Daytona Beach, FL Hurricane Preparedness: Storm Debris (2026)

Daytona Beach's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan operates under City Code Chapter 2, Article I, and Section 2-3 spells out the emergency powers the city can use once a state of emergency has been proclaimed, typically ahead of or after a hurricane. Subsection (b)(11) is the debris-specific power: the city can enter onto private streets and rights-of-way inside any subdivision to collect debris blocking the right-of-way or a utility easement. Before crews cross onto those private streets, the code requires the owner of the private street or right-of-way, usually a homeowners association, to sign a written agreement releasing the county, the State of Florida and the United States from liability tied to the debris removal.

Without that signed release on file, the private-street owner has to arrange its own storm debris pickup, because the city's right of entry does not apply automatically. Section 2-3(a) ties this authority to the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan adopted under Florida Statutes Chapter 252, and subsection (b) states the eleven enumerated powers, including curfews, confiscation of needed equipment and price-gouging limits, are illustrative rather than an exhaustive list of what the city can do during a proclaimed emergency. The current version of Section 2-3 traces to Ordinance No.

06-397, adopted October 4, 2006, and was amended by Ordinance No. 11-221 on September 21, 2011. Residents of gated communities or HOA-governed subdivisions with private streets should confirm with their association whether the hold-harmless agreement is on file, since it determines whether city contractors can clear storm debris from those roads after a hurricane.