Miami will expedite reviews of property permit applications

The municipal government of Miami plans to expedite the process of obtaining city permits for such property improvements as building a backyard shed or installing a new door.

Starting April 9, city employees will take applications for certain types of permits from one municipal department to another for their review, rather than requiring property owners and their contractors to do so.

The new practice is designed to hasten the review process for more than 50 types of permits for work on residential and commercial properties and complete permit processing within 30 days.

Property improvements including pre-fabricated sheds, new windows, solar panels, awnings and driveways are eligible for expedited permit-application reviews.

If any city department’s review of a permit application raises an issue, the city will notify the applicant, who will have seven days to resolve the issue.

Excluded from the new practice will be applications for permits to remove trees and to work on properties in a historic district or in Coconut Grove’s Neighborhood Conservation District 3.

Also excluded from the new review process will be permits that require a variance, waiver or warrant exception.

City Commissioner Joe Carollo has said the new review process may eliminate the need for so-called expediters who shuttle permit applications through the city’s bureaucracy on behalf of property owners and their contractors.

Permit application forms are available online, but applicants must submit notarized hard copies in person.

Miami’s municipal government plans to put most of its permit-application process online by the end of the year. [Miami Herald] – Mike Seemuth