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- Miami-Dade County officials are under pressure after a 12-story condo building collapsed last month.
- The county had a backlog of about 1,000 unsafe-structure cases at the time of the collapse.
- A new rule requires buildings are cleared by an engineer or vacated if they are overdue for re-certification.
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When the 12-story Champlain Towers South collapsed last month, the Miami-Dade County Unsafe Structures Board had a backlog of about 1,000 cases, the Miami Herald reported. Now the board is under increasing pressure to work through the cases.
The board hears cases brought by building officials, or through appeals from homeowners or others, about structures that are considered unsafe or out of compliance. That includes buildings that have not undergone inspection or filed the proper paperwork required after the building is 40 years old.
"We are here every month. Every month," board member Lynn Matos said during the board's first meeting since the condo collapse, the Herald reported. "I don't understand how we can have over 1,000-something cases sitting out there, and we don't know why."
The board expressed frustration with cities that have requested deferrals on enforcement cases without even sending a building official to explain why they should be granted.
A new county rule now requires buildings flagged as unsafe or due for inspection to be cleared by an engineer before an extension is granted. Spencer Errickson, the supervisor of the Unsafe Structures division, told the Herald that the 40-year review process will be standard from now on. If a building cannot get an engineer to sign off on it, it will have to be vacated.
The Surfside, Florida, tower was undergoing a 40-year re-certification process when it collapsed in the early morning hours of June 24, killing at least 97 people. Investigators are still working to determine what caused the collapse.
A report completed by an engineering firm in 2018 said the Champlain Towers South had "major structural damage" and advised more than $9 million in repairs. Residents had reported witnessing damage as well.
One woman who lived in a different building in the complex looked into buying a unit in the South tower in 2020. She told Insider's Erin Snodgrass she decided against it after observing structural damage, including cracked concrete on some balconies.
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