Commission advances ordinance to change business‑license inspections, leans on fire inspections and civil citations

The commission gave first‑reading approval on an ordinance (read as Ordinance 2026‑08) that changes how the city conducts business-license and use‑and‑occupancy inspections. Staff said the ordinance removes mandatory interior inspections except when the property owner or tenant requests them or there is a life‑safety concern; instead the city will perform annual exterior, right‑of‑way inspections and rely on Palm Beach County Fire Rescue for commercial interior fire‑safety inspections.

"Since Palm Beach County Fire Rescue already does commercial inspections, we were going to utilize their reports," William Waters, chief sustainability director, said while explaining the change. Commissioners asked staff to ensure a clear enforcement path if a business is operating outside its approved use; several members urged a civil‑citation program that can be issued initially to the business with escalation to the property owner if the business fails to cure.

Commissioner Sarah Maliga and others identified copy‑and‑paste exhibit language that referenced business tax receipts rather than use‑and‑occupancy certificates and asked staff to correct exhibits before second reading. The commission also discussed fee reductions tied to the proposed inspection frequency changes and directed staff to return with technical edits and cross‑references to Chapter 2 (code compliance) and the civil‑citation schedule.