Ordinance 2020-4361 ORDINANCE NO. 2020-4361
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF THE
CODE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH ENTITLED "BUILDING
REGULATIONS," BY AMENDING ARTICLE II THEREOF, ENTITLED
"CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS," BY AMENDING DIVISION 2,
ENTITLED "PERMIT FEES," BY AMENDING SECTION 14-69
THEREOF, ENTITLED "EMPLOYEE TRAINING, EDUCATION,
SAFETY AND TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS,"TO PROVIDE THAT
THE TRAINING AND TECHNOLOGY SURCHARGE SHALL NOT
APPLY TO RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS FOR AFFORDABLE
HOUSING UNITS OR WORKFORCE HOUSING UNITS THAT SATISFY
ALL APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 58 OF THE CITY
CODE RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS OR
WORKFORCE HOUSING UNITS, RESPECTIVELY; PROVIDING FOR
REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission desire to provide incentives for the
development of affordable housing and workforce housing options in the City, to meet the need
for affordable housing for families whose incomes are up to 140 percent of the County's area
median income (generally, as of 2020, $54,800 to $128,000, respectively, for a family of four);
and
WHEREAS, on February 28, 2020, the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee
("FERC") conducted a review of the fees applicable to residential developments under the City
Code, including permit fees and mobility fees; and
WHEREAS, as City's permit fees are tied to the City's costs for reviews and inspections
of plans and projects, and as the City previously reduced the mobility fees applicable to affordable
housing and workforce housing projects, the Administration generally recommended maintaining
the City's existing fee structure, with the exception that the Administration recommended that the
City reduce or cap the "Training and Technology' surcharge authorized pursuant to Section 14-
69 of the City Code, which fee currently consists of 6% of the permit fee for a building, electrical,
mechanical, plumbing and demolition permit; and
WHEREAS, at its February 28, 2020 meeting, the FERC agreed with the Administration's
recommendation to maintain City's existing fee structure, and favorably recommended the waiver
of the Training and Technology surcharge for affordable and workforce housing projects, provided
that the exemption for such projects would automatically sunset on December 31, 2025, to permit
the City Commission to re-evaluate the exemption, and any impact to City's revenues, at that
time.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1. That section 14-69, Division 2, Article II, of Chapter 14, of the Code of the City of
Miami Beach is/are hereby amended as follows:
CHAPTER 14
BUILDING REGULATIONS
ARTICLE II. CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS
* * *
Sec. 14-69 - Employee Training, Education, Safety and Technology Enhancements
A surcharge to building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and demolition permits will be added
for training, education and safety of the building department employees, and to procure and
implement the latest technologies available for enhancement of services provided by the
department, according to the schedule specified in appendix A.
The training and technology surcharge required by Section 14-69(a) of the City Code shall
not apply to residential developments for(i)low income or moderate income households(also
known as affordable housing units), satisfying all requirements and mandatory criteria for
such units, as set forth in Article V of Chapter 58 of the City Code, or (ii) workforce housing
units satisfying all requirements for such units, as set forth in Article VI of Chapter 58 of the
City Code.
In the event that a low income or moderate income housing unit is subsequently converted
to a market rate unit in violation of the restrictive covenant required by Section 58-403(4) of
the City Code, the owner shall pay the surcharge that would have been due pursuant to
Section 14-69(a) on the date of issuance of the permit, plus interest at the highest legal limit
authorized by law(with such interest accruing from the date of issuance of the permit until full
payment of all amounts due under this Section 14-69), plus collection costs and attorneys'
fees.
In the event that a workforce housing unit is subsequently converted to a market rate unit in
violation of the restrictive covenant required by Section 58-503 of the City Code, the owner
shall pay the surcharge that would have been due pursuant to Section 14-69(a) on the date
of issuance of the permit, plus interest at the highest legal limit authorized by law (with such
interest accruing from the date of issuance of the permit until full payment of all amounts due
under this Section 14-69), plus collection costs and attorneys' fees. The foregoing is in
addition to any enforcement remedy that may be available to the city pursuant to Section 58-
506 of the City Code.
ej The provisions of subsections(b)through(d)shall automatically sunset and shall be repealed
on December 31, 2025.
SECTION 2. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith be and the same are
hereby repealed.
2
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, clause or provision of this Ordinance is held invalid, the
remainder shall not be affected by such invalidity. portions of this ordinance.
SECTION 4. CODIFICATION.
It is the intention of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach,
and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this ordinance shall become and be made
a part of the Miami Beach City Code. The sections of this ordinance may be renumbered
or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to
"section," "article," or other appropriate word.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect on the '21( day of OcJ°kr , 2020.
OR
This Ordinance shall take effect 10 days after enactment.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this /4( day of d h14)beY' , 2020.
ATTEST:
Dan Gelber, Mayor
12fau)Rafael E. GranadoClerk
,,,111
Underline denotes additions P•MS• f`4�,,,,,
denotes deletions •= "�� = '';
IPICOP,PAyOPATED;
(Co-sponsored by Commissioners .,6
David Richardson and Mark Samuelian) APPROVED AS TOFORM&LANGUAGE
&FOR EXECUTION
r
l
City Attomey n e Date
3
Ordinances -R5 C
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: October 14,2020
9:20 a.m.Second Reading Public Hearing
SUBJECT:AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA,AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH ENTITLED "BUILDING REGULATIONS," BY
AMENDING ARTICLE II THEREOF, ENTITLED "CONSTRUCTION
STANDARDS," BY AMENDING DIVISION 2, ENTITLED "PERMIT FEES,"
BY AMENDING SECTION 14-69 THEREOF, ENTITLED "EMPLOYEE
TRAINING, EDUCATION, SAFETYAND TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS,"
TO PROVIDE THAT THE TRAINING AND TECHNOLOGY SURCHARGE
SHALL NOT APPLY TO RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS FOR
AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS OR WORKFORCE HOUSING UNITS
THAT SATISFY ALL APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 58 OF
THE CITY CODE RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS OR
WORKFORCE HOUSING UNITS, RESPECTIVELY; PROVIDING FOR
REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Ordinance on Second Reading.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
On May 8, 2019, the Mayor and City Commission referred an item to the Finance and Citywide
Projects Committee (Committee)to discuss ways the City could assist the Housing Authority of
the City of Miami Beach (HACMB) to create affordable and workforce housing at several
properties in North Beach owned by HACMB. Specifically, the HACMB was awarded funding
from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) to develop 22 units of affordable
workforce housing at 1144 Marseille Drive and 20 units at 1158 Marseille Drive. The housing
projects will serve households earning up to 80%area median income (AMI).
The chart below indicates the Area Median Income for our area:
2020 Area Median Income (AMI)-$59,100
AMI Household of 1 Household of 2 Household of 3 Household of 4
30% $19,200 $21,950 $24,700 $27,400
50% $32,000 $36,600 $41,150 $45,700
Page 525 of 1576
60% $38,400 $43,900 $49,400 $54,800
80% $51,200 $58,600 $65,800 $73,100
90% $57,600 $65,900 $74,100 $82,300
100% $64,000 $73,200 $82,300 $91,400
110% $70,400 $80,500 $90,500 $100,500
120% $76,800 $87,750 $98,700 $109,700
130% $83,200 $95,200 $107,000 $118,800
140% $89,600 $102,500 $115,200 $128,000
As set forth more fully below, although the genesis of the referral was specific to HACMB, the
intent of the referral, and the Committee's subsequent analysis, was to consider ways to
incentivize the entire category of projects that qualify as affordable or workforce housing
projects (i.e., projects serving families whose incomes are up to 140% of the County's AMI),
consistent with the City's planning goals and applicable law.
On February 28, 2020 the Committee discussed the possibility of waiving or reducing city fees
for affordable housing or workforce housing projects, to reduce the overall cost of developing
workforce or affordable housing in the city. As any applicable Miami-Dade County or State of
Florida permit or impact fees cannot be waived or reduced by the City, the Committee's review
was necessarily limited to City permit fees.
On September 16, 2020 the Mayor an City Commission unanimously approved the Ordinance
on First Reading.
ANALYSIS
Increasing affordable housing options in the City is a key element of the 2019 Strategic Plan:
Through the Lens of Resilience and its importance is echoed in the Greater Miami and the
Beaches Resilient 305 strategy as Objective 5,Action 18.
In furtherance of the City's strategic planning goals, with respect to the City's mobility fees, in
2019, the City Commission created an incentive area that reduces the mobility fees for all
affordable/workforce projects north of 63rd Street by 62.5% through 2022 and on a sliding
scale through 2025. Additionally, the standard mobility fees for workforce and affordable
housing are 50% and 25%, respectively, of the total fee required for market rate units. With the
reductions currently provided, a 112-unit affordable housing development in North Beach would
pay$15,918 in mobility fees if fees were paid prior to August 31, 2022. The project would also
pay approximately $54,460 in parks concurrency mitigation fees. Accordingly, based on the
comprehensive incentives recently approved by the City Commission in 2019 as outlined
above, the Committee did not recommend any further reductions to the mobility fees imposed
by the City for affordable/workforce housing projects.
With respect to building permit fees, construction permit plans are reviewed an average of four
times before the plans are consistent with all applicable codes and in a form that can be
approved by regulatory departments and agencies. Additionally, each discipline conducts
several inspections throughout the building process to ensure consistency between approved
plans and actual construction. Due to the extensive city resources required to review
construction plans, the Committee did not recommend reducing Planning, Fire, Public Works
and Building Department permit fees, with the exception of the Technology & Training
Surcharge discussed below.
The Building, Planning, Fire and Public Works Departments are supportive of waiving the
training and technology fee for affordable and workforce housing developments. This fee is
Page 526 of 1576
currently 6%of the Building permit fee and is assessed by the Planning, Public Works, Fire and
Building Departments.This fee is applied to all projects throughout the City.
The proposed Ordinance, if passed, would exempt residential developments that meet the
criteria set forth in Chapter 58 of the City Code for affordable and workforce housing projects
from payment of the surcharge. As recommended by the Committee, the exemption would
sunset on December 31, 2025 (consistent with the City Commission's approach in 2019 to
reduce mobility fees through 2025), to provide the City Commission the opportunity to evaluate
whether to continue the exemption at a later date.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
The Administration anticipates that the ordinance exemption for affordablelworkforce,housing
projects would result in an estimated fiscal impact on the City's revenues of approximately
$18,000 annually. As the exemption would only apply to affordable/workforce housing, a very
narrow subset of all development projects in the City,the City's Chief Financial Officer advised
the Committee that the reduction in revenues could be absorbed without significantly affecting
planned technology improvements in the next few years.
CONCLUSION
The proposed ordinance waives the Training and Technology surcharge for affordable and
workforce housing projects, and would automatically sunset on December 31, 2025, to permit
the City Commission to re-evaluate the exemption, and any impact to City's revenues, at that
time.
Applicable Area
Citywide
Is this a"Residents Right Does this item utilize G.O.
to Know" item. pursuant to Bond Funds?
City Code Section 2-14?
No No
Strategic Connection
Mobility- Increase housing options for current and future residents.
Legislative Tracking
Housing and Community Services
Sponsor
Vice-Mayor Mark Samuelian &Co-sponsored by Commissioners Richardson&Gongora
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
Ordinance
Page 527 of 1576