Reso 2008-1222 - Laserfiche WebLink

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inherited from the County." See, attached minutes from Commission meeting in March 15, 2001. In 2002, the City Commission adopted the Land Development Regulations ("LDRs") to govern land use in the City. In adopting the LDRs, the City Commission made some fundamental changes to the City's development review process to spur the redevelopment of the City. First, the City Commission completely eliminated the administrative site plan approval process which the City inherited from Miami-Dade County. Members of the City Commission were extremely unhappy with the administrative site plan approval process because development projects were being approved at the administrative level, without a public hearing or notice to the City Commission. Second, the City Commission incorporated the two-year time period for a developer to pull a building permit to commence construction in the LDRs. See, Section 265- 11(L) of the City Code. The two-year time period was an important aspect of the City's redevelopment plan because the County's administrative site plan approval process provided a developer with an indefinite time-frame to pull a building permit. In other words, an administrative site plan approval constitutes a development order in perpetuity. Conversely, under the LDRs, a development approval becomes void automatically if the developer does not pull a building permit within the aforementioned time-frame. Lastly, the City Commission created a process under the LDRs to review and approve requests for extension of development approvals filed by developers. Under this process, all extension requests must be reviewed and approved by the City Commission at a public hearing. Moreover, the legislative history of the LDRs demonstrates that the City Commission was motivated by numerous factors when it adopted the two-year time period to "use or lose" a development approval. However, two main factors are more prevalent in the legislative history than others. The two factors are the redevelopment of the City and the elimination of speculative permits. Members of the City Commission believe that the redevelopment of the City would have been hampered by speculative permits because those who seek speculative permits have no intention to move forward with the project unless the project is sold or transferred to another developer. As discussed below, the City Commission created a legally sufficient process to review requests for extension of development approval. It is important to note that this process has never been challenged in court by a developer. This process is consistent with the law and should remain in place. II. DISCUSSION OF LEGAL ISSUES A. Legal Standards to Grant Extensions Under the City Code The City Commission is required to review requests for extension of time on a case- by-case basis under the City Code. Id. See, Section 265-11 (N)( 4) of the City Code (emphasis added). More precisely, the City Commission may grant an extension of a development approval if the developer clearly "establishes good cause for the extension and that the need for the extension is based substantially on events or OCcurrences beyond the control of the developer.." 2 28