Polk County, FL Hurricane Preparedness: Storm Debris (2026)

Section 11-6 ties this power to a formal declaration of local or state emergency under Chapter 252, Florida Statutes. Once that declaration is in effect, the county manager may direct county employees and private contractors working for the county to enter private property and private roadways to remove solid waste, fallen trees, and limbs and similar debris, without needing the owner's advance consent, unless the declaration itself says the manager cannot grant that authorization. The manager may only order entry when the action addresses an immediate threat to life, public health, or safety; an immediate threat of significant damage to improved property; or the economic recovery of the affected community.

The code spells out what counts as an immediate threat: debris blocking access for emergency vehicles, debris impeding utility restoration, or waste that promotes disease or attracts disease-carrying pests. Section 11-91 limits how far crews can go: they may enter privately owned land to perform duties under Chapter 11, but they cannot enter a structure. This debris-removal authority sits inside the same chapter that governs Polk's everyday solid waste system, so its general enforcement and remedies provisions apply to it as well: Section 11-92 lets the county pursue injunctive relief and treats each day a chapter violation continues as a separate violation, and Section 11-93 lets code enforcement officers, the Sheriff's Office, or any other authorized person enforce it, with a misdemeanor penalty of up to a $500 fine, 60 days in jail, or both available under state law.