Item Coversheet

OLD BUSINESS  3.

COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM

TO: Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee Members


FROM:
Alina T. Hudak, City Manager


DATE: December 7, 2022


SUBJECT:DISCUSS CREATION OF A SEARCHABLE CITY DATABASE TO ENHANCE CONDOMINIUM TRANSPARENCY

HISTORY:

This item was referred to the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee at the July 28, 2021 City Commission meeting by Commissioner Meiner.  This item has been placed on previous Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee meeting agendas and has not been reached and deferred several times. 

ANALYSIS

The City of Hallandale Beach passed an ordinance on October 1, 2020 whereas all condominium associations, multi-family homeowner and cooperative apartment associations are required to annually submit the following information:

 

1. Name of the association

2 . Business address and the legal description of properties governed by the association

3 . Name and contact information for the property manager or designated contact person for the association

4 . A list of all officers and directors of the association with contact information

5 . Website of the association, if any

6.  An impression of the corporate seal of the association, if any

7.  A legible copy of the By-Laws and the rules and regulations of the association

8.  A list of planned capital projects, if any, from the date of application through January 1 of the following   year

9.  A copy of the adopted annual budget

10. A copy of the recorded declaration of condominium and any amendments

11 . Specify the location where all building permits for work in common areas shall be posted during construction.

12. A listing of pending litigation, if any

13. Contact information for insurance agent, if any

 

Following the Surfside tragedy, the City of Hallandale also included to the list of required documentation:

 

14. The date of original building certification.

15. The status of recertification. Association will indicate either (1) Recertification not yet required, (2) Recertification is in process (due within one year but not yet past due) or (3) Recertification Past Due.

16. A copy of any report of a professional engineer or architect concerning the structural, electrical or life safety conditions of a building within the control of the Association issued within the previous year.

 

The City of Hallandale Beach assess a $150 annual filing fee and enforcement fees for associations that fail to file the required registration.

 

For reference, the Hallandale Beach ordinances are included herein.

 

The CMB Building, Finance, Communications, and IT Departments in collaboration have been discussing the best approach to creating a database to enhance condominium transparency.

 

The City of Hallandale (Hallandale) has advised the City of Miami Beach that they have experienced many setbacks with this initiative and are currently not enforcing many provisions in their Ordinance.

 

Hallandale has stated that this endeavor has been very labor intensive with constant follow-up with their condominiums.  A high percentage of their condominiums have not applied. Their City has sent certified letters, emails and even visited locations and posted notices of non-compliance.  Documents collated by Hallandale are collected via individual emails from Condominiums.  These emails are labor intensive, in that many condos do not include all of the required documents leading to much back-and-forth between Hallandale staff and condominium representatives.

 

Hallandale is exploring the procurement of a new permitting system that can handle the uploading of all the documents required for this condo registration and many of their other permits.

CONCLUSION:

Recommendation and Discussion:

At the March 9, 2022 Commission Meeting, the Commission passed an ordinance requiring all building 5 stories or taller to submit an annual maintenance log. The annual maintenance log will capture some of the information above, including: Owner/Condo President Name, Management

Company, Legal Counsel Name, Routine Maintenance Information. The Maintenance Log form is attached for further details. The logs will be publicly available on the City’s Citizen Self Service (CSS) portal, and the recertification records will be linked to the maintenance log.

 

Beyond the aforementioned, any additional information that the Commission would like to collect, the administration recommends linking it to the BTR process which already records condo associations in the database system (EnerGov) through the licensing module.  This will facilitate utilizing the CSS portal as an entry to collect and make publicly viewable any required documentation. To implement and enforce the provisions of the proposed Ordinance, the Administration recommends the hiring of one Financial Analyst to supervise the condo registry process.  This staff member would be responsible for reviewing the 966 properties and their attached required documents.  This position would also:  renew and invoice the permits, as well as follow-up with registry and BTR compliance.  The approximate first year cost of this staff member is $70,000, including salary, health, Medicare and fringe benefits. The administration is seeking direction from the committee on the information they would like to collect and make public as part of this condo registration program, and if annual filing and enforcement fees should be assessed.

 

The administration is seeking direction from the committee on the information they would like to collect and make public as part of this condo registration program, and if annual filing and enforcement fees should be assessed.


Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds?
No No