Ordinance 2025-4759 Variance Fee Waivers for Building Recertification
� ORDINANCE NO. 2025-4759
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, SUBPART B, ENTITLED, "LAND
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS," BYAMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE
MIAMI BEACH RESILIENCY CODE, ENTITLED "ADMINISTRATION
AND REVIEW PROCEDURES," ARTICLE II, ENTITLED "GENERAL
DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION AND HEARING PROCEDURES," BY
AMENDING SECTION 2.2.3, ENTITLED "DEVELOPMENT
APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND REVIEW," BY MODIFYING THE
APPLICABLE PROVISIONS FOR LAND USE BOARD APPLICATION
FEES AND ESTABLISHING A PROCESS AND CRITERIA FOR THE
CITY COMMISSION TO CONSIDER A WAIVER OF REQUIRED FEES
FOR VARIANCE APPLICATIONS RELATED TO COMPLIANCE WITH
APPLICABLE BUILDING RECERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS; AND
PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; REPEALER; SEVERABILITY; AND
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach (the "City") has the authority to enact laws which
promote the public health, safety and general welfare of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, under the requirements of the Florida Building Code, as part of a building
recertification, repairs or other improvements, may be required for buildings in the City of Miami
Beach; and .
WHEREAS, in some instances, a variance application may be submitted to reconcile the
requirements of the City Code with the minimum requirements of the Building Code, relating to
required repairs or other improvements needed to correct a deficiency identified in a milestone
inspection report for building recertification; and
WHEREAS, in some instances, the fees associated with a variance application to•a City
land use board may pose a financial hardship for residential buildings, and such residential
building owners or associations may need relief from the fees associated with a variance
application, in order to comply with mandatory requirements of the Florida Building Code; and
WHEREAS,the amendments set forth below are necessary to accomplish all of the above
objectives.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION '1. Chapter 2, "Administration and Review Procedures",Article II "General Development
Application and Hearing Procedures", is hereby amended as follows:
CHAPTER 2. ADMINISTRATIOM AND REVIEW PROCEDURES
* * *
Page 1 of 3
ARTICLE 11. General Development Application and Hearing Procedures
* * *
2.2.3 DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION SUBMISSION AND REVIEW
* � *
2.2.3.5 Fees for the administration of land development regulations
* * *
g. Variances. Any applicant requesting a public hearing on any application pursuant to
section.2.8.4 shall pay, upon submission, the applicable fees below:
1. Application for public hearing.
2. Fee per variance requested.
3. Application for amendment of an approved board order.
4. Withdrawals and continuances. If an applicant withdraws or requests a continuance of an
application prior to the date of the public hearing a fee to defray the costs of scheduling
the, new public hearing shall be assessed. Payment of a mail notice fee to notify the
property owners of the cancellation of the original public hearing and establishment of the
revised hearing date may be required.
5. Deferral of public hearing. If the applicant requests a deferral of a public hearing, a fee
equal to the total application fee shall be assessed. Payment of a mail notice fee to notify
the property owners of the deferral of the original public hearing and establishment of the
revised hearing date shall be required. If deferment or clarification of conditions is
requested by the administration or the board, there will be no additional fee.
6. Application for clarification of an approved board order.
7. Application for extensions of time of an approved board order.
8. Application for after-the-fact approval shall incur triple fees, excluding advertisement, mail,
and posting fees as applicable.
9. Status report.
10. Progress report.
11. Applicant/homeowners requesting a variance shall pay one-half of the total fee with proof
of homestead or primary occupancy of the subject property from the Miami-Dade County
Property Appraiser's Office. Applicant/owner shall pay 100 percent of the required notice
fee.
Page 2 of 3
12. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the application fee for a public hearing and fee per variance
requested shall be waived for non-elderly and elderly low and moderate income or
workforce housing developments.
13. Notwithstandina the'foreqoinq, the Citv Commission mav, bv Resolution, waive some or
all of the fees set forth in this section, for variance applications related to compliance with
applicable buildinq recertification reauirements. Anv such waiver shall onlv be qranted for
a propertv with a multifamilv residential buildinq and shall be based uqon a documented
financial hardship. To be eliqible to request a waiver under this paraqraph, an owner or
association shall be required to submit written documentation evidencinq its financial
hardshiq. Additionallv, the applicable land use board shall use its best efforts to prioritize
the timelv review of a variance application related to compliance with applicable buildinq
recertification requirements.
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.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. ,
This Ordinance shall take effect ten (10) days following adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this a3 day of �yf�/� D�S
. �
ATTEST: •
JUL 2 5 20�5
Steven Meiner, Mayor
Rafael . Granado, City Clerk
� ,,,,�
, =�}.BEq'���,,, APPROVED AS TO
First Reading: May 21, 2025 ;��'� ,,�'y�''-,,, FORM AND LANGUAGE
Second Reading: July 23, 2025 ���'`� ;& FO TION
';, :INCOR�ORATED' ;
Verified by: ��''--,�-y�•• ��;���' �16)�D'1��
Th mas . Mo ey, AICP ''��,�,H,26.--��� City Atto y �� Date
Planning Director
T:1Agenda�2025\05 May 21,2025\Planning\Variance Fee Waivers for Building Recertifications-First Reading ORD.docx
Sponsored by Commissioner Alex J. Femandez
Page 3 of 3
Ordinances - R5 L
�� � ��� � ���� �
COMMISSION MEMORANDIlM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Eric Carpenter, City Manager
DATE: July 23, 2025 10:25 a.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
TITLE: VARIANCE FEE WAIVERS F�R BU�LDING RECERTIFICATION
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORlDA, AMENDING THE CODE OF THE C1TY OF MIAMI
BEACH, SUBPART B, ENTITLED, "LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS," BY
AMENDING CHAPTER 2 ENTITLED "ADMINISTRATION AND REVIEW
PROCEDURES,"ARTICLE ENTITLED"GENERAL DEVELOPMENT APPLICATiON
AND HEARING PROCEDURES," BY AiVIENDING SECTION 2.2.3, ENTITLED
"DEVELOPMENT APPLICATfON SUBMISSION AND REVIEW," BY MODIFYING
THE APPLICABLE PROVISIONS FOR LAND USE BOARD APPLICATION FEES
AND ESTABLISHING A PROCESS AND CRITERIA FOR THE CITY COMM(SSION
TO CONSIDER A WAIVER OF REQU(RED FEES FOR VARIANCE APPLICATIONS
RELATED TO COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE BUILDING REeERTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; REPEALER;
SEVERABILITY; AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
RECOMMENDATI�N
The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission (City Commission) adopt
the ordinance.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
On November 20, 2024, at the request of Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the City Commission
referred a discussion pertaining to fee waivers for variance applications related to building
recertification requirements (C4 R) to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee (LUSC). On
January 16, 2025, the LUSC recommended that the City Commission refer an amendment to the
Land Development Regulations af the City Code (LDRs) to the Planning Board, in accordance
with the recommendations in the LUSC memorandum and the following:
1. A provision to establish financial or other hardship shall be included in the draft ordinance.
2. A provision shall be included in the ordinance to prioritize variance requests at applicable land
use boards that are related to building recertification requirements.
On February 26, 2025, at the request of Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the City Commission
. referred the subject ordinance to the Planning Board (C4 D).
ANALYSIS
Pursuant to the recommendation of the LUSC, the attached draft ordinance proposes that the
City Commission have the ability to waive land use board application fees for variance requests
by Resolution. This waiver would apply when a variance is requested to make repairs or
improvements that address defciencies identified in a milestone inspection report (building
recertification) for a residential building. The ordinance also includes recommendations from the
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LUSC regarding financial hardship and the prioritization of variance applications related to
building recertification. �
PLANNING BOARD REVIEW � �
On April 8, 2025, the Planning Board held a public hearing and transmitted the proposed
ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation (7-0).
UPDATE � � `
- The subject ordinance was approved at First Reading on May 21, 2025, with no changes.
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The number of variance requests that would be eligible for the proposed fee waiver are expected
to be nominal. Additionally, all fee waivers would be subject to City Commission approval. As
such, no fiscal impact is expected.
Does this Ordinance repuire a Business Impact Estimate? Yes
(FOR ORDINANCES �NLY)
If applicable, the Business Impact Estimate (BIE) was pubfished on: 6/2Q/2025
See BIE at: https://www.miamibeachfl.qov/citv-hall/citv-clerk/meetinq-notices/
FINANClAL lNFORMATION
� Not Applicable �
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends that the City Commission adopt the ordinance.
Appticable Area '
� Citywide
� Is this a "Residents Riaht to Know" item. Is this item related to a G.O. Bond
pursuant to Citv Code Section 2-17? Proiect?
Yes � , , No
Was this Aqenda Item initiallv requested'by a lobbvist which, as defined in Code Sec. 2-481,.
includes a principal enqaqed in Icbbvinq? No
If so, specify the name of lobbyist(s) and principal(s):
Department
PI2�nning �
• Sponsor(51
Commissioner Alex Femandez
Co-sponsor(s)
. 1019 of 1791 �
Condensed Titte
1�:25 a.m. 2nd Rdg, Variance Fee Waivers for Building Recertification. (Fernandez) PL 5/7
Previous Action (For Citv Cierk Use Oniv)
First Reading Pubiic Hearing on 5/21/2025 - R5 N
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1020 of 1791