The Town of Southwest Ranches council voted to add a code section that would impose a $250 service charge for residents who file more than three meritless code-compliance calls in a 12-month period, a measure council members said is intended to stop neighbors from weaponizing complaints.

Mayor opened the item by saying the ordinance "comes directly from resident input over the years" and that sometimes "code is used as a weapon between residents." The ordinance, as discussed, allows grace for inadvertent or mistaken complaints but imposes a fee for repeated meritless reports within a defined time frame.

Council and staff debated the counting period. A staff/council clarification proposed changing the draft language from "calendar year" to a rolling "prior 12 months" so residents could not reset the count by filing at year end. Vice mayor Kaczynski and others supported that change to prevent gaming the limit.

There was also discussion about documented examples of repeated calls; one councilor said the town has seen situations involving more than 100 calls that require investigation. Council members argued the new provision would conserve code-enforcement resources for legitimate complaints.

The motion to adopt the ordinance was moved and seconded; during roll call Council member Albritton, Council member Hartman, Council member Jablonski, Vice mayor Kaczynski and the Mayor recorded "Yes," and the measure passed.

Council members said staff will need clear administrative procedures to track complaints and to notify residents before fees are applied. The ordinance takes effect per the town code’s stated effective date once codified.

What happens next: staff will implement tracking procedures and the council expects administrators to return with any needed implementation details. Public comment on the item was not taken at the time of the vote.