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City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
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| | | | | | | | | | Item 16.
COMMITTEE MEMORANDUM | | | |
| | | | | | | | TO: Land Use and Sustainability Committee
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| FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
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| DATE: February 26, 2024
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| | | | | | | | | TITLE: | DISCUSS A PROPOSED LOCAL TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO THE FLORIDA BUILDING CODE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 553.73(4), FLORIDA STATUTES, WHICH WOULD REQUIRE EXISTING BUILDINGS AND NEW CONSTRUCTION TO PROVIDE AIR CONDITIONING IN THE ENTIRE BUILDING RATHER THAN MERELY PROVIDING VENTILATION, AS CURRENTLY REQUIRED BY THE FLORIDA BUILDING CODE. |
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| | | | | | | | HISTORY:
| | During the Land Use and Sustainability Committee Meeting of September 13th, 2023 the item was discussed. The direction at the time was for the building department to research the number of buildings built prior to 1976. |
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| | | | | | | | ANALYSIS:
| Pursuant to the Florida Statutes 553.73:
(4)(a) All entities authorized to enforce the Florida Building Code pursuant to s. 553.80 shall comply with applicable standards for issuance of mandatory certificates of occupancy, minimum types of inspections, and procedures for plans review and inspections as established by the commission by rule. Local governments may adopt amendments to the administrative provisions of the Florida Building Code, subject to the limitations of this paragraph. Local amendments shall be more stringent than the minimum standards described herein and shall be transmitted to the commission within 30 days after enactment. The local government shall make such amendments available to the general public in a usable format. The State Fire Marshal is responsible for establishing the standards and procedures required in this paragraph for governmental entities with respect to applying the Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Life Safety Code.
(b) Local governments may, subject to the limitations of this section, adopt amendments to the technical provisions of the Florida Building Code which apply solely within the jurisdiction of such government and which provide for more stringent requirements than those specified in the Florida Building Code, not more than once every 6 months. A local government may adopt technical amendments that address local needs if:
1. The local governing body determines, following a public hearing which has been advertised in a newspaper of general circulation at least 10 days before the hearing, that there is a need to strengthen the requirements of the Florida Building Code. The determination must be based upon a review of local conditions by the local governing body, which review demonstrates by evidence or data that the geographical jurisdiction governed by the local governing body exhibits a local need to strengthen the Florida Building Code beyond the needs or regional variation addressed by the Florida Building Code, that the local need is addressed by the proposed local amendment, and that the amendment is no more stringent than necessary to address the local need.
2. Such additional requirements are not discriminatory against materials, products, or construction techniques of demonstrated capabilities.
3. Such additional requirements may not introduce a new subject not addressed in the Florida Building Code.
4. The enforcing agency shall make readily available, in a usable format, all amendments adopted pursuant to this section.
5. Any amendment to the Florida Building Code shall be transmitted within 30 days by the adopting local government to the commission. The commission shall maintain copies of all such amendments in a format that is usable and obtainable by the public. Local technical amendments shall not become effective until 30 days after the amendment has been received and published by the commission.
6. Any amendment to the Florida Building Code adopted by a local government pursuant to this paragraph shall be effective only until the adoption by the commission of the new edition of the Florida Building Code every third year. At such time, the commission shall review such amendment for consistency with the criteria in paragraph (9)(a) and adopt such amendment as part of the Florida Building Code or rescind the amendment. The commission shall immediately notify the respective local government of the rescission of any amendment. After receiving such notice, the respective local government may readopt the rescinded amendment pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph.
7. Each county and municipality desiring to make local technical amendments to the Florida Building Code shall by interlocal agreement establish a countywide compliance review board to review any amendment to the Florida Building Code, adopted by a local government within the county pursuant to this paragraph, that is challenged by any substantially affected party for purposes of determining the amendment’s compliance with this paragraph. If challenged, the local technical amendments shall not become effective until time for filing an appeal pursuant to subparagraph 8. has expired or, if there is an appeal, until the commission issues its final order determining the adopted amendment is in compliance with this subsection.
8. If the compliance review board determines such amendment is not in compliance with this paragraph, the compliance review board shall notify such local government of the noncompliance and that the amendment is invalid and unenforceable until the local government corrects the amendment to bring it into compliance. The local government may appeal the decision of the compliance review board to the commission. If the compliance review board determines such amendment to be in compliance with this paragraph, any substantially affected party may appeal such determination to the commission. Any such appeal shall be filed with the commission within 14 days of the board’s written determination. The commission shall promptly refer the appeal to the Division of Administrative Hearings by electronic means through the division’s website for the assignment of an administrative law judge. The administrative law judge shall conduct the required hearing within 30 days, and shall enter a recommended order within 30 days of the conclusion of such hearing. The commission shall enter a final order within 30 days thereafter. The provisions of chapter 120 and the uniform rules of procedure shall apply to such proceedings. The local government adopting the amendment that is subject to challenge has the burden of proving that the amendment complies with this paragraph in proceedings before the compliance review board and the commission, as applicable. Actions of the commission are subject to judicial review pursuant to s. 120.68. The compliance review board shall determine whether its decisions apply to a respective local jurisdiction or apply countywide.
9. An amendment adopted under this paragraph shall include a fiscal impact statement which documents the costs and benefits of the proposed amendment. Criteria for the fiscal impact statement shall include the impact to local government relative to enforcement, the impact to property and building owners, as well as to industry, relative to the cost of compliance. The fiscal impact statement may not be used as a basis for challenging the amendment for compliance.
10. In addition to subparagraphs 7. and 9., the commission may review any amendments adopted pursuant to this subsection and make nonbinding recommendations related to compliance of such amendments with this subsection.
(c) Any amendment adopted by a local enforcing agency pursuant to this subsection shall not apply to state or school district owned buildings, manufactured buildings or factory-built school buildings approved by the commission, or prototype buildings approved pursuant to s. 553.77(3). The respective responsible entities shall consider the physical performance parameters substantiating such amendments when designing, specifying, and constructing such exempt buildings.
(d) A technical amendment to the Florida Building Code related to water conservation practices or design criteria adopted by a local government pursuant to this subsection is not rendered void when the code is updated if the technical amendment is necessary to protect or provide for more efficient use of water resources as provided in s. 373.621. However, any such technical amendment carried forward into the next edition of the code pursuant to this paragraph is subject to review or modification as provided in this part.
Actions Taken:
The building department identified 737 multi-family buildings built prior to 1976. Of those 737 buildings, 189 buildings we could not find that a permit for A/C was ever issued. These 189 were checked on through permit cards, virtual search as well as visited personally. At the conclusion of this exercise, we found there were no occupied properties without an air conditioner and or window unit.
We also found that there are no new structures or building rehabilitations that do not include air conditioning.
Additionally, the Building Official Contacted the Local Board of Rules and Appeals as well as The Florida Building Commission to see if there have been any technical amendments and/or Local technical amendments regarding Air-Conditioning in the State of Florida in any other jurisdictions. The Building Code and Standard Office Technical Director indicated that on existing buildings Florida Building Code is not a retroactive code and only requires work to be performed when there is an upgrade of an area in question. The Technical Director recommended working on this amendment to see if it is well received by the Florida Building Commission.
Ideas for code language
FBC-M 2003
301.2 Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems of all structures shall be designed and installed for efficient utilization of energy in accordance with the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation. All new habitable structures are required to be designed as an Air-Conditioned space.
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| | | | | | | | CONCLUSION:
| Further direction would be required to define when this Air-Conditioning requirement will apply to existing structures and how the energy code will be applied. |
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| | | | | | | | | 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 | |
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