffrey M. Perlow yes
Commissioner Patricia Rogers-Libert no
Vice Mayor Jay R. Beskin no
Mayor Arthur I. Snyder yes
PASSED AND ADOPTED on first reading this 14th day of November, 2000.
Ordinance No. 2001- 0~2
Page 6
PASSED AND ADOPTED on second reading this 6th day c 'February, 2001.
T~(~SA M.tgORO~L~, CgC
CITY CLE~. ~
APPROVED AS TO FO~ AND
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
CITY ~TO~EY
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