Pursuant to the request of Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, and the recommendation of the Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee (NCAC) at its meeting on June 20, 2018, a revised and streamlined Ordinance was submitted for consideration by the Mayor and City Commission on First Reading on June 27, 2018. The revised Ordinance also addressed comments previously expressed at the April 11, 2018 City Commission meeting, which resulted in this matter being referred back to the NCAC, where it had been initially discussed on February 21, 2018 following a prior City Commission referral.
The attached Ordinance includes additional revisions, approved at First Reading on June 27, 2018, which amend the reference to a "safety" instead of "panic" button, revised the type of employees to which safety buttons must be provided, and amended the effective date from January 1, 2019 to August 1, 2019 to allow additional time for compliance.
The Ordinance requires hotel and hostel employers to: a) provide a safety button or notification device to certain hotel or hostel employees; b) place a sign on the inside of each guest room door notifying guests that a safety button/notification device has been provided to such employees; and c) submit an affidavit with their annual BTR renewal stating that they are in compliance with the above requirements. Following an initial warning, penalties of $500, $1,000, and $2,000 will be imposed, respectfully, for second, third, and fourth and subsequent violations within a preceding six (6) month period.
The Code Compliance Department has advised that existing resources will be utilized to enforce this Ordinance.