Ordinance 2021-4417 Appendix A Fee Schedule Modification—
Zoning Verification Letters
ORDINANCE NO. 2021-4417
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA,AMENDING THE CODE
OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING
APPENDIX A, "FEE SCHEDULE," TO REVISE AND ESTABLISH
FEES CHARGED FOR ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS, AND
CLARIFY EXISTING PROVISIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR
REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach has the authority to enact laws which promote the
public health, safety and general welfare of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee, at its meeting on February
19, 2021, recommended that the City Commission adopt an updated fee schedule for zoning
verification letters, based on the type of request and level of review required; and
WHEREAS, the amendments set forth below are necessary to accomplish the above
objectives.
i'
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1.
Appendix A, entitled "Fee Schedule," is hereby amended as provided in "Exhibit 1" to this
Ordinance.
SECTION 2. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all section and parts of sections in conflict
herewith be and the same are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. CODIFICATION.
It is the intention of the City Commission, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of
this ordinance shall become and be made part of the Code of the City of Miami Beach as
amended; that the sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such
intention; and that the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section" or other appropriate word.
SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, clause or provision of this Ordinance is held invalid, the
remainder shall not be affected by such invalidity.
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SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect ten days following adoption.
PASSED and ADOPTED this day ofay , 2021.
ATTEST: Dan Gelber, Mayor
Rafa E. Granado, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND
LANGUAGE AND FOR EXECUTION
LJ ,6 Z)
City Attorney Date
First Reading: April 21, 2021 "r'i'Eti'';,
Second Reading: ay 1 2 2151 S
Verified by: IIc R1';O TEDI
Thomas R. Mooney, AICP
Planning Director C .....
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EXHIBIT "1"
Proposed Amendments to Appendix A to the City Code, entitled "Fee Schedule"
APPENDIX A. — FEE SCHEDULE
Pursuant to section 1-15 of this Code, this appendix includes all fees and charges established by
the city commission that are referred to in the indicated sections of the Code of Ordinances.
Certain specified fees and charges, as identified herein, shall be subject to annual adjustment by
the city manager, pursuant to the provisions of section 1-15 and this Appendix"A". A schedule of
all current city fees and charges as set forth in Appendix "A" shall be maintained on the city's
website.
Annual
Adjustment
Amount (References
Section
of this Description (Sales tax or shown are
Code other taxes defined at
may apply) the end of
this
Appendix A)
Subpart B. Land Development Regulations
Chapter 118.Administration and Review Procedures
Failure to appear before a board for Status or Progress Report 2,625.00 [A]
Zoning Verification letter (per address or folio - includes 1 hour of
research). For abutting properties within the same zoning district, one
fee shall apply for single or multiple letters with different addresses 264.00 [A]
and/or folios, provided the same information being requested applies
to all addresses and/or folios.
Zoning Interpretation Letter(includes 4 hours of research) 1,050.00 [A]
Research per hour fee - - •. - . 159.00 [A]
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Ordinances -R5 H
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manager
DATE: May 12, 2021
2:05 p.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
SUBJECT:APPENDIX A FEE SCHEDULE MODIFICATION - ZONING VERIFICATION
LETTERS
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, BY AMENDING APPENDIX A, "FEE
SCHEDULE," TO REVISE AND ESTABLISH FEES CHARGED FOR
ZONING VERIFICATION LETTERS, AND CLARIFY EXISTING
PROVISIONS; AND PROVIDING FOR REPEALER, SEVERABILITY,
CODIFICATION,AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject Ordinance.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
On January 13, 2021, at the request of Commissioner Ricky Arnola, the City Commission
referred a discussion item to the Finance and Economic Resilience Committee (Item C4H)
pertaining to Zoning Verification Letters. On February 19, 2021 the Finance and Economic
Resiliency Committee (FERC) recommended Appendix A of the fee schedule be updated for
zoning verification letters based on the type of request and level of review.
A zoning verification letter is issued by the Planning Department for a specific property or
properties to confirm zoning, potential future development, or to verify that an existing property
or use conforms with the City's current zoning regulations. Currently, the City charges a fee of
$264 per property (folio number). This fee includes one hour of research. For requests
requiring research beyond one hour, an additional fee of$159 per hour is charged. In terms of
best practices, the following is a comparison of the fees charged by similar sized City's for
zoning verification letters:
Municipality Fee Per Property/Folio Research Fee
City of Miami Beach $264 YES $159/hour
Miami-Dade County $236.67 YES NO*
City of Miami $200 YES Not Specified
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City of Coral Gables $305 NO Not Specified
City of North Miami 234 YES Not Specified
City North Miami Beach $100/$250 NO $75/hour**
City of Aventura $100 NO $75/Hour
City of Hollywood $324 Not Specified Not Specified
City of Hallandale Beach $400 Not Specified $100/hour
*Miami-Dade County does not charge a research fee. However, if they determine the request to be
"complex' they charge a minimum fee of$473.34
**The City of North Miami Beach charges$250 if significant research is required.
The City's current fee of$264 per property is comparable to the fees charged by other municipalities.
ANALYSIS
In certain instances, multiple zoning letters are requested within a unified development site for
each folio number. This happens, for example, when a financial institution requires one letter per
folio when they process title policies and loan documents. Although each letter may contain the
same exact request and response, under Appendix A of the fee schedule, a fee per folio
number is still required.
There have been occasions in the past where requests for zoning letters involve unified
development sites that contain multiple folio numbers, and a letter is needed for each folio. If
the folio numbers within a single site have not been consolidated into one folio at the time of the
request, multiple fees are charged, per folio number, even though the information contained in
the letter is identical.
In order to address duplicate fees for each folio, the following amendment to Appendix A (Fee
Schedule),to modify the fee description for Zoning Verification Letters, is proposed:
Zoning Verification Letter (per address or folio — includes 1 hour of research). However.
abutting properties. within the same zoning district. may be charged one fee for multiple
letters. if required.provided the same information being requested applies to all properties.
This modification would allow for the Zoning Verification Letter fee to be charged per unified
development site, rather than per folio, provided the folios have common zoning designations
and the information being requested is identical per folio. Overall, the proposed Ordinance is
expected to have minimal impacts to revenue, if any, since the fees and applicability capture the
review process.
UPDATE
The subject Ordinance was approved at First Reading on April 21, 2021,with no changes.
SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA
Improvements to the Development Process
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the subject Ordinance.
Page 377 of 859
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?
Yes No
Legislative Tracking
Planning
Sponsor
Commissioner Ricky Arcola
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
❑ Ordinance
❑ Appendix A
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