LTC 024-2008 Update on Bldg Dept Program to Notify Property Owners of Expired PermitsRFCFI`~/E~
m MIAMIBEACH 2O~8JAR23 ANiltSb
CITY CLERh'S OFFICE
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
No. LTC # ozu-zoos LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Matti H. Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager 4
DATE: January 22, 2008 l//I].
SUBJECT: Update on Building Department Program to Notify Property Owners of Expired
Permits
In 2006, the City Commission, at the recommendation of Commissioner Jerry Libbin,
adopted a policy of notification to property owners in the City who have expired Building
Permits. This policy has been in place for approximately two (2) years and it is appropriate to
provide an update on how this policy is progressing.
The issue arose due to a policy put into place by the Building Department that required
contractors to close out expired permits before they would be allowed to pull new permits. A
similar policy also applied to property owners who were being required to address expired
permits on their property when initiating the process for new construction and/or renovations.
In both instances, and in a significant number of instances, the property owner involved was
not the property owner who incurred the expired permits.
The City received a number of complaints from affected residents, many of whom were not
aware that their respective property had expired building permits. In some instances, these
owners became aware of this situation by being contacted by the contractor who had
performed work for a previous owner who now had to arrange for inspection of the work with
the new property owner. In other instances, the owner became aware of the expired permits
when they went to apply for permits for new work. In some situations, permits had expired for
work which the present owner had contracted for and had thought the contractor had closed
out, only to be advised differently when they came for permits for new work.
Based on these situations, and other similar experiences, the City Commission expressed a
desire for the Building Department to provide written notification of expired permits under
several circumstances. These are as follows:
1. A written notice is sent 30 days prior to the expiration of a building permit to both
the contractor and the property owner.
2. A written notice is sent upon expiration of a building permit to both the contractor
and the property owner.
3. A written notice is sent to all owners with expired building permit(s) annually.
This policy commenced in 2006 for all three instances noted above. For operational reasons,
with respect to the annual notices only, staff divided the City in three sections, (North,
Middle, and South).
Letter to Commission -Expired Building Permit Letters
January 22, 2008
Page 2
In 2006, the annual letters were drafted, and the mail-out process was initiated. During this
process, the Building Department identified that upon completion the mailing would
encompass approximately 50,000 expired permits (EP) notifications. As one of his first
projects as newly-appointed Building Official, Tom Velazquez initiated a review of the EP
types, and this review identified that a great number of the EP were very minor permits such
as floor tiles, painting, sinks and toilets replacements, shower enclosures, etc. In addition,
the review concluded that many EP were at least ten years old, and in many cases, the
property had changed owners.
In order to more effectively reach owners and resolve as many EP as possible, a decision
was made at that point to suspend the annual notification process in order to explore
solutions that would reduce number of required notifications, and in turn, reduce the
inconvenience to Building Department customers.
On a case by case basis, amnesty was extended under the Building Official's discretion for
those permits that did not present any life safety wncems, were very minor in nature and/or
were too old to properly notify the responsible party. To further facilitate the process, the
administrative policy restricting the issuance of new building permits was relaxed in orderto
address the Commission's concerns.
In addition, the Building Department continued to send courtesy notices to both the
contractor and the property owner 30-days prior to permit expiration as well as a written
notification upon expiration (copies attached).
Furthermore, Building Department staff has been working with the IT Department to review
and rectify issues with the existing database. Staff anticipates completing this process over
the next three (3) to four (4) months, and at that point, the Building Department will once
again begin the mailing of annual courtesy notices for expired permits. At present, the
number of expired permits has been reduced to 26,400 from the initial list of 50,000.
Please feel free to wntact me if ydu have specific questions or concerns regarding this
process.
Attachments
C: Executive Staff
Tom Velazquez, Building Director
JMGlF6ACg
F9cmgr\yALL\LTGOBLLTC - Expired Building Permit Letters.tloc
City of Miami Beach
BUILDING DEPARTMENT
7700 Convention Center Drive, 2ntl Floor
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Expiration Date:
Description: unit# 2008 installation accordions 3 openings
GENERAL IMPACT GLASS & WINDOWS CORP
1877 W 33 PLACE
HIALEAH
FL
33012
Fax: (305)673-7857
Phone: (305)673-7610
10/15/2007 Permit#: B0703611
Site Address: ii ISLAND AV
To Whom It May Concern
Our records indicate that your permit has expired without first obtaining an approved, mandatory inspection as
required in the South Floritla Building Cotle, Chapter 3, Section 305.2 or Florida Building Code, Chapter 1,
Section 105 which states the following:
"The Building Official, upon notification from the permit holder or his agent, shall make the
following inspections and shall either approve that portion of the work completed or shall notify the
permit holder or his agent wherein the same fails to compy by providing a written notice of the
violation of this Code antllor corrections ordered. Such written notice shall be served on job site or
sent by certified mail or delivered to the permit holder or hialherjob representative. Refusal, failure,
or neglect to answer such written notice within 15 working days of delivery of this notice as
required in this section, shall be considered a violation of this section of the Code. The Building
Official, at hislher discretion andlorjudgement, upon failure of the permit holder to comply with this
section or failure of the permit holder to respond to the written notice of violation, may withhold
issuance of any other permit to such permit holder. Before withholding permit privileges, the
Building Official shall notify the permit holder of the intent of wlthholtling issuance of permits by
certified mail."
Refer to the South Florida Building Code/Florida Building Code for a detailed list of inspections required antl you
should further contact the City of Miami Beach Building Department as there may be additional inspections
required to be pertormed.
Once your permit has expired, you are required to present plans and specifications (complying with the current
cotles), obtain new permits (to include all trade permits that were attached to the master permit) and obtain all
mandatory inspections as required in the South Florida Building Cotle/Florida Building Code.
The permit holtler will not be allowed to obtain other permits whether on the above referenced site or any other
site within the limits of the City of Miami Beach until the situation is resolved.
THIS I5 NOT A VIOLATION but a courtesy notice [o impress upon you [he importance of taking action.
If you fail to respond to this letter within 15 DAYS from receipt of this letter, the City of Miami Beach Building
Department will issue a Notice of Violation and follow-up accortlingly with the appropriate enforcement agency for
non-compliance. For additional information or assistance, please call the pppROPRIAT ION at
305-673-7810: for Building (B) antl Demolition (BD) Permits contact the{pjljl~t' ; Electrical (BE)
Permits contact the Electrical Section; for Mechanical (BM) Permits contact the Mechanlc~, Section and for
Plumbing (gp) Permits contract the Plumbing Section. £ ( :9 d/b Z- ....n tl0
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City of Miami Beach -Building Department
City of Miami Beach
Building Department
1700 Convention Center Drive
City Hall - 2nd Floor
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 673-7610 (Office) (305) 673-7857 (Fax)
PEDRO OONESTEVEZ &W
O1GA T DONESTEVEZ
3]59 PINETREE DR
MIAMI BEACH FL
331403935
30 Day Warning Notification of Permit Expiration
Reference: eea121n
]obsite Address: 3159 PINETREE OR
To Whom it May Concern
Our records indicate that your permit was applied for and/or issued after March 1, 2002, which means that your
permit was issued under the guidelines of the Florida Building Code. Our records indicate that your permit is going to
expire within the next 30 days because you have failed to obtain an approved or partially approved inspection which
would have extended your permit for an additional 180 days.
At this time, you are required to either obtain an approved or partially approved inspection prior to~the expiration date
or apply for an extension in compliance with the guildelines of the Florida Building Code, Section 104.5.1.4 as stated
below:
7o extend a permit for a period of 180 day from the date of expiration, a request for an
extension shall be made prior to the expiration date that appears on your permit.
To obtain an extension, the permit holder must complete a permit extension application form, requesting the permit
extension and submit it to the Building Department PRIOR TO THE PERMIT EXPIRATION DATE. There is a minimal
fee for [he permit extension. All permit extensions shall be reviewed by the Building Offcial.
Please keep in mind that if the permit expires, you will be required to comply with the Florida Building Code 104.5.1.1
which stztes the following:
"If work has commenced and the permit is revoked, becomes null and void, or expires because of a
lack of progress or abandonment, a new permit covering the proposed construction shall be
obtained before proceeding with the work."
CONDTfIONS OF THE PERMIT -Florida Building Cotle
Every permit issued shal became invalid unless the work authorized by su[h permit is commenced
within 6 months after issuance, or if the work authorized by Such permit is suspended or abandoned
for a period of 6 months after the time the work is commenced.
Additionally, work shall be considered to be in active progress when the permit has received an approved or partially
approved inspection within 180 days. Failure to comply will result ip,a Nd7+tie of Violation being issued and the permit
holder will not be allowed to obtain other permits within th~,~ity'of Miami Beach until the situation has been resolved.
.,w~ ~1 f 9
If you have any questions or require further assistance, p eas~~~~,,~~aalt~(ftP TE SECTION at 305-673-7610:
for Building (B) and Demolition (BD) Permits comaFF~~tkl~ VIk7lation S r Electrical (BE) Permits contact the
Electrical Section; for Mechanical (BM) Permits contak`the MeghaN_ik3~ edion and for Plumbing (BP) Permits
contract the Plumbing Section. .,~ ~~d`~..i
Sincerely;
City of Miami Beach -Building Department