HomeMy Public PortalAbout2022-25 Providing for the submission to the Village Electors a series of proposed amendments to the Village CharterRE S O L U T I O N N O . 2 0 2 2 -2 5
A RE S O L U T I O N O F T H E V I L L A G E C O UN C I L O F T H E
V I L L A G E O F K E Y B I S C A YN E , F L O RI D A , P R O V ID IN G
F O R T H E S U B M I S S I O N T O T H E V I L L A G E E L E C T O R S
F O R A P P R O V A L O R D I S A P P R O V A L O F A S E RI E S O F
P R O P O S E D A M E N D M E N T S T O T H E V IL L A G E
C H A R T E R , A S P R O V I D E D B Y T H E C H A R T E R R E V I S I O N
C O M M I S S I O N RE P O R T , I N A C C O RD A N C E W IT H
S E C T I O N 7 .0 6 O F T H E V I L L A G E C H A R T E R ; P R O V ID I N G
RE Q U I S I T E B A L L O T L A N G U A G E F O R S U B M I S S I O N O F
T H E C H A R T E R A M E N D M E N T S T O T H E E L E C T O RA T E ;
C A L L I N G A S P E C I A L E L E C T I O N O N T H E P R O P O S E D
C H A R T E R A M E N D M E N T S T O B E H E L D O N T U E S D A Y ,
T H E 8 T H D A Y O F N O V E M B E R , 2 0 2 2 , IN C O N JU N C T I O N
W I T H T H E G E N E RA L E L E C T I O N B E I N G H E L D O N S A ID
D A T E ; P R O V I D I N G F O R V O T I N G A T T H E P O L L S ;
P R O V I D I N G F O R N O T I C E O F E L E C T I O N ; P R O V ID IN G
F O R RE Q U I S I T E B A L L O T L A N G U A G E ; P R O V ID I N G F O R
I N C L U S I O N I N T H E C H A R T E R ; P R O V I D I N G F O R
S E V E RA B I L I T Y ; A N D P R O V I D I N G F O R A N E F F E C T IV E
D A T E .
W H E RE A S , pursuant to Section 7.06 of the Village Charter, the Charter Revision
Commission (the "Charter Commission") has determined that a revision to the Village Charter is
needed and has drafted the seven (7) proposed charter amendments (the "Charter Amendments")
which are described herein; and
WHEREAS, the report of the Charter Commission requested the Council to place the
proposed Charter Amendments on the ballot for the next regularly scheduled general election,
which is the November 8, 2022, general election; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 7.06 of the Village Charter, the Village Council is
required to submit the Charter Amendments to the electors of the Village for approval or rejection.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE
VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS:
Page I of 12
S e c tio n 1. Recitals. That each of the above-stated recitals are hereby adopted,
confirmed, and incorporated herein.
Section 2. Charter Amendments. That, subject to the requirements of Section 8 of
this Resolution, pursuant to Section 7.06 of the Village Charter, the Village Charter of the Village
of Key Biscayne, Florida, is hereby amended by amending the Village Charter sections described
below in Parts A, B, C, D , E, F, and G to read as follows:'
Part A. That subsection 9 of Section 4.03, "Action Requiring an
Ordinance," and subsection (a)(ii)(A) of Section 5.02, "Initiative and Referendum," of the
Village Charter are amended to read as follows:
Section 4.03. Action requiring an ordinance.
In addition to other acts required by law or by specific provision of this Charter to be effected or
authorized by ordinance, those acts of the Village Council shall be by ordinance which:
***
(9) Approve a Capital Project in excess of $500,000 $1,000,000. When an ordinance
authorizing a Capital Project in excess of $500,000 $1,000,000 has been approved upon first
reading, notice of the date and time of the second reading shall be provided ("Second Reading
Notice"). The Second Reading Notice shall include a brief description of the Capital Project
and its cost and shall be published in addition to and contemporaneously with notices regularly
published for second readings. Each Village elector shall be sent a Second Reading Notice by
postcard. Action taken by the Council on a Capital Project shall not be voided by the failure of
an individual Village elector to receive a Second Reading Notice postcard.
***
Section 5.02. Initiative and Referendum.
(a) Power to initiate and reconsider ordinances.
***
(ii) Referendum.
1 Proposed additions to existing Village Charter text are indicated by underlining; proposed deletions from existing
Village Charter text are indicated by strikethrough.
Page 2 of 12
(A) The electors of the Village shall have power to require reconsideration by the Council
of any adopted ordinance and, if the Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered,
to approve or reject it at a Village election, provided that such power shall not extend to
the annual budget or any ordinance appropriating money, levying taxes or setting salaries
of Village offi cers or employees. The referendum power described in paragraph (ii)(A) of
this subsection (a) shall not be available to require reconsideration of an ordinance
authorizing the issuance of debt or a Capital Project in excess of $500,000.00 $1,000,000
unless proceedings with respect to the referendum are comm enced within thirty (30) days
after the date of adoption of the ordinance.
***
Part B. That subsection (b )(i) of Section 4.10, "Borrowing," of the Village
Charter is amended to read as follows:
Section 4.10. - Borrowing.
(a) Debt Approval. The Village shall incur no Debt unless the incurrence of such Debt is approved
by at least five ( 5) Council Members.
(b) Limits. The total Debt of the Village, including amounts authorized but still not drawn down
under existing loan agreements and other contractual arrangements with banks and other financial
institutions, underwriters, brokers and/or intermediaries, shall not exceed the greater of:
i. one percent (1%) two percent (2%) of the total assessed value of all property within the
Village, as certified by the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser for the current fiscal year;
or
ii. that amount which would cause annual Debt Service to equal fifteen percent (15%) of
General Fund expenditures for the previous fiscal year.
***
Part C. That subsection (b) of Section 4.10, "Borrowing," of the Village
Charter is amended to read as follows:
Section 4.10. - Borrowing.
(a) Debt Approval. The Village shall incur no Debt unless the incurrence of such Debt is approved
by at least five (5) Council Members.
(b) Limits. The total Debt of the Village, including amounts authorized but still not drawn down
under existing loan agreements and other contractual arrangements with banks and other financial
institutions, underwr iters, brokers and/or intermediaries, shall not exceed the greater of:
i. one percent ( 1 % ) of the total assessed value of all property within the Village, as certified by
the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser for the current fiscal year; or
ii. that amount which would cause annual Debt Service to equal fifteen percent (15%) of
General Fund expenditures for the previous fiscal year.
Page 3 of 12
N o tw ith s ta n d in g th e fo re g o in g , th e lim it o n th e to ta l D e b t o f th e V ill a g e m a y b e ex ce e d ed if
a p p ro v e d b y a m a jo rity o f q u a lifi e d ele c to rs in an y refe ren d u m h eld aft er th e N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2 .
***
Part D. That Section 4.15, "Approval by Vote of Electors Required for
Amendments to Land Development Regulations," of the Village Charter is amended to
read as follows:
Section 4.15. - Approval by Vote of Eleetors Required for Amendments to Land
Development Regulations.
No text amendment to the zoning code or other land development regulations that would create a
new zoning district, or that would amend any definition of a term used in the land development
regulations, or that would have the effect of allowing a use not currently permitted, increased
residential density, additional hotel or other accommodation units per acre, or increased lot
coverage, height, or floor area ratio, shall be effective until approved by.Jill. a majority vote of the
electors; voting on the amendment or (b) five (5) out of seven (7 ) members of the Council.
However, in the event that two (2) or more members of the Council are ineligible to vote on a text
amendment due to a required abstention pursuant to Florida law, then the remaining members of
the Council may vote and approve such text amendment by a unanimous vote.
Part E. That Section 5.01, "Elections," of the Village Charter is amended to
read as follows:
Section 5.01. - Elections.
(a) Electors. Any person who is a resident of the Village, has qualified as an elector of the State
and registers to vote in the manner prescribed by law shall be an elector of the Village.
(b) Nonpartisan elections. All elections for the offices of Councilmember and Mayor shall be
conducted on a nonpartisan basis.
( c) Election date. A primary election for the office of Mayor and for open Council positions shall
be held in each even-numbered year on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of
October. A regular election for Mayor and Council positions shall be held in November of each
even-numbered year, on the same day U.S. congressional elections are held, or if none are held
in any year, on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November of that year.
Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of this section, the Village Council may, by ordinance
enacted pursuant to Section 100.3605(2), Florida Statutes, or independent of such statutory
basis by virtue of the enabling authority provided in this subsection ( c ), from time to time,
change the dates for conducting the mayoral and Council position primary, and all regular and
special elections for the election of the Mayor and/or Village Council and provide for the
orderly transition of office resulting from such date changes.
( d) Primary elections.
Page 4 of 12
(i) Mayoral Primary. There shall be no primary election for Mayor if no more than two (2)
candidates qualify to run for the office of Mayor. In the event that a primary election is not
necessary, as described above, the qualified candidates' names for the office of Mayor shall
be placed on the regular election ballot, unless otherwise specified by paragraph (h) below.
The ballot for the primary election shall contain the names of all qualified candidates for
Mayor and shall instruct electors to cast one (1 ) vote for Mayor.
(ii) Council Primary. Beginning with the 2024 election, there shall be a primary election
for Council positions if the number of qualified candidates for Council is greater than or
equal to three times the number of open Council positions. In the event that a primary
election for Council is not necessary, the names of the qualified candidates for Council
shall be placed on the regular election ballot, unless otherwise specified by paragraph (h)
below. The ballot for the primary election shall contain the names of all the qualified
candidates for Council and shall instruct electors to cast a number of votes for Council not
greater than the number of the open Council positions, with a maximum of one vote per
candidate.
( e) Regular Election. The ballot for the regular election shall contain the names of the two (2)
candidates for Mayor who received the most votes in the primary election. The ballot for the
regular election shall also contain the names of the qualified candidates for Council. However,
if a primary election for Council is held, the regular election ballot shall contain the names of
the qualified candidates receiving the most votes in the primary election, provided that the
number of candidates placed on the regular election ballot shall not exceed two (2) times the
number of open Council positions. The ballot shall instruct electors to cast one (1) vote for
Mayor and to cast a number of votes for the Council not greater than the number of the
contested Council positions, with a maximum of one vote per candidate. The candidate for
Mayor receiving the most votes shall be the duly elected Mayor. The candidates for Council
receiving the most votes shall be duly elected to the positions on the Council which are up for
election.
(f) Special elections. Special elections, when required, shall be scheduled by the Council at such
times and in such manner as shall be consistent with this Charter.
(g) Tie Votes. If the mayoral or Council primary election results in two or more candidates
receiving a tie vote such that the number of candidates to be placed on the mayoral or Council
ballot for the regular election would exceed the limitations in subsection ( e ), all candidates
receiving a tie vote shall be listed on the mayoral and Council ballot for the general election
and the limitations in subsection ( e) shall not apply. If a tie vote occurs in the regular election
between two (2) or more candidates for either the office of Mayor or Councilmember, the tie
vote shall be decided by lot under the direction of the Village Clerk.
(h) Single candidates. In the event that the number of persons who qualify as candidates for the
Council Member positions to be filled at an election is equal to or less than the number of
positions to be filled at such election, those positions shall not be listed on the primary or
regular election ballot. No election for Mayor shall be required in any election if there is only
one duly qualified candidate for Mayor. The duly qualified candidates shall be deemed elected.
(i) Absentee votes. Absentee voting will be permitted as provided by the laws of the State and
under such conditions as may be prescribed by ordinance from time to time; provided,
however, that no ordinance shall limit the right to vote by absentee ballot available under State
law.
Page 5 of 12
(j ) Commencement of terms. The term of office of any elected official will commence seven (7)
days following the day of the regular election or special election at which s/he is elected.
Part F. That a new section of the Village Charter under Article 7, "General
Provisions," of the Village Charter is hereby created as follows:
Section 7.08. - Courtesy Electronic Public Notice.
In addition to all other public notice requirements provided by law, the Village shall provide a
courtesy public notice for all regular Council meetings, workshops, sunshine meetings, or other
meetings requiring public notice under Florida law, this Charter, or the Village Code of Ordinances
on the Village's website or through other similar means of electronic communication. Such public
notice shall advise of the time, place, and nature of the meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
failure to post such public notice on the Village's website or through other similar means of
electronic communication shall not constitute mandatory grounds for cancelling the meeting or
rendering invalid any determination made at such meeting.
Part G. That a new section of the Village Charter under Article 7, "General
Provisions," of the Village Charter is hereby created as follows:
Section 7.09. - Supplemental Open Meeting Requirements.
After the November 2022 regular election, the Village Council shall adopt an ordinance
establishing supplemental procedures and guidelines to ensure compliance with open meeting
laws. Every two years thereafter, the Village Council shall review the ordinance to determine if
any modifications to the ordinance are necessary.
Section 3. Election Called. That a special election is hereby called, to be held on
Tuesday, the 8th day of November, 2022, in conjunction with the general election being held on
the same date, to present to the qualified electors of the Village of Key Biscayne, the ballot
questions provided in Section 4 of this Resolution.
Section 4. Form of Ballot. That the form of ballot for the Charter Amendments
provided for in Section 2 of this Resolution shall be substantially as follows:
Page 6 of 12
"1. CAPITAL
REQUIREMENTS.
PROJECT ORDINANCE THRESHOLD
The Village Charter requires capital projects in excess of $500,000 to be approved
by ordinance. It is proposed that the Charter be amended to increase the capital
project authorizing ordinance threshold amount from $500,000 to $1,000,000.
Shall the above described amendment be adopted?
Yes [ ]
No [ ]
2. VILLAGE DEBT LIMIT CALCULATION.
The Village Charter provides a limit on the Village's total debt. One method of calculating
the total debt limit is based upon a percentage of the total assessed value of all property
within the Village. It is proposed that this method of calculation be modified from 1 % of
the total assessed value of all property within the Village to 2%.
Shall the above described amendment be adopted?
Yes [ ]
No [ ]
3. ALLOWING VOTERS TO APPROVE DEBT THAT EXCEEDS THE
DEBT LIMIT.
The Village Charter provides a limit on the total debt incurred by the Village. It is
proposed that the Village Charter be amended to provide that the total debt of the
Village may be exceeded if approved by a majority vote of the electors in any
referendum held after November 2022.
Shall the above described amendment be adopted?
Yes [ ]
No [ ]
4. APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR AMENDMENTS TO LAND
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS.
The Village Charter requires that certain text amendments to the zoning code or
other land development regulations be approved by majority vote of the electors.
The proposed Charter amendment would allow approval of such text amendments
Page 7 of 12
by: m ajority vote of the electors, vote of 5 of 7 Councilmem bers, or unanimous
vote of the C ouncil w hen tw o or m ore Councilm em bers are required to abstain
pur suant to Florida Law .
Shall the above described am endm ent be adopted?
Yes [ ]
N o [ ]
5. ESTABLISHING COUNCILMEMBER PRIMARIES.
The V illage Charter does not cur rently require councilmem ber primaries. The
pro posed Chart er am endm ent requires a council prim ary if the num ber of
candidates is equal to or greater than three tim es the num ber of open council
positions. C andidates receiving the m ost votes w ould proceed to the genera l
election, pro vided that the num ber of candidates w ould not exceed tw ice the
num ber of open coun cil positions.
Shall the above described am endm ent be adopted?
Yes [ ]
N o [ ]
6. ESTABLISHING COURTESY ELECTRONIC PUBLIC NOTICE.
It is pro posed to create a new section of the Vill age Charter to require courtesy
electro nic public notice. The pro posed Charter am endm ent w ould require the
Village to post courtesy electro nic public notice on the V ill age w ebsite or through
other m eans of electro nic com m unication fo r regular Council m eetings, w orkshops,
sunshine m eetings, and all m eetings requiring public notice.
Shall the above described am endm ent be adopted?
Yes [ ]
N o [ ]
7. ESTABLISHING
REQUIREMENTS.
SUPPLEMENTAL OPEN MEETING
It is pro posed to create a new section of the Vill age Charter to require the V illage
Council to adopt an ordinance after the N ovem ber 2022 election establishing
supplem ental pro cedures and guidelines to ensure com pliance w ith open m eeting
Page 8 of 12
la w s. E v e ry tw o y e a rs th e rea ft er, th e V ill a g e C o u n c il w o u ld be req u ired to re v ie w
th e o r d in a n c e to d e te rm in e if an y m o d ifi c a tio n s to th e ord in a n ce are n ec e ssa ry .
S h a ll th e a b o v e d e sc rib e d a m en d m e n t b e ad o p te d ?
Y e s [ ]
N o [ ]"
Section 5. Balloting. That balloting shall be conducted between the hours of
7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the date of the election. Vote-by-Mail, formerly known as
absentee ballots, shall be available. Early voting shall be provided in conjunction with the
general election. All qualified Village electors who are timely registered in accordance
with law shall be entitled to vote. The Village Clerk is authorized to obtain any necessary
election administration services from the Miami-Dade County ("County") Supervisor of
Elections. The County registration books shall remain open at the Office of the County
Supervisor of Elections until the date at which the registration books shall close in
accordance with the provisions of the general election laws. The Village Clerk and the
County Supervisor of Elections are hereby authorized to take all appropriate action
necessary to carry into effect and accomplish the provisions of this Resolution. Pursuant to
Section 2-102 of the Village Code, this election shall be canvassed by the Village Clerk
with assistance from the County Supervisor of Elections, or as required by law.
Section 6. Notice of Election. That notice of said election shall be published
in accordance with Section 100.342, Florida Statutes, in a newspaper of general circulation
within the Village at least 30 days prior to said election, the first publication to be in the
fifth week prior to the election (to wit: during the week commencing Sunday, October 2,
2022), and the second publication to be in the third week prior to the election (to wit: during
Page 9 of 12
th e w e e k c o m m e n c in g S u n d ay , O c to b e r 16 , 2 0 2 2 ), a n d sh a ll b e in su b sta n tia ll y th e
fo ll o w in g fo r m :
"N O T IC E O F S P E C IA L E L E C TI O N
P U B LI C N O TI C E IS H E RE B Y G IV E N T H A T P U R S U A N T T O
RE S O L U T IO N N O . 2 0 2 2 - A D O P T E D B Y T H E
V I L L A G E C O UN C IL O F T H E V IL L A G E O F K E Y B I S C A YN E ,
F L O RI D A (T H E "V IL L A G E "), A S P E C IA L E L E C T IO N H A S
B E E N C A L L E D A N D O RD E RE D T O B E H E L D W IT H IN T H E
V IL L A G E , IN C O N J UN C TI O N W IT H T H E G E N E RA L
E L E C TI O N , O N T U E S D A Y , T H E g m D A Y O F N O V E M B E R ,
2 0 2 2 , A T W H I C H T IM E T H E F O L L O W IN G C H A R T E R
A M E N D M E N T P R O P O S A L S S H A L L B E S U B M IT T E D T O T H E
Q U A LI F IE D E L E C T O R S O F T H E V IL L A G E
T h o s e c e rt a in se v e n (7 ) p ro p o s e d a m e n d m e n ts to th e V ill a g e C h a rt e r , w h ic h a re c o m m o n ly
r e fe rr e d to b y th e fo ll o w in g b a ll o t titl e s :
1 . C ap ita l P roje c t O r d in a n c e T hr e s h o ld R e q u ire m e n ts .
2 . V ill a g e D e b t L im it C a lc u la tio n .
3 . A ll o w in g V o te r s T o A p p ro v e D e b t T h a t E x c e e d s T h e D e b t L im it.
4 . A p p ro v a l R e q u ir e d F o r A m e n d m e n ts T o L a n d D e v e lo p m e n t R e g u la tio n s.
5 . E s ta b lis h in g C o u n c ilm e m b e r P r im a rie s .
6 . E s ta b lis h in g C o u rt e s y E le c tro n ic P u b lic N o tic e .
7 . E s ta b lis h in g S u p p le m e n ta l O p e n M e e tin g R e q u ir e m e n ts .
Page 10 of 12
P olli ng place info rm ation, the en ab ling R esolution, incl uding the fu ll text of the
proposed V ill age C harter A m endm ents and the ballot questions, are available at the
O ffi ce of the V ill age C lerk located at 88 W est M cI nty re Street, K ey Biscayne, Florida
33 149.
V ill age C lerk "
S ection 7. C opies. That copies of this Resolution concermng the Charter
Amendments are on file at the Office of the Village Clerk, located at 88 West McIntyre Street,
Key Biscayne, Florida 33149, and is available for public inspection during regular business hours.
Section 8. E ffe ctiveness. That the Charter Amendments provided for in Section 2
above shall become effective only if the majority of the qualified electors voting on the specific
Charter Amendment vote for its adoption, and it shall be considered adopted and effective upon
certification of the election results. If conflicting amendments are adopted, the measure receiving
the most votes shall prevail to the extent of any conflict. Following adoption of the Charter
Amendments, the Village Clerk shall file the adopted Charter Amendments with the Clerk of the
Circuit Court of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Section 9. Incl usion in the C harter. That subject to the requirements of Section 8
above, it is the intention of the Village Council and it is hereby provided that the Charter
Amendments shall become and be made part of the Charter of the Village of Key Biscayne,
Florida; that the Sections of this Resolution may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such
intention.
Section 10 . Severabili ty . The provisions of this Resolution are declared to be
severable and if any section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Resolution shall for any reason be
Page 11 of 12
held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
sections, sentences, clauses, and phrases of this Resolution but shall remain in effect, it being the
legislative intent that this Resolution shall stand notwithstanding the invalidity of any part.
Section 11. Effective Date. That this Resolution shall be effective immediately from
and after July 19, 2022.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 14th day of __ ___,J=un=e=-- _, 2022.
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGAL SU £"11...WDlllll-'
~p~
WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE & BIERMAN, P.L.
VILLAGE ATTORNEY
Page 12 of 12