AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING APPENDIX A TO THE CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ENTITLED "FEE SCHEDULE," TO AMEND THE FEES APPLICABLE TO THE BUILDING RECERTIFICATION PROCESS, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 14 OF THE CITY CODE, ENTITLED "BUILDING REGULATIONS"; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION AND FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 

The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the attached Ordinance.

On December 15, 2021 the Miami Dade County Grand Jury filed their final report on the Surfside condo collapse tragedy and their recommendations on making buildings safer.

One recommendation stated the need for advance notice to building owners regarding their impending recertification. Buildings which are required by County ordinance 8-11(f) to provide recertifications are given a notice of 90 days.  There has been much concern that a 90-day notice does not allow a property enough time to contract with a licensed design professional who will be required to perform site inspections based on previous permitting documents and perform possible testing.  Therefore the providing of an earlier notice to the owner of their impending recertification will help property owners plan their recertification and increase building safety.

Additionally, to assist with the recertification process and track the maintenance of buildings taller than 5 stories, the Building Department proposes to require the submission of an annual building maintenance log to the Building Department. This log will assist in tracking any repeated maintenance issues within a structure and assist in the data collection for the building recertification process by providing the Engineers with better data on routine building maintenance as part of the public record for the property.

Both items were part of the recent Miami Dade County Grand Jury recommendations.

Update after First Reading:

On January 20, 2022, the Mayor and City Commission passed the draft ordinance on first reading with changes to the commencement of the maintenance log program to phase in the program by having a training phase the first year – 2022, the first year of collections would be 2023 and only assessing a 50% penalty for non-compliance, and a full program with 100% of the penalty due for non-compliance in 2024.

To incentivize buildings, the City of Miami Beach has designed an incentive program. Buildings in compliance with the annual log and timely submission qualify for cumulative 1.25% off per year recertification fees for the 30-year recertification, up to 37.5%, and 3.75% off per year for the 10-year recertification, up to 37.5%, when submitted and complete within the 90-day period as required by MDC 8-11(f). 

The building recertification program cost to the Department will increase due to  the need for additional notification, the reduction of time to begin the building recertification process, tracking and reporting of the yearly maintenance log, as well as tracking trends in the building recertification deficiencies, and developing procedures and training protocols which remind owners of the importance of routine maintenance and repairs. The community outreach for these requirements will also add cost to the recertification process. 

Between the early notice and the notification of the need to submit the maintenance logs and training the estimated fiscal impact would amount to 3/4 of a clerk, a code officer, as well as administrative and supervisory time which equate to approximately $80,000 per year. No new positions are being requested. The positions needed for this work were already adopted in the FY 21/22 budget. This increase is estimated to generate an additional revenue of $60,000

These adjustments are being made to help offset the costs of enforcing the Florida Building Code as required by state statute.

We hope to offset the cost of these additional services with a modest increase to the building recertification fees from $612 to $950. Additionally, increasing the recertification extension fee from $612 to $950, and the late fee for the recertification report from $306 to $1,000, and the inclusion of a late fee for late submission of the annual structural maintenance log of $1,000.