At the December 6 Town Council meeting, lawmakers gave their final approval for an ordinance that now allows a developer to pull a building permit for a project before the final plat is recorded by Miami-Dade County.
Mayor Manny Cid cast the only no vote.
The proposed legislation would expedite a developer’s building project and simultaneously help with additional tax revenue for the town.
Under the current code, a developer had to wait about a year to record a final plat by the county’s Clerk of the Court before commencing construction.
Developers must provide Miami Lakes proof that their cadastral maps were on record in order to pull a building permit following approval first by the town and then Miami-Dade County.
Recording a final plat can take months or even a year, town officials indicated.
Councilmember Tony Lama’s proposal would eliminate the recording requirement and allow a developer to build his project with certain conditions.
They include for permanent buildings to be used as single family homes or town homes, building permits for up to 25 percent of the total number of lots in the proposed subdivision have been approved by the county while waiting for the final plat to be recorded; a letter signed by the property owner submitted to the town requesting the construction of homes prior to the recording of the final plat; no certificate of occupancy, certificate of completion or functional equivalents would be issued for any home until after the final plat is recorded, except that a temporary certificate of completion may be issued for any building to be used as a model home; and the buildings or homes can’t be occupied until the final plat is recorded.
The county has a similar code that Miami Lakes developers used before incorporation in 2000, but the town phased it out when creating its own land development code.
In other Town Council News:
• Tony Lama was elected the town’s new vice mayor on a 6-1 vote. Councilmember Nelson Rodriguez nominated himself, while his colleagues chose Lama.
• Lawmakers approved a resolution of a preliminary plat for the Bob Graham Building on vacant land located on the west side of Commerce Way and south of Governor’s Boulevard. The land is 14.62 acres with 1.23 of submerged land currently zoned as IU-C. The office building would be the fourth in the Graham Companies’ Governor’s Square development within Miami Lakes Business Park West.
• Council members approved a preliminary plat for the Governors Square Senior Community west of Commerce Way and the intersection of N.W. 146 Street.
The Graham Companies’ proposal is to build 220 multifamily apartment units for senior citizens including an 8,000 square-foot private recreation building, and an assisted living facility.
• Council members approved a resolution for a preliminary plat to replat portions of two existing tracts and create a new plat with one tract of land proposed by the Graham Companies. The firm proposes to build 73,125 square feet of warehouse space and 10,000 square feet of office space on the resulting replat.
• Lawmakers approved a resolution for a preliminary plat for industrial and office buildings located on the southwest corner of Commerce Way and N.W. 82 Avenue. The Graham Companies’ proposal is to construct a one-story, 36,720 square foot warehouse/office building, plus a one-story, 38,700 square foot warehouse/office building and associated improvements.
• Council members approved a resolution to authorize the town manager to bypass the town’s competitive bidding procedure and award a contract to AOT Public Safety Corporation for resumed use of the CryWolf false alarm monitoring system.
• Lawmakers awarded a contract for independent auditing services to Alberni Caballero and Fierman for one year and will reevaluate its services to determine if the town wants to resume the partnership.
• Council members approved a resolution to award a contract for lobbying services to Southern Strategy Group for $150,000. The award amount consists of the firm’s proposed amount of $48,000 per year, for a total of $144,000 for the initial three year term, plus $2,000 per year for additional services that may be required during the duration of the contract.
• Lawmakers approved a resolution for the town manager to execute a grant agreement with the South Florida Water Management District for drainage improvements to Lake Sarah for $125,000.
• Council members approved a public art concept which was created by artist Hans Feyerabend and recommended by the Professional Advisory Committee for the Miami Lakes Youth Center “The Spot,” and authorized the town manager to form an agreement with Hans Feyerabend for the design and construction of the artwork in an amount not to exceed $11,900.
• Lawmakers approved Mayor Manny Cid’s recommendation to waive permit and park rental fees for Cheese-A-Palooza, an Y-100-sponsored event. The fees total about $500. Radio personality Nick Pena, a Miami Lakes resident, will host the event and portion of the ticket sales will go to No Kid Hungry Florida.
• Lawmakers approved Councilmember Frank Mingo’s 4th annual toy drive for the holiday season in partnership with the town’s Youth Activity Task Force. The toy drive benefits His House Children’s Home and the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital of Miami Lakes.Collection bins will be placed in the reception area of Town Hall, 6601 Main Street, and the toys and gift cards will be delivered on Monday, December 19.
• Lawmakers approved Councilmember Ceasar Mestre’s proposal to place a six-month moratorium for marijuana dispensaries in order to give Miami Lakes time to come up with regulations.
In November, voters approved an amendment to allow the use of medical marijuana.
• Lawmakers approved Councilmember Nelson Rodriguez’s proposal to place mandatory fencing and green mesh to go around residential and commercial construction sites for safety reasons.
• Council members approved Cid’s proposal to direct town staff to engage with HOA’s to determine if they want to participate in the new special taxing districts pursuant to the new county charter amendments.
Cid said the town taking over the special taxing districts for lakes maintenance and street lights are a big plus to Miami Lakes and will save taxpayer’s some money. The services were previously managed by Miami-Dade
• The January 3 council meeting has been rescheduled to January 17, giving town staff more time to prepare an agenda following the busy holiday season.