HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 5-26-77ORDINANCE NO. 5-26-77
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA,
AMENDING CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION), ARTICLE VIII (EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT), DIVISION 2 (CODE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
PLANS), SECTION 2406 (EFFECT AND PURPOSE OF STATE OF LOCAL
EMERGENCY) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC
BEACH TO CONFORM THE CITY'S ENUMERATED EMERGENCY POWERS
TO GENERAL LAW; REMOVING PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE
REGULATION OF FIREARMS AND WEAPONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
LEGISLATURE'S OCCUPATION OF THE FIELD OF FIREARMS AND
AMMUNITION REGULATION UNDER SECTION 790.33, FLORIDA
STATUTES; PROVIDING FOR THE RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS;
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Atlantic Beach (the "City") is a Florida municipal
corporation possessing home rule authority pursuant to Article VIII, Section 2(b) of the
Florida Constitution and Chapter 166, Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, Section 2-406 of the City's Code of Ordinances enumerates powers
exercisable upon the declaration of a state of local emergency, including, at subsection (8),
certain powers respecting the sale, transportation, carrying, and possession of firearms and
weapons; and
WHEREAS, in Section 790.33(1), Florida Statutes, the Legislature has declared
that it occupies the whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition, including the
purchase, sale, transfer, taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, storage, and
transportation thereof, to the exclusion of all existing and future county, city, town, or
municipal ordinances or any administrative regulations or rules adopted by local or state
government relating thereto; and
WHEREAS, general law, including Chapters 252 and 870, Florida Statutes,
confers upon the State and upon officials designated by general law such emergency
powers respecting firearms and ammunition as the Legislature has determined appropriate,
which powers apply of their own force without the necessity of any municipal ordinance;
and
WHEREAS, on or about July 30, 2026, the City received written correspondence
asserting that a portion of Section 2-406 is expressly preempted by state law and providing
the notice contemplated by Section 57.112(4), Florida Statutes; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to ensure that the City's Code of
Ordinances conforms to general law and, in an abundance of caution and without admission
of any violation of law, to remove from Section 2-406 any language purporting to authorize
municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, or weapons, while preserving all emergency
powers lawfully held by the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission finds that adoption of this Ordinance is in the
best interests of the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the City of Atlantic Beach;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON
BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1. Recitals. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated
herein by this reference as legislative findings of the City Commission.
SECTION 2. Amendment of Section 2406. Section 2-406 (Effect and purpose of state
of local emergency), Chapter 2, Article VIII, Division 2 of the Code of Ordinances of the
City of Atlantic Beach, Florida, is hereby amended to read as follows (words s#iekeH
dwou are deletions; words underlined are additions; provisions not set forth herein
remain unchanged):
Sec. 2-406. — Effect and purpose of state of local emergency.
(8) To suspend or limit the sale, dispensing or transportation of alcoholic beverages,
explosives and combustibles,_ provided that nothing in this subsection or
in this division shall be construed to authorize the regulation of firearms or
ammunition in any manner, the field of such regulation being occupied exclusively
by the Legislature pursuant to Section 790.33, Florida Statutes. To prohibit
I . _ possession of any fir-eann or- weapon, as defined by state law, upon the
. The officials authorized by general
law may exercise, during a declared emergency, such powers respecting firearms
and ammunition as are conferred exclusively y general law, including Chapters
252 and 870, Florida Statutes, which powers apply according to their terms without
further action of the City.
SECTION 3. Direction to City Manager and City Clerk. The City Manager and the City
Clerk are directed to (a) remove or correct any signage, publication, plan, or posted material
of the City that is inconsistent with this Ordinance or with Section 790.33, Florida Statutes;
and (b) transmit written notice of the adoption of this Ordinance to the party that provided
the written notice referenced in the recitals hereto.
SECTION 4. Conflict. All ordinances or parts of ordinances, and all resolutions or parts
of resolutions, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. No
ordinance, regulation, measure, directive, rule, enactment, order, or policy of the City shall
be construed or applied to regulate firearms or ammunition in any manner inconsistent with
Section 790.33, Florida Statutes.
SECTION 5. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is
held to be invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding
shall in no way affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 6. Codification. It is the intention of the City Commission that the provisions
of Section 2 of this Ordinance shall be made a part of the Code of Ordinances of the City
of Atlantic Beach, and the codifier is authorized to renumber, reletter, and make editorial,
non -substantive conforming changes to accomplish such codification.
SECTION 7. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its final
passage and adoption.
PASSED by the City Commission on first reading this 2eday of
2026.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Commission on second and final reading
this ( day of �'^V' 2026.
CITY OF ATLAN IC B ACH, FLORIDA
Curtis Tord, Mayo
ATTEST:
Donna Bartle, City Clerk
Approved as to form and correctness:
Jason G bri 1, it Attorney