Developers to Pay for Transit Improvements
Under New Ordinance

On April 26, the County Commission adopted an ordinance and a fee schedule, under which developers will mitigate their transportation impacts by contributing toward transit improvements.

Since 1989, when the State-mandated ‘concurrency” program began, developers in Broward County had to do road or intersection improvements when they added traffic to congested roadways. In recent years, however, finding such improvements became increasingly more difficult, and the County began looking at transit as a major source for relief of traffic congestion.

Under the new ordinance, before applying for a municipal building permit, an applicant will be reviewed by County staff to determine if they need to pay the new concurrency fee. The fees vary by the use of the building, the area of the County, and whether the development includes “transit-friendly” features. For example, the builder of a new single family house, in southeast Broward, located within ¼ mile of a bus route, would pay $947.

The revenues collected from developers will help fund a five-year program of improvements to the bus system. This program, also approved by the County Commission on April 26, includes new bus routes, route extensions, more frequent service on existing routes, bus shelters, community buses, neighborhood transit centers, and pedestrian improvements near bus stops. The balance of the funding is coming from farebox revenues and County General Funds.

This “Transit Oriented Concurrency” ordinance is the first of its type in the State of Florida, and probably in the nation. Implementation will be led by the Development Management Division, with assistance from the Transportation Planning Division and the Mass Transit Division.

The Highway Construction & Engineering Division was among the first occupants at the Government Center West at One North University Drive in Plantation. We moved from the downtown Government Center to the third floor of Building B in June 2001.

The Highway Construction & Engineering Division, under the direction of Henry P. Cook, P.E., is comprised of two main work groups:

• Engineering Management and Design which provides project management for construction of major roadway improvement projects, and
• Engineering Services which provides several services that relate to the development review process.

This article features the Engineering Services Section and how its staff interacts with permit applicants and how we work with the other permitting agencies.

Engineering Services Section

Collectively, the Engineering Services Section possesses a remarkable amount of County work experience. The group has 5 staff members (Les Spencer, Jim Stafford, Richard Tardiff, Roger Travis, and Bruce Weaver) that have been working for the Division for more than 30 years. There are another 20 employees with 20+ years of County experience. The average amount of work experience in the Engineering Services Section is 17.5 years. Our customers benefit from this longevity because of the considerable knowledge that our staff brings to the table as we help to solve engineering problems and propose solutions.

The Engineering Services Section is made up of 4 teams: the Paving and Drainage section, the Plat section, the Right-of-Way section, and the Survey section.

The Paving and Drainage Section provides engineering plan review of improvements on Trafficway roads and other County roads. They also review and/or calculate cost estimates for developer improvements and process securities posted for right of way improvements. They issue permits for construction of improvements within County jurisdiction rights of way and monitor the construction to ensure compliance with the approved plans. After the improvements are completed, they process acceptance of the improvements and release of he security.

The Plat Section reviews subdivision plats and administers the conditions of County plat approval (the plat recordation process). They work closely with the Traffic Engineering Division and with the Development Management Division. They also review delegation requests to amend conditions of plat approval including developer road improvement agreements, amendments to existing improvement agreements, and non-vehicular access line amendments. The Plat Section coordinates and provides site plan review, and review of minor permit applications for building permits, including landscape & dumpster retro-fit plans. Lastly, the Plat Section coordinates developer improvements with the County's Transportation Capital Improvement Program.

The Right-of-Way Section prepares, reviews, and coordinates deeds and easements for right-of-way required for developer improvements and for Capital Improvement Projects. The Right of way section coordinates with other sections in the Division to ensure that the permit satisfies the Broward County Trafficways plan requirements and verifies that permits being issued for road projects are issued for county jurisdiction roads only. They also review site plans and minor permit applications for right of way requirement compliance and maintain a library of right-of-way records, recorded plats, aerial photography and other historical property and development related records which are frequently used during the evaluation of permits.

The Survey Section provides Surveying and Mapping services and consultation to the Broward County Public Works and Transportation Administration and other County Agencies. They also provide technical review of plats as required by State Law and maintain horizontal and vertical survey control networks that are used by developers and consultants for construction activities. The Survey Section staff maintains historical survey data and is available for public consultation on survey related questions.

Welcome to the Government Center West

The entire Highway Construction and Engineering Division would like to extend a warm welcome to the other permitting agencies and hope they enjoy their new home at the Government Center West. We are looking forward to working together as a team and providing the public with Sunsational Service.

The Permit Center is a cooperative effort among the Environmental Protection Department, the Department of Public Works and Transportation, the Department of Urban Planning and Redevelopment, and supporting agencies, to provide superior customer service from the Government Center West.

Please direct comments and questions to Elliot Auerhahn, Permit Center Director, at eauerhahn@broward.org.