93-20777 Reso
RESOLUTJ:ON NO.
93-20777
A RESOLUTJ:ON OF THE MAYOR AND CJ:TY
COMHJ:SSJ:ON OF THE CJ:TY OF KJ:AKJ: BEACH,
FLORJ:DA, URGJ:NG THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMHJ:SSJ:ONERS OF KETROPOLJ:TAH DADE COUNTY
TO AMEND ORDJ:NAHCE NO. 93-14 waJ:CH
REQUJ:RES THAT KUNJ:CJ:PAL STRUCTURAL PLANS
EXAKJ:NERS BE LJ:CENSED STRUCTURAL ENGJ:NEERS
AND FURTHER REQUJ:RES THAT CERTAJ:N PLANS
KUST BE SEALED BY A PROFESSJ:ONAL ENGJ:NEER,
BY DELAYJ:NG THE EFFECTJ:VE DATE OF THE
ORDJ:NAHCE TO OCTOBER 1, 1993.
WHEREAS,
on March 2 ,
1993 the Board of County
commissioners of Metropolitan Dade county enacted Ordinance No.
93-14 which contained amendments to the South Florida Building
Code which amendments are to become effective on May 2, 1993:
and
WHEREAS, said amendments include provisions which require
that only a licensed structural engineer may serve as a
Municipal Structural Plans Examiner: and
WHEREAS, previously certified general contractors and
architects were permitted to serve as Municipal structural
Plans Examiners : and
WHEREAS, many of the Municipal structural Plans Examiners
currently employed by municipalities in Dade County are
certified general contractors or architects: and
WHEREAS, the city of Miami Beach currently employs five
persons who perform the duties of Municipal Structural Plans
Examiners, one of which is a licensed structural engineer and
four of which are either engineers or experienced certified
general contractors: and
WHEREAS, the May 2, 1993 effective date of Ordinance No.
93-14 does not allow enough time for the city of Miami Beach
and other Dade county municipalities to reorganize their
building departments, employ necessary additional engineers and
budget for these changes: and
WHEREAS, if Ordinance No. 93-14 becomes effective on May
2, 1993, numerous construction projects will be delayed due to
the lack of qualified structural Plans Examiners in municipal
building departments: and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 93-14 also requires that permits
for construction projects over $15,000 be signed and sealed by
a licensed engineer, where currently an architect may sign and
seal such plans: and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that this amendment will add
between $1,500 and $10,000 to the cost of building or
rehabilitating a single family home and will also substantially
increase costs for multi-family residential and cOJllll\ercial
construction throughout Dade County: and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 93-14 will significantly increase
the cost of plans processing for the City of Miami Beach and
for other municipalities in Dade County: and
WHEREAS, a cOJllll\ittee of Dade County cOJllll\issioners is
planning to meet soon to hear and discuss information regarding
the effects of Ordinance No. 93-14: and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and the City cOJllll\ission of the City of
Miami Beach believe that due to the significant impact of
Ordinance No. 93-14 on the ability of municipal building
departments to continue to meet the needs of their
municipalities and due to the need for municipalities and the
private sector to have adequate time to prepare for the
economic effects of th~s Ordinance, it is imperative that the
effective date of the Ordinance be delayed until October 1,
1993: and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT DULY RESOLVED BY THE HAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that The Mayor
and City cOJllll\ission hereby urge the Board of County
cOJllll\issioners of Metropolitan Dade County to amend Ordinance
No. 93-14 which requires that municipal structural Plans
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Examiners must be licensed structural engineers and further
requires that certain plans be sealed by a professional
engineer, by delaying the effective date of the Ordinance to
October 1, 1993.
PASSED and ADOPTED this
, 1993.
ATTEST:
~.L.-vL l.~..
CJ:TY CLERIC
(Requested by commissioner David Pearlson)
SWS:scf:disk4\lic-eng.res
Apri I 14, 1993
Date fi1#'J,.
3
.
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH FLORIDA 33139
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
TELEPHONE: (305) 173-7010
FAX: (305) 173.7712
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM NO..l.9..3..:93
"
TO:
Mayor Seymour Gelber and
Members of the CIty Commission
DATE: April 8, 1993
FROM:
\
Roger M. Caltt
City Manager
SUBJECT:
PROPOSBD UBIIDJID'I'S TO DADB COUIITY ORDIIIAJICB 93-14
RECOMMENDATION:
The administration recommends that the City Commission urge the
County commission to amend Ordinance No. 93-14, Section 201. 2 (5)
labeled as Certification of structural Plans Examiner, by delaying
the effective date of May 2nd, 1993 to October 1st, 1993, and
further review the impact and implications of this section of
ordinance on the operational capabilities of the Municipal Building
Departments.
...
RtCKGROUND:
A$ a result of the devastation of Hurricane Andrew, the Board of
Commissioners of Dade County passed and adopted Ordinance 93-14 on
March 2, 1993.
S,eotion 201.2 (5) of the said ordinance has set forth the new
r,quirement for certification of structural plans examiner.
It requires municipalities to hire a structural Engineer for the
position of structural Plan Reviewer. currently South Florida
Building Code accepts persons holding qualifications as an
Architect, Engineer or a General contractor with five years of
experience within juriSdiction of South Florida Building Code to be
certified as a Plans Examiner.
This ordinance has created a severe financial hardship for.
Municipalities in hiring of a structural plans examiner. Effective
date of this ordinance falls within current Fiscal BUdget Year and
makes it impossible to arrange and adjust the budget for the new
additional personnel requirements. This would also limit the
Building Department in the selection of the qualified personnel
with the current compensation range and creates additional cost to
obtain a permit without improving the quality of the process.
Hiring a structural engineer to check the design will not ensure
the quality of workmanship and materials used as it was witnessed
in south Dade by destruction of several major commercial
developments which by the way were all reviewed by the County's
certified structural plan reviewers.
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AGENDA
ITEM
R~(-R
Y-2\ -q3
DATE
page 2
The new requirements of the certification of structural plans
examiner also poses the question of liability for structural
~dequacy of the design. It burdens the municipalities with
liability of the design adequacy of the construction plans. It
also assumes a higher qualification of the engineer working for the
Municipality over the design engineer.
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