South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
After Surfside, here’s how Boca Raton is stepping up building inspections
BOCA RATON — As part of Boca Raton’s efforts to enhance building safety, the city plans to notify condo building owners about the next steps for a new program that requires submitting safety reports.
The city is fine-tuning the details of a safety inspection program — among the many initiatives pursued by South Florida communities after the beachside Champlain Towers South in Surfside collapsed on June 24, killing 98 people.
Boca Raton’s new initiative was approved by the City Council in August. Once the city decides how much it will bill building owners to submit and review inspection reports, the city will notify owners that those reports are due to the city within 365 days.
A city ordinance requires safety and structural inspections for every building in city limits older than 30 years. It’s among the efforts being explored across the region. Palm Beach County recently said it first wants to see the state develop guidelines, given that the state Legislature convenes in January.
Hundreds of buildings in Boca meet the criteria for inspection: at least 30 years old and taller than three stories or 50 feet. Priority for inspections will be given to buildings near the ocean, which are most susceptible to saltwater corrosion.
The program will cost the city about $250,000 annually, according to City Manager Leif Ahnell.
At least some of those costs will be offset by fees paid by building owners, who also would need to pay engineers for their inspections.
Now the city will determine what those costs will look like. City staff is finalizing guidelines for the program, and the schedule for reports due from buildings that are more than 30 years old, Brandon Schaad, director of development services, said through a city spokeswoman.
Those guidelines, schedules and costs should be finalized this month or early next month, according to Schaad. The City Council will need to approve the fees and then notices will be sent to building owners at 365 days before that building’s report is
due to the city.
About 240 buildings citywide will be subject to inspections, Schaad said. He recommended dividing the city into four zones of about 60 buildings each.
William Sklar, a West Palm Beach-based condominium lawyer, commended Boca Raton for being more proactive than most other local governments, but says their program has the potential to go further.
Sklar recently recommended to state officials that buildings be recertified five years after construction and every five years after, and that inspection reports be made available to all unit owners shortly after they’re complete.
“There is no maintenance standard,” he said.
He said it’s great that Boca Raton is being proactive. “It’s great that they moved it up to 30 years,” Sklar said. “But we believe that, because there’s no maintenance standard required by law, there needs to be an ongoing inspection process.”