Preventing problems, rather than simply reacting to complaints, has placed the Village of Key Biscayne into a 96% proactive rate, among the highest in the state, when it comes to code compliance.
“Overall numbers have held pretty steady in the number of violations,” said Building, Zoning and Planning Director Jeremy Calleros Gauger, while recently updating Village Council on his department’s progress.
Calleros Gauger said the department is tracking a new statistic — the number of red tags issued at a construction site.
Village of Key Biscayne Building, Zoning and Planning Department Director/Village Planner, Jeremy Calleros Gauger.
Photo by Jessica Drouet
“The red tag says you have to stop work; it’s the most effective tool when fines can be seen as a cost of doing business,” Calleros Gauger said. “What’s $250 a day when they are spending thousands and thousands of dollars to keep the work going? But, stopping the work is the last resort.”
Red tags are usually issued for work being done without permits, or unsafe or non-compliant construction.
Asked by Mayor Joe Rasco if he’s seen any slowdown in construction in the Village, Calleros Gauger replied: “We’ve seen a decrease in the rate of increase. We’re still getting more (applications) in than we’re finalizing (closing out construction sites).”
He said the average is about a month, from a submission of an application to receiving an actual permit when work can begin.
A public dashboard is being put in place to show the number of permits issued and finalized and information on addresses.
Also, the department has been collecting Business Tax Receipts this year of $63,000 with another $17,000 pending.
In addition, compliance officers periodically patrol on weekends to make sure construction noise and sea turtle lighting compliance is being followed.
Village Manager Steve Williamson was impressed by the work done at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, where a $100 million renovation took place in seven months before a recent soft opening. A grand opening is slated for January.
“I still don’t believe they got it done in seven months, but they did,” Williamson said. “It’s exciting; good news for them, for the community and for our team working with them. They were working 24/7. It was impressive to see them working just as hard at 10 o’clock on a Saturday night.”
He thanked Calleros Gauger for working with Gencom’s development team and the Key Biscayne Fire Department for making sure all rules were closely followed during the renovation work.