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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Commission Meeting Permit Process PresentationSPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING City of Miami Beach Permit Process Thursday, February 19, 2026 Permitting Process Building Environment & Sustainability Fire Planning Parking Public Works 2 BUILDING PERMITS •Total permits issued in FY2025 – 12,192 •Submittals (1st Time Requests & Resubmissions) o 2,369 per month (113 per day average) •Building Inspections: o 5,653 per month (273 per day average) •Building Dept. Call Center: o 4,233 calls per month (212 per day average) This includes all Calls that come into the Call Center VOLUME DATA PLANNING – Week of 2/2/2026 •Permit Plans in Review Queue: 346 •PZ Permits in Review Queue: 8 •CU Applications in Review Queue: 88 •Total CU Applications in process as of 2 -6 -2026: 246 This includes CU applications the review queue as well as those pending a response by applicants regarding outstanding comments. •Total number of CU applications approved from 10-1 -2025 to 2-6 -2026: 108 •Total number of CU applications processed since 10-1 -2025: 404 This includes all statuses: Initial, Under Review, Approved, Complete, Abandoned, Denied, On Hold, Voided and Withdrawn; Planning still process CU applications regardless of the outcome of the application. 3 •New Leadership within the Building Dept. •Addressed staffing deficiencies •Conducted Cross Dept. Staff Training to all Team Members from the answering of phones, process submittals, and issuing of permits across all sections: +/- 200 Employees •Reconfiguration – overhaul of all previous +/- 250 permit types and reduced to +/- 150 •Created Over-the-Counter (OTC) Permits - (0 Day Turn Around) •Adopted Ad Hoc Process Improvement Committee Recommendations •Created an Early Construction Start Process •Developed updated FAQ’s – 6 permitting areas COMPLETED PRIOR MILESTONES •Direct Communication and Text Notifications with Inspectors •Customer Communication Flyers (Permitting, Recertifications, Violations, CU / BTR) •Executed Decision Engine (City Services Concierge) •Launched Phase 2 (Residential) and Phase 3 (Business / Commercial) Walkthroughs •Outside Agencies – DERM Kiosk in Lobby •Reduction of Fees for Condominiums •Business Concierge and Small Business Assistance Events (hosted by Economic Development) •Reconfiguration of the CU and BTR Process 4 Brochure Examples COMPLETED PRIOR MILESTONES PERMITS VIOLATIONS RECERTIFICATIONS BUSINESS TIPS 5 •Permit Process Improvement Advisory Committee (PPIA) – Sponsored by Commissioner David Suarez and Co-Sponsored by Commissioner Magazine & Commissioner Bhatt •From the Get-Go – Sponsored by Mayor Steven Meiner •Private Provider Program & Implementation of the Phase I Walkthrough Pilot – Sponsored by Commissioner Laura Dominguez •Comprehensive Review of the City’s Regulator Framework as it affects Small Business including those governing Permitting, BTR’s, etc. – Sponsored by Commissioner Joseph Magazine & Commissioner David Suarez •Strengthening Small Business & Permitting Guidance – Sponsored by Commissioner Tanya Bhatt •Early CU and BTR Information Legislation (Several) – Sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez, Commissioner Laura Dominguez, Commissioner Joseph Magazine, Commissioner David Suarez and Commissioner Tanya Bhatt •Discuss / Take Action – Update and Discussion on Streamlining the city’s Building Permitting System – Sponsored by Mayor Steven Meiner and Co-Sponsored by Commissioner Laura Dominguez APPROVED LEGISLATION 2025 6 •Explore the Implementation of an AI-powered Building Permit Pre-check tool and Bring Back Findings – Sponsored by Commissioner Laura Dominguez and Commissioner Alex Fernandez •Discuss Opportunities for the Administration to incorporate the use of AI for City Services – Sponsored by Mayor Meiner •Issuance of RFQ for AI Technology to Expedite Permitting Review – Sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez •Adopt a Streamlined efficient, and transparent permitting system specifically for Pool Deck construction projects – Sponsored by Commissioner Joseph Magazine •Expand the Permit Walk-through program to include Small Commercial Projects and Implement an Awareness Campaign – Sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez and Co-Sponsored by Mayor Meiner, Commissioner Suarez, Commissioner Dominguez, Commissioner Bhatt and Commissioner Matteo-Salinas •Temporary Conditional Use Regulations in Commercial Districts for Temporary Deregulation for bars, restaurants, and venues to have indoor music – Sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez APPROVED LEGISLATION 2025 con’t. 7 •Adopt a Five-step Small Business Fast-track model based on the City of Aventura’s Permitting Process – Sponsored by Commissioner Dominguez, Commissioner Alex Fernandez and Commissioner Monica Matteo-Salinas •Discuss Recommendations of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee Regarding Ways to Expedite the CU-BTR Process – Sponsored by Commissioner Laura Dominguez, Commissioner Joseph Magazine, and Commissioner Suarez •Referral to the Land Use and Sustainability Committee and Planning Board – An amendment to the Land Development Regulations of the City Code (LDR’s) to modify the application and review procedures for all Land Use Boards and to expand the types of development projects and improvements located outside of Historic Districts and sites that can be approved at Staff level – Sponsored by Commissioner Joseph Magazine •Referral to the Planning Board to consider Amendments to the city of Miami Beach Land Development Regulations (LDR’s) to extend the suspension of exterior paint color approval requirements – Sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez •Potential Future Initiatives to further streamline the process such as minimum notice requirements for LDR’s, Transportation Mitigation plan for DRB, Planning Board and HPB applications, mechanical parking review requirements, NIE thresholds, mobility fee requirements for changes in use, Commercial Use overlays and Administrative Variances – Sponsored by Commissioner Alex Fernandez PROPOSED LEGISLATION 2026 8 PERMITTING INTAKE (BPI) PROCESS Turnaround time in days: Slight spike in July may be attributed to the launch of Phase II of the Walkthrough in July which created a reduction in available clerks to process BPIs. 1.3 Days Average 9 HISTORICAL REVIEW CYCLES TO REACH APPROVAL 2018 to 2025 •1 Review Cycle (%) •2 Review Cycles (%) •3 Review Cycles (%) •4+ Review Cycles (%) 10 1 Review Cycle 38% 2 Review Cycles 30% 3 Review Cycles 16% 4+ Review Cycles 16% REVIEW CYCLES FY2025 68% of Permits Reviewed in 2 cycles or less 11 AVERAGE TURNAROUND TIME BY DEPARMENT Newly implemented reconfiguration review time is set to: 10 days for all permit types 2 40 6 Simultaneous Reviews - 2025 12 AVERAGE BUSINESS DAYS WITH CUSTOMER VS. WITH CITY FY2025 Average business days with Customers: 10 days Average business days with City: 5 days Month Average Days with Customer Average Days with City Permits Issued October 9 5 1,057 November 10 6 976 December 9 6 895 January 11 6 929 February 10 5 835 March 11 5 1,134 April 11 5 1,144 May 9 5 1,052 June 11 5 1,006 July 9 5 1,041 August 10 5 1,006 September 11 4 1,117 TOTAL 10 5 12,192 FY 2025 67% w/Customer 33% w/City 13 TIME WITH CUSTOMER VS. TIME WITH CITY FY2025 All building permits, inclusive of all departmental reviews: •Incomplete and Incorrect Submittals: Major Issue •66 New Construction Residential permits issued: o Average time with city = 11 days, with customer = 27 days •472 Building Commercial Alteration permits issued: o Average time with city = 8 days, with customer = 17 days •3,336 Over -the-counter permits issued: o Time to issue = 0 days •408 Walkthrough permits issued to Date: o Walkthrough Phase 2 commenced July 1, 2025. 14 CITY SERVICES CONCIERGE aka DECISION ENGINE A tool to guide customers to the right outcome: 15 CITY BUSINESS CONCIERGE Personalized Single Point of Contact for Businesses Navigating City Government •Key Benefits Include: o Dedicated support for business inquiries o Guidance on permits, licensing, and zoning o Connections to local resources and networking opportunities o Assistance with navigating city regulations •Miami Beach Business-Ready Days: o Allows for businesses to get personalized, on the spot assistance from City of Miami Beach and Miami Dade County staff. o Apply for or renew BTRs. o Register as a vendor. o Explore grants, small business loans and incentive programs. “Miami Beach Means Business” Campaign FY 2025 Activity: 40 Business Concierge Projects supported through events and one-on-one assistance FY 2026 Activity (To Date): •39 Total Cases o 17 October Business Concierge Event o 14 Currently Active o 8 Completed Program Overview The Business Concierge program by the City of Miami Beach Economic Development department provides personalized assistance to businesses, helping them navigate city services and resources. 16 CERTIFICATES OF USE (CU’S) AND BUSINESS TAX RECEIPTS (BTR’S) •To improve the efficiency of the overall process and ensure completeness, the current CU and BTR processes has been updated so that all reviews, inspections, approvals, and fee payments occur concurrently. This will allow the CU to be issued, immediately followed by the issuance of the BTR. •The reconfiguration of the CU and BTR process has been implemented. •Currently there are 7,000 active BTR’s in the city. 17 •Additional Work Class Analysis to further quicken Staff review times o Entails Review of Specific Work Classes to Revisit the necessity of review cycles. o Includes Optional Bypass of Planning Review for Certain permit types •Division of Land and Lot Split Approval o Administrative Approval vs. Planning Board Approval •Amendments to the Land Development Regulations of the City Code (LDRs) to reduce the amount of information, documentation, and expenses. •Consider Incentivizing 1 -2 Review Cycles o Will Entail Customer Submittals of Correct and Complete Packages. •Permitting Assistance & Business Concierge on 1 st Floor of City Hall o Assistance for Business, Residential, and Condominium Permitting STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS Additional Initiatives 18 •Artificial Intelligence Software (AI) RFQ o RFQ Closes March 6 o Optional self-service digital platform that helps applicants verify permit completeness before formal submission to the city. o Focus on commercial interior renovation permits, which are intended to reduce avoidable resubmittals caused by incorrect and incomplete documentation. o Applicants are expected to receive clear, actionable feedback prior to submitting their permit sets to the city. •24-Hour Permits o Limited Work Classes o Submitted / Uploaded Digitally o Reviewed in 24 Hours o “Digital Walk Through.” •Design Professionals Day o One -on-one meetings for Design Professionals and Owners Additional Initiatives, Con’t . STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS 19 THANK YOU!