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Commissioners defer measure to allow waiver of appraisals for select county projects amid housing delays
Summary
A proposal to allow the commission to waive appraisals on some county-owned projects was deferred for further work. Supporters said appraisal delays have stalled affordable housing and transit projects; the item will be revised to require a two-thirds majority before returning.
A proposed change that would allow the Miami-Dade County Commission to waive appraisals on certain county-owned projects was deferred after commissioners said they want to refine the proposal and raise the approval threshold.
Commissioner Cohen Higgins, who presented the item, said several recent affordable housing and transit projects have been delayed because appraisals were not completed in time by the administration. "Right now several years ago this board not our board but previous boards waived its right to weigh in on whether or not an appraisal needed to be waived to accelerate a project," she said, and described multiple examples of projects delayed at or near financial close because appraisals were not obtained.
Higgins told colleagues she drafted the measure to allow a majority-plus-one of commissioners to concur in special cases so projects could proceed when the county's internal appraisal process was slowing development. She said she was willing to amend the proposal to require a supermajority.
Chairman Rodriguez and others said the concept "sounded alarming to the naked ear" because waiving appraisals might appear risky, and preferred to give the mayor and attorneys time to craft a clear resolution that would ensure checks and limits. Rodriguez said he would prefer the item to return as a resolution that requires a two-thirds majority and that staff work to address alternatives that direct the administration to expedite appraisals.
Commissioner Cabrera moved to defer the item and the motion was seconded by the vice chair; the body voted by voice to defer. Commissioners directed attorneys and the sponsor to collaborate with administration staff and to revise the item to include a higher voting threshold before it is returned to the committee.
No formal waiver authority was adopted at the meeting and no specific projects were waived. Commissioners agreed the county should avoid unnecessary delays in affordable housing and transit projects, but asked for clearer safeguards and for alternatives that would require the administration to improve appraisal timeliness without broadly abrogating appraisal requirements.
