[HISTORY: Adopted by the Commissioners of
the City of Rehoboth Beach 1-21-2011 by Ord. No. 0111-01.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 22,
Emergency Operating Plan, adopted 7-8-1977 by Ord. No. 777-1, as amended.
The purpose of this chapter is:
A.
To
provide for an immediate, coordinated response at all levels of municipal
government in times of emergency.
B.
To
provide for the declaration of a civil emergency by the Mayor, and
to authorize extraordinary measures that may be taken to meet such
an emergency.
C.
To provide for the creation and adoption of an Emergency Operations
Plan (EOP), including periodic review and update. The EOP along with
its annexes and other attachments provides a basis for coordinated
emergency operations throughout the City of Rehoboth Beach prior to,
during and after a disaster, caused or natural.
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,
the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any disaster, impacting or likely to impact the City of Rehoboth
Beach to such an extent that extraordinary measures must be taken
to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
A prohibition against any person or persons walking, running,
loitering, standing or motoring upon any alley, street, highway, public
property or vacant premises within the corporate limits of Rehoboth
Beach, excepting persons officially designated to duty with reference
to said civil emergency.
A catastrophic condition caused by a man-made event (including,
but not limited to, industrial, nuclear or transportation accident,
explosion, conflagration, power failure, act of domestic terrorism,
natural resource shortage or other condition resulting from man-made
causes, such as hazardous materials spills and other injurious environmental
contamination), natural event (including, but not limited to, any
hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal
wave, earthquake, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire or
explosion) or war-caused event (following an attack upon the United
States caused by use of bombs, missiles, shellfire or nuclear, radiological,
chemical or biological means, or other weapons, or overt paramilitary
actions, or other conditions such as sabotage) which results in substantial
damage to property or the environment, and/or hardship, suffering,
injury or possible loss of life.
Any situation which requires efforts and capabilities to
save lives or to protect property, public health and safety, or to
lessen or avert the threat of a disaster in Rehoboth Beach.
The mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery functions
necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and
safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster in Rehoboth
Beach, other than functions for which military forces or other federal
agencies are primarily responsible. These functions include, without
limitation, fire-fighting services, police services, medical and health
services, rescue, engineering, warning services, communications, radiological
response, chemical response or other technological response, evacuation
of persons from hazardous areas, emergency welfare services, emergency
transportation, protection, temporary restoration of public utility
services, national security, and other functions related to infrastructure,
together with all other activities necessary or incidental to the
preparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions. In so
defining "emergency management," full recognition shall be given to
Public Law 93-288, as amended, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq.);
Public Law 100-408, as amended, the Price Anderson Act (42 U.S.C.
§ 2210); § 4 Public Law 875, 81st Congress, as
amended.
Any action before or after a response event taken to reduce
or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and/or property from
natural hazards or any cost-effective measure which is intended to
reduce the potential for damage to a facility from a disaster event.
Any action taken to reduce or eliminate the immediate or
short-term risk to human life and/or property from any hazard.
When, in the judgment of the Mayor, a civil emergency, as defined
herein, is deemed to exist, he shall forthwith proclaim, in writing,
the existence of same. In exigent circumstances such a proclamation
of civil emergency may be issued in writing subsequent to its effect
so long as a written log recording the dates and times of such proclamation
is maintained and the proclamation is reduced to writing as soon as
practicable.
After proclamation of a civil emergency by the Mayor, he may
order a general curfew applicable to such geographical areas of the
City or to the City as a whole as he deems advisable and applicable
during such hours of the day or night as he deems necessary in the
interest of the public safety and welfare.
After proclamation of a civil emergency, the Mayor may also,
in the interest of public safety and welfare:
A.
Suspend
or limit the sale, dispensing or transportation of alcoholic beverages,
firearms and ammunition, explosives, gasoline and combustibles.
B.
Suspend
the provisions of any regulatory ordinance prescribing procedures
for the conducting of City business, or the orders or regulations
of any City department if compliance with the provisions of the statute,
order or regulation would prevent, or substantially impede or delay,
action necessary to cope with the disaster emergency.
C.
Use
all the resources of the City government deemed reasonably necessary
to cope with the disaster emergency.
D.
Transfer
personnel or alter the functions of City departments and offices for
the purpose of performing or facilitating the performance of disaster
emergency services.
E.
Subject
to any applicable requirements for compensation, commandeer or utilize
any private property, except for all news media other than as specifically
provided for in this chapter, if considered necessary to cope with
the disaster emergency.
F.
Direct
and compel the relocation of all or part of the population from any
stricken or threatened area in the municipality if relocation is considered
necessary for the preservation of life or for other disaster mitigation
purposes.
G.
Order
the temporary closing of any and all streets, alleys and other public
ways in Rehoboth Beach.
H.
Prescribe
routes, modes of transportation and destinations in connection with
necessary relocation.
I.
Control ingress to and egress from a disaster area; control the movement
of persons and occupancy of premises.
J.
Make provisions for the availability and use of temporary emergency
housing.
K.
Allocate, ration or redistribute food, water, fuel, clothing and
other items deemed necessary.
L.
Obtain vital supplies, equipment and other properties found lacking
and needed for the protection of the health, life and property of
the people, and bind the City for the fair value thereof.
M.
Issue such other orders as are imminently necessary for the protection
of life and property.
N.
Any other authority as established in the City of Rehoboth Beach
Emergency Operations Plan.
A.
Should the Mayor be unavailable or otherwise unable to assume, during
the time of a civil emergency, the duties and authority of this chapter,
these duties and authority shall pass to another commissioner who
is available in the City according to the following order:
B.
Once available
and able, the Mayor shall assume the duties and authority of this
chapter.
The Mayor or Emergency Management Coordinator shall order emergency
management forces to the aid of other communities when required in
accordance with the statutes of the state and may request the state,
Sussex County or a political subdivision of the state to send aid
to the City of Rehoboth Beach in case of disaster when conditions
in the City are beyond the control of local emergency management forces.
The Mayor and Commissioners shall designate one individual as
the Emergency Management Coordinator. The Emergency Management Coordinator
shall be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the various
aspects of the Rehoboth Beach Emergency Operations Plan, shall be
responsible for chairing the Emergency Management Council and shall
manage the Emergency Operations Center when activated according to
the guidelines established in the Emergency Operations Plan. The Emergency
Management Coordinator shall report to the City Manager.
A comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) shall be adopted
by the Commissioners, to be maintained under authority of the Emergency
Management Coordinator. The EOP, at a minimum, shall:
A.
Define the basic strategies, assumptions and mechanisms through which
Rehoboth Beach will mobilize resources and conduct activities to guide
and support local emergency management efforts through response and
recovery.
B.
Facilitate effective intergovernmental operations, examining relationships
between the City of Rehoboth Beach, Sussex County, the State of Delaware
and federal resources.
C.
Establish official policies, program strategies and planning assumptions
for disaster preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.
D.
Define responsibilities for all Rehoboth Beach departments.
E.
Provide an all-hazards organizational structure to emergency operations.
F.
Establish basic direction and control for all levels of a disaster,
creating a consistent unified approach to emergency management operations
by employing the National Incident Management System concepts and
utilizing the Incident Command System for the management of disasters.
[Amended 5-4-2020 by Ord. No. 0520-03]
A.
Any person
violating the provisions of this chapter or an executive order issued
pursuant thereto shall be guilty of an offense against Rehoboth Beach
and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 and/or imprisonment
for a period not to exceed 60 days, or both.
B.
Notwithstanding Subsection A of this section, any violation of the provisions of this chapter or an executive order issued pursuant thereto, or a lawful emergency order of any other public agency or official, shall be a civil offense pursuant to Chapter 126[1] of the Municipal Code of the City of Rehoboth Beach and, in the sole discretion of a Rehoboth Beach police officer, may be charged as a civil offense when charging under Subsection A of this section would be excessive. Any person who violates this chapter or an executive order issued pursuant thereto, or a lawful emergency order of any other public agency or official, who is charged under this Subsection B, shall pay a civil assessment of $100.
