Miami Beach Special Commission Meeting on Permitting Process Improvements – February 19, 2026
Miami Beach Special Commission Meeting on Permitting Process Improvements – February 19, 2026
The Miami Beach City Commission held a special meeting on February 19, 2026, to discuss improvements to the city's permitting process. The meeting focused on reducing delays, enhancing communication between staff and applicants, and setting measurable goals to streamline approvals for businesses and residents. The mayor and commissioners emphasized the need to make Miami Beach the preeminent city for business, noting the influx of capital and companies. Staff presented progress already made, including a reduction in permit types from 250 to 150, walkthrough programs, and a new business concierge service. Public testimony highlighted persistent challenges, including long review times, ambiguous comments, and inconsistent inspection practices. The commission approved a motion to implement mid-review communication with a 24-hour grace period and set a goal to cut 4+ review cycles by half within six months.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Stephen Polisar (attorney, chairman of the nightlife task force): Expressed support for the city’s renewed attitude but noted that many investors avoid Miami Beach due to its reputation for difficult permitting. He recommended a joint public-private sector meeting to streamline the process.
- Mel Schlesser (landlord and former planning board chairman): Reported that a restaurant deal took 6–7 months due to permitting delays, requiring significant free rent to attract tenants. He suggested a separate program for restaurants to expedite reviews and improve the city’s reputation.
- Josh Robbins (property owner): Agreed with Commissioner Magazine on communication issues, noting that after receiving comments, applicants must start a new formal cycle instead of allowing the same reviewer to accept corrections. He supported a 24–48 hour cure period, stating it would resolve the majority of second-cycle issues.
- Sam Latone (business representative): Urged the commission to look at the entire process holistically, including the permit process, third-party reviews (e.g., Durham), and inspections. He cited instances where different inspectors gave conflicting instructions.
- Susanna Santoro (condominium representative): Called for more transparency and accountability, especially for condominium projects. She requested that property owners be listed on all communications and that permit status be clearly tracked to prevent abandonment.
- Tyler Crutzfeld (President of South of Fifth): Asked about aligning compensation with performance metrics, noting that incentivizing reviewers could improve outcomes. Staff confirmed that merit increases are tied to performance evaluations.
Discussion Items
- Staff Presentation (Maria Hernandez, Assistant City Manager; Vince Carpenter, Building Official):
- Presented milestones: reduced permit types from 250 to 150, launch of residential and commercial walkthroughs, and the city services concierge (decision engine).
- Reported that permit intake time dropped from 2.5 days to less than 1 day.
- Showed that 68% of reviews are completed in two cycles or less; 84% in three cycles or less. However, 1,900 permits (16%) required four or more cycles, with some extending to 20+ cycles.
- Average turnaround per department is under 10 days; the city holds permits for 5 business days on average, while customers hold them for 10 days.
- Incomplete and incorrect submittals were identified as a major cause of delays. Staff committed to analyzing the nature of these errors.
- Commissioner Discussion on Communication:
- Commissioners Magazine, Fernandez, and Mateo Salinas advocated for proactive communication (phone calls or emails) before failing an application, rather than waiting until the last day of the review cycle. They proposed a 24-hour grace period for applicants to cure minor issues without restarting the review cycle.
- Commissioner Bott raised concerns about different inspectors providing conflicting requirements, leading to repeated inspections. She requested that the same inspector be assigned to the same project and that re-inspections be limited to the original issue.
- Commissioner Fernandez emphasized the need for a verification system for owner email addresses to ensure notifications are received. The CIO (Frank) agreed to investigate.
- Restaurant and Commercial Permitting:
- Public testimony from Mel Schlesser highlighted that the current walkthrough program is limited to 2,500 square feet, which excludes many restaurants. Staff noted that the majority of commercial spaces in Miami Beach are under 2,500 square feet, but restaurants often require more space and specialized reviews (e.g., grease traps, Durham).
- Commissioner Dominguez and others supported exploring a separate expedited process for restaurants.
- Inspection Text Notification:
- CIO Frank reported that a text notification system for inspections is ready to launch the first or second week of March. It will alert property owners when they are two inspections away, allowing them to return to the site. The cost is minimal (less than $1,000 annually).
- Software and Performance Metrics:
- The mayor asked about the current permit software (Tyler Intergov). The CIO described it as adequate but not the best available; it is a “Chevrolet, not a Ferrari.” The city is not ruling out exploring other options but has no immediate plans to change.
- Commissioner Fernandez suggested setting a goal to reduce the number of permits requiring 4+ review cycles by half within six months, with a quarterly update. Staff agreed to try.
Key Outcomes
- Motion Approved by Acclamation: The commission directed the city administration to implement mid-review communication (phone or email) with a 24-hour grace period for applicants to cure minor deficiencies before failing an application, to be implemented within 30 days.
- Goal Set: Reduce the percentage of permits requiring 4+ review cycles from 16% to 8% within six months, with a progress update after three months.
- Inspection Text Notification: The system will go live in early March 2026, providing real-time alerts to property owners.
- Next Steps: Staff will analyze incomplete submittal data, explore a verification email for property owners, and consider expanding the walkthrough program for restaurants. The city manager will report back on these items at future meetings.
- Additional Discussion: The commission will consider hiring a public relations firm to repair the city’s damaged reputation regarding permitting, as suggested by Commissioner Mateo Salinas.
Meeting Transcript
Please take your seats. The meeting is about to begin. Remember to speak into the microphone as this meeting is being recorded for public record. Please stand by. We are going on air in. Five, four, three, two, one. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our special commission meeting to discuss our permitting process and ways we can uh improve upon it. I'll turn it over to our city clerk. Thank you, Mayor. Good afternoon, everyone. The city commission is physically present in the commission chamber at Miami Beach City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive, third floor. Members of the public are invited to attend either in person or virtually. If you're joining us virtually, you can log in using the Zoom app or visit the Zoom.us on your browser. You can also phone in at 305-224-1968. Again, 305-224-1968 or toll three, eight eight eight four seven five four four nine nine. The webinar ID is eight one three nine two eight five seven six seventy-one pound. If you would like to speak virtually on an item during the meeting, please click the raise hand icon if using the Zoom app or press star nine on your phone. The Zoom link, webinar ID and phone numbers stay the same for every commission meeting. All lobbyists must register with the office of the city clerk located on the first floor of City Hall. You do not need to register if you're an expert witness giving only technical or specialized testimony. A representative of a neighborhood association or nonprofit speaking without pay, or a private citizen speaking on your own behalf without compensation. However, if you if you are an expert witness or a nonprofit or neighborhood representatives, you do need to submit a written disclosure form at the office of the city clerk before speaking. Thank you, Mayor. Sorry. Thank you. Invisible with liberty and justice for all. Okay, great. We'll get started. Thank you again to my colleagues for for being here. As we get uh literally down to business. Uh we are speaking with uh really a uniform voice in our commission, so this uh I'll I'll lead it off here, but I think we've all are loud and clear. We're giving the direction to to the city. But I'll also acknowledge we've made a lot of improvements uh recently. So thank you, Eric. Uh thank you, Maria and Vince for making those improvements. Um the goal and the reason why we're having this special commission meeting is to make Miami Beach the preeminent city in America to do business, and part of that is getting businesses open quickly. Obviously, this also impacts residents and doing work there as well, but certainly we're highlighting the businesses. Capital is coming to Miami Beach in a big way. We I I use the term the beaches back, but it's happening. We're seeing the inflow of capital. We're seeing businesses moving here. We're seeing companies, private uh private and public companies moving their headquarters here. We see family offices, hedge funds. You just look at the headlines literally almost every day, and you see that it's coming down to South Florida, it's coming to Florida, and certainly with with uh certain states, uh California, New York, uh City, obviously in the news recently, raising taxes. Um it's just gonna keep continuing to flow here. So we have it's it's incumbent upon us to make sure that we are inviting, that we are allowing businesses to thrive. Um, and that's the direction that collectively here we're trying to do to uh to be that world-class city to do business. When we issue permits, it's it's an economic impact, it creates jobs, it's investment, it's housing, it's a tax base, and it's uh continued opportunity for for our city. Two things just today that happened.
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