LTC 545-2019 Improvements to the Development Review Process nAIA AIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 545-2019 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members f the City ommission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manage
DATE: October 10, 2019
SUBJECT: Improvements to the Developme4 Review Process
The City is committed to ensuring the health, safety and security of our residents, visitors and
employees. The administration has been exploring ways to continue to deliver excellent and
efficient customer service in a safe and secure environment. After the events that took 12 lives
and injured four at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, the City Commission directed the
administration to take necessary steps to secure CMB buildings. The Police Department and
Property Management conducted an assessment of city buildings to determine vulnerabilities and
explore options to better secure City Hall.
The U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation released a list categorized as
active shooter incidents in the United States from 2000-2018 resulting in a total of 882 deaths and
1522 injuries. There has been an increase in mass shootings since 2000 placing more attention
on security where soft targets are at a higher risk of being affected. The number of shootings per
year from 2000 to 2018 has risen from one to a high of 30 in 2017. There were 27 in 2018 and
figures are not yet out for 2019. Of these total number of incidents, 71 deaths and 92 injuries
occurred in government or municipal buildings. Additionally, so far in 2019, there have been three
shootings in government or municipal buildings, resulting in 12 deaths and eight injuries.
Most of the visits to city hall are related to the permitting process. The City currently has 12,959
issued / active construction permits and will have reviewed 275 Land Use Board applications by
year's end. Additionally, there are approximately 7,550 permits of various types being processed,
but not yet issued. On average the second floor of city hall receives 14,863 customers for "walk-
through" annually and an additional 32,413 visitors for other services. These numbers do not
include designers, architects, contractors and others that come in for scheduled visits, or those
seeking Right of Way, Lane Closure and Sidewalk Café permits from Public Works and Tree
Removal Permits from Urban Forestry. Once meeting groups are factored in, the very limited area
on the second floor receives over 50,000 visitors per year. Almost 15,000 of those visit the second
floor three out of five days per week and wait in the small sitting area and hallways for their turn to
be served. This small space is often highly congested, and at times filled with carts, plans, paper
and boxes. At any given time, one can find full size plans spread on the hallway floors and
expediters, contractors and others discussing issues related to the reviews on CMB projects as
well as those being processed in other municipalities. The conditions created by the current
process can result in an unpleasant experience and, can create an evacuation hazard should a
public safety issue or other emergency arise.
LTC —
Date: October 10, 2019
Page: 2 of 3
The current rules and processes are exposing city staff, residents and permit customers to less
than a secure and professional work environment which, at times, leads to volatile outbursts when
applicable rules contradict the visitor's desired outcome. Additionally, recent exit interviews with
departing city staff, as well as staff participating in conflict resolution training sessions, have
unearthed the discomfort and stress among city employees working in these conditions, including
being subjected to foul and demeaning language, shouting and aggressive behavior.
Because of recent events and the findings of commissioned studies, the administration has taken
a proactive approach and asked all departments to evaluate their operations and work with the
Police and Fire Departments to identify improvements to our processes with an eye on safety.
Departments that have a large visitor count have met with senior Police and Fire officials to discuss
initiatives that can be implemented quickly, identify long-range goals and outline next steps. This
Letter to Commission outlines changes to the operations at the second floor of city hall for the
plans review and building construction permit process.
The current development review process in Miami Beach is cumbersome, and that is why on June
5th, 2019 the City Commission accepted the process improvement recommendations of the Matrix
Consulting Group; supported the procurement of a consultant to update, modernize and streamline
the LDRs; and to transition the city towards full electronic plans review.
While addressing other, more complex recommendations, the following short-term changes are
being implemented in October 2019:
• Electronic Plans Review: The administration is moving forward expeditiously to meet our
goal of accepting electronic plans submittals and is working with Tyler Technologies to implement
the process with the utmost efficiency to further enhance and expedite permit reviews.
• Improvement and restructuring of current "walk-through" review with a 24 hour "walk-
through" process: The administration has reviewed the types of permits it currently accepts for the
"walk-through" process and added permits Condominium New non-structural level 1 and Fire
Alarm Minor; which will bring the types of permits eligible for "walk-through" to 17. Additionally,
effective October 15, 2019, a new 24-hour "walk-through" process will be implemented. This
process will allow paper plans to be accepted between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and noon at a
designated location and retrieved by the applicant the next day. The 24-hour "walk-through"
process will be transitioned to the first-floor once space is redesigned. This will reduce the number
of visitors to upper floors and secure evacuation routes that are often used by visitors to the
building to gain access to the second floor and above. The 24-hour process will have a full review
by all applicable disciplines, as they do now, and results of those reviews will be available via the
Customer Self Service portal on the City's website as staff complete the evaluation of the submittal,
but in no event later than 24 hours after submission. Notice of the completed review will be emailed
to the contact on record once all reviews are finished. A Corrections Report continues to be
available on CSS and can be accessed by contacts on record. Reviewing staff will have office
hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays for anyone that needs an appointment for clarification or
guidance. This new 24 hour "walk-through" process will significantly improve the experience of
visitors to the building, while addressing a significant finding of the Matrix study, which identifies
the current "walk-through" process as inefficient and inconsistent.
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Date: October 10, 2019
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• In order to ensure a smooth transition, the Building Department arranged meetings with
affected stakeholders, including one with permit expediters on September 30th; scheduled an open
forum for developers, contractors, land use attorneys, and other interested parties on October 11;
and will be presenting to the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce's Construction & Development
Council on October 15th.
Furthermore, a formalized "walk-through" and eventual electronic permit review process will
enhance the tourist and recreational visitor experience by expanding parking options during events
like Art Basel, Sea Trade, and Florida Supercon, which draw in peak number of visitors to the
Convention Center and other venues. The new 24-hour process and subsequent electronic
submittal will reduce daily traffic congestion approaching city hall and support the green initiatives
by reducing paper and waste generation, and paper storage.
In context of the concerns and enhancements to services identified, the Police Department has
worked with the Property Management, Building, Fire and Planning Departments to identify a
centralized ingress and egress for city hall focused on security and measured access to non-public
areas. Analysis regarding this initiative is ongoing and more information will be provided soon. We
are confident that these changes will not cause delays in the review and issuance of permits, nor
will they negatively affect customer service. In fact, we believe that the new 24-hour process will
establish order and make the process more efficient and pleasant for the general public and
increase staff productivity. We will continue to monitor and adjust our procedures to ensure an
efficient and streamlined process for customers in a safe and healthy environment for both
customers and staff.
JLM/SMT
C: Raul Aguila, City Attorney
Rafael Granado, City Clerk
Department Directors
Management Team