Item Coversheet

Ordinances - R5  L




COMMISSION MEMORANDUM

TO:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 
FROM:Raul J. Aguila, Interim City Manager 
DATE:April  21, 2021
 

First Reading

SUBJECT:

APPENDIX A FEE SCHEDULE MODIFICATION - PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS REVISION AND MAILING FEES

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 BY THE PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS FOR THE REVIEW OF PLANS REVISIONS ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW; AND AMEND THE FEE CHARGED BY THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOR MAIL NOTICES ASSOCIATED WITH LAND USE BOARD APPLICATIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.


RECOMMENDATION

The Administration recommends that the City Commission approve the subject Ordinance at First Reading and schedule a Second Reading/Public Hearing for May 12, 2021.

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

On March 17, 2021 the City Commission amended Chapter 14-61(e) of the City Code, “Revised Plans Processing Fee,” to establish a new scale and fees related to the revision of plans. Based upon the recommendation of the Planning Department, separate direction was provided to update fees associated with plans revisions for commercial and residential projects in order to ensure that fees are proportionate to the level of review required. 

ANALYSIS

The Planning and Public Works Departments review the fee schedule on an annual basis and have determined it appropriate to recommend the following amendments to Appendix A, “Fee Schedule”:

• Modifying fees for the Revised Plans Review in 15-31 (e) from “Revised Plan Review fee shall be consistent with subsection 14-61 (e)” to Commercial (Minimum of one page charge) $40.00 per page and Residential (Minimum of one page charge) $20.00 per page.

• Modifying fees for the Revised Plans Review in 98-93 (e) from “Revised Plan Review fee shall be consistent with subsection 14-61 (e)” to Commercial (Minimum of one page charge) $40.00 per page and Residential (Minimum of one page charge) $20.00 per page.

• Adjusting the fee for Mail Notices (per address) in 118-7 annually based on the Consumer Price Index rounded from the nearest dollar [A] to the nearest cent [B].

Overall, the proposed modifications to Appendix A are expected to have minimal impacts to revenue, if any, since the fees and applicability capture the review and noticing processes. However, applicants will realize a cost benefit since they will only be charged for the pages actually reviewed by the applicable discipline. Under the recently adopted modifications for permit revisions, the following are the required fees that are applicable to Planning and Public Works revisions:

Residential revisions:
• Revisions consisting of 1 to 5 pages: flat fee of $102.00 per discipline.
• Revisions consisting of 6 to 35 pages: flat fee of $211.00 per discipline.
• Revisions over 36 pages: $20.40 per page, per discipline.

Commercial revisions:
• Revisions consisting of 1 to 5 pages: flat fee of $204.00 per discipline.
• Revisions consisting of 6 to 35 pages: flat fee of $526.00 per discipline.
• Revisions over 36 pages: $20.40 per page, per discipline.

The proposed new fee schedule for Planning and Public Works would only require a fee for the pages reviewed by the applicable discipline. Specifically, $20.00 per page for a residential revision and $40.00 per page for a commercial revision. Depending upon the number of pages required to be reviewed this could be as low as $20.00 for a residential revision or $40.00 for a commercial revision, per discipline, as opposed to the current flat fees required and noted above.

This per page method would only capture fees for pages actually requiring a discipline’s review, thus reducing the cost to the applicants. Moreover, it would better correspond to the actual work being done, as the fee paid would reflect the number of pages being reviewed.

SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA

Improved Development Process

CONCLUSION

The Administration recommends that the City Commission approve the subject Ordinance at First Reading and schedule a Second Reading/Public Hearing for May 12, 2021.

Applicable Area

Citywide
Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds?
Yes No 
Legislative Tracking
Planning
Sponsor
Vice-Mayor Michael Gongora

ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Ordinance
Appendix A