No matter how small a development project that is presented before the Commission or an advisory board, there are conditions for approval usually attached. Who is responsible for making sure those conditions are fulfilled before the project ultimately obtains its certificate of occupancy?

Rightfully, the elected body assumes that the developer or builder will abide by those terms. When the final inspection is made to make sure the building code has been complied with, does anyone at the City or County look to see whether those other conditions were met? And if not, then why not? Who is guarding the hen house so to speak?

We must keep in mind that we have several different codes. Zoning and Land Development Regulations (LDR) are the ones that the Development Department and the Boards and Commissions create and administer within the parameters allowed by state law. The Building Official is responsible for making sure that Florida’s Building Codes are followed by the builder.

Even if the Commission wanted to, it could not alter the Florida Building Code. A Commissioner cannot tell his friend to forget about the sprinkler system if the Building Code requires it. What a Commission can do is give the developer 3 units more than would be allowed under the LDR.  They could change the zoning on the property from one use to the other to make the project move forward.

When the Commission does those things, it usually will require other changes in the developer’s plan. For example, it could require a second means of egress, more plantings to block the project from someone’s view or to have 8-foot sidewalks instead of 6 feet. It is a negotiation between both parties.

Supposedly, a certificate of occupancy is given after all the conditions of the plan approval are met. Sometimes, they simply are not. Other times, conditions could be open to interpretation. And, let us face it, the appointed and elected officials are no match for the expertise of staff. It is staff that does the interpretation.

I do not know what the answer is, but mostly the public loses in this battle of wits and wordsmithing. For the most part, elected bodies try to do the right thing. That is why they weigh the interests of all their constituents, the immediate neighbors, and the property owner. Ultimately, it is how staff interprets those compromises which are memorialized in development conditions that are so important.

Project approval is only the beginning of the process. The public needs to be aware of how that order is understood by staff. They are the ones that have the final authority. It may be up to you to make sure the order is interpreted as the Commission meant it to apply, and if not, bring it to their attention.