Jacksonville City Council debates 'milestone inspections' for condos, co-ops required by the state

Condominium and cooperative housing buildings will soon have to undergo a new kind of inspection – where in the aftermath, they do not get to vote on whether to fix the problems found.

Jacksonville City Council is close to voting on a reactionary bill to Florida Senate Bill 4-D passed earlier this year, which directs local governments to make necessary adjustments to enforce “milestone inspections” on condominium and co-op buildings three or more stories tall. The goal is to prevent tragedies like the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside that killed 98 people.

“Well, certainly it’s necessary in Jacksonville because you could have a condo building where someone is just not paying attention,” City Council member Rory Diamond, the sponsor of the bill, told the Times-Union. “And, it’s a very low-cost, easy way to make sure that people don’t die like they did out in Surfside.”

More on Surfside condo collapse One year later: What we know about the Surfside condo collapse

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The popular state bill passed through the House and Senate unanimously – an anomaly – but the Jacksonville iteration has so far passed committee with some skepticism on the timing of the bill and criticism for what is or is not encompassed.

What is a 'milestone inspection?'

At the most basic form, under the new state law condo or co-op buildings three stories tall or higher will be required to undergo inspections once they reach certain “milestones.” Buildings within 3 miles of the coastline must hire a third-party engineer, architect or otherwise qualified party to conduct a visual inspection 25 years after the building received its certificate of occupancy.

The same type of buildings within 5 miles of the coastline must undergo the inspection by Dec. 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years. All included buildings must then be inspected again every 10 years.

Currently, the inspection blueprint follows that of the Miami-Dade County checklist, said Ina Gerville, operations manager of local engineering firm Construction Solutions Inc.. CSI has operated for 30 years conducting building inspections and has already started doing milestone inspections, she said.

The Phase One inspection, Gerville explained, is largely visual and operates on a strict pass/fail basis. Engineers may inspect every unit of the eligible buildings looking for structural issues – or, in worst case scenarios, the engineers do not have to go through every unit because they already see damages.

If the building passes the Phase One inspection, the engineer has approved and certified its structural integrity and another inspection is not required for another 10 years. If the building does not pass, a more invasive, more expensive Phase Two inspection must be conducted. The reports for both must be returned to the unit owners, building leadership and responsible local government offices.

The first inspection for eligible buildings must be conducted by Dec. 31, 2024, under the state law.

Of the four inspections CSI had conducted as of Dec. 6, two passed and two failed.

“I don't believe it's always going to be a 50%, but that would be really awesome if it was,” Gerville said.

Why condos?

Without the law, Gerville said condo management and boards normally hired inspectors around the 40-year mark – and then voted on whether to fix the issues.

The board of the collapsed Surfside condo knew as early as 2018 about structural problems with the building but voted against repairs. As previously reported by The Palm Beach Post, repairs were estimated to be about $18 million by the time the building collapsed.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Gerville said, believing the tragedy could have been prevented.

Diamond said condos were targeted because of what happened and because of the loose – compared to apartment complexes – leadership structure. Gerville, who has been involved in conversations about the law with the Florida Building Commission, said she anticipated apartment and commercial buildings will be added in the coming years.

One of the main problems – and why this is such an issue in coastal states – is that salt seeps into porous materials like concrete and causes expansion. On the outside, this can present as cracks in concrete but is a symptom of a deeper problem.

What will the Jacksonville bill require?

Unlike in the state law, all condos and co-ops three stories or higher will be eligible for inspections, regardless of their distance from the coastline.

The Jacksonville bill will also attempt to standardize inspections after receiving input from local industry groups, Joshua Gideon, chief of the Building Inspection Division, told members of the Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health and Safety Committee Dec. 5. The division will be responsible for alerting buildings to upcoming inspection deadlines and maintaining a database of buildings and inspections.

“The local jurisdiction is tasked with recording and documenting and logging these inspections. … We’re just tasked with recording and ensuring that these condos and co-ops meet the mandates as set by the state,” Gideon said at the committee meeting.

The city’s database will also include apartment and commercial buildings to prepare for the possibility of Florida including them in future inspections. Currently, Gideon said work with the Property Appraiser’s Office estimated about 78 Jacksonville buildings, not including those at the Beaches, will need to be inspected.

Fines will be imposed on a tiered basis for noncompliant buildings.

What about buildings at the Beaches?

Consolidation offers unique challenges around what Jacksonville laws can be put into effect at the Beaches and Baldwin – and this is no exception.

The Beaches and Baldwin have their own governments and zoning commissions, meaning they will be individually responsible for passing legislation or enforcing the state mandate.

As of now, no ordinances are on the books. Diamond, who represents the Beaches in City Council, said he has spoken to the Jacksonville Beach mayor who told him they would likely pass legislation similar to what Jacksonville decides.

Atlantic Beach may "piggy back" on Jacksonville's process, Atlantic Beach City Manager Shane Corbin told the Times-Union in an email. Next steps have not yet been decided, he said, but "very few" buildings fell into the category.

Neptune Beach City Manager Stefen Wynn told the Times-Union only one building fell under the state guidelines, but would not need to be inspected until 2033. It will be flagged in the city's current software for future notification.

What are the criticisms of the legislation?

On the state level, Gerville said industry groups have criticized vague language regarding what needs to be inspected and who can inspect it. Home inspectors from surrounding states, she said for instance, do not have the skills necessary for such large scale work, but on the other end, requiring a professional engineer to have 10 or more years of experience to do the work will leave too few people for too big a job.

Locally, City Council members who ultimately voted in favor of the bill while it was in committee had concerns about how the inspections would be standardized, why the Beaches could not be included or otherwise worked with in conjunction and why apartment buildings were not included.

The bill ultimately passed through two committees unanimously and will be voted on by the full City Council on Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: City Council debates condo inspections to prevent collapse like Surfside