APPENDIX A FEE SCHEDULE MODIFICATION - ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS

AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING APPENDIX A, “FEE SCHEDULE,” TO REVISE AND ESTABLISH FEES CHARGED FOR ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS, AND CLARIFY EXISTING PROVISIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.  

On January 13, 2021, at the request of Commissioner Ricky Arriola, the City Commission referred a discussion item to the Finance and Economic Resilience Committee (Item C4H) pertaining to Zoning Verification Letters. On February 19, 2021 the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee (FERC) recommended Appendix A of the fee schedule be updated for zoning verification letters based on the type of request and level of review.

A zoning verification letter is issued by the Planning Department for a specific property or properties to confirm zoning, potential future development, or to verify that an existing property or use conforms with the City’s current zoning regulations. Currently, the City charges a fee of $264 per property (folio number). This fee includes one hour of research. For requests requiring research beyond one hour, an additional fee of $159 per hour is charged. In terms of best practices, the following is a comparison of the fees charged by similar sized City’s for zoning verification letters:

*Miami-Dade County does not charge a research fee.  However, if they determine the request to be “complex” they charge a minimum fee of $473.34

**The City of North Miami Beach charges $250 if significant research is required. 

The City’s current fee of $264 per property is comparable to the fees charged by other municipalities.