2006 0706 Special City Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting July 6, 2006 City of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida After the presentation, City Manager Szerlag said that Building Official Parker did a good job explaining this issue as a whole, and noted that we are not here tonight to talk about individual properties. Mayor Edelcup said it was a great presentation and a good start for the City. He said that we are out there right now pushing to make the unsafe structures come down or be repaired and we have to take these steps to aggressively pursue through whatever legal means necessary for those structures in the City that are unsafe or dilapidated or abandoned to come to some fruition of either being fixed up or torn down, whatever the case may be. He said the Building Department along with Code Enforcement will vigorously pursue that goal. Commissioner Thaler asked if we have a chain of command in case something happens to Clay Parker, and City Manager Szerlag said that Mr. Parker has an assistant that can act in that capacity. JeffBerlowitz, Esq., representing the LPLA Partners, the entity that owns the majority of the units at LaP1aya, said that the City needs to look at liability issues, and that the City must look to the fact that it could be deemed liable or responsible or part ofthe problem in serious litigation should something happen. He said the City would not have sovereign immunity over the issue, it would only be under a planning issue and certainly after issuing a demolition order but not granting the permit could be a problem for the City. He said in the unlikely event that the court overturns its own ruling or the arbitrator overturns his ruling, a new board in charge of LaPlaya would have to follow the City's direction to demolish the building, so whoever is in charge, the building is going to be demolished. City Attorney Ottinot said he spoke with Mr. Berlowitz this afternoon and at no time did Mr. Berlowitz raise the issue of liability to him. City Attorney Ottinot said that he respectfully disagrees with his assertion that the City would be liable for failing to issue a demolition permit. He said the law is well settled in the State of Florida in that any municipality is immune for failing to issue a demolition permit. He said he provided to the Commission a Memo of Law addressing all the legal issues that are related to LaPlaya and he explained clearly the due process issues involved, and the authority that the Building Official has in the County Code. He said his position is basically, which he has recommended to Mr. Parker, that he should follow the requirements ofthe County Code to deal with any unsafe structure in the City. Commissioner Iglesias said he remembers when they took an oath to do what is best for the City, and one ofthose things are that they will look after the health, safety and welfare ofthe people in Sunny Isles Beach. He said there is no way that he would break the law and not give everybody due process, however, ifthere is somebody walking by there and there is a strong wind gust and maybe we are legally safe but if we know that something is unsafe, if something hits a pedestrian and gets hurt, the City is not liable but it is not morally right. He said the owners are liable, and that the bottom line is we don't want to get into a match between the developers and the unit owners, we are not here for that. Weare here to make the City the best that it can be and the safest it can be, and for the first time in nine years, after what he has heard here tonight, he feels like his hands are tied. He said that we want to do something but because there is an internal battle going between associations and developers, we have unsafe structures out there that present a liability to this City. He said 3