§ 33J-8. Exemptions.

(a)

Governmental or public facilities are exempt from the requirement that impact fees be paid. Such facilities are those parcels, grounds, buildings or structures owned by municipal, County, State and federal governments, the Miami-Dade County School Board and the South Florida Water Management District and related to the operation of those entities and used for governmental purposes including, but not limited to, governmental offices, police and fire rescue stations, airports, seaports, parking facilities, equipment yards, sanitation facilities, water control structures, schools, parks and similar facilities in or through which general government operations are conducted. It is provided, however, the following shall not be considered governmental or public facilities and shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter: (1) privately owned properties or facilities leased for governmental operations or activities; and (2) public properties or facilities used for private residential, commercial or industrial activities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the application of the fire and emergency medical services impact fee to facilities at a County owned airport used for private commercial or industrial activities shall be limited to the extent permitted by federal law or existing contractual commitments with the Federal Aviation Administration.

(b)

All development activity which is subject to an existing development of regional impact development order (D.O.) adopted pursuant to Chapter 380, Florida Statutes, approved prior to the effective date of this chapter, shall be exempt in its entirety from this chapter, with regard to development approved by such development order, unless otherwise provided for in the current development order. This exemption provision does not apply to those development orders which have been revoked or determined to be null and void or to any development not authorized in such development order by Miami-Dade County or another unit of local government in Miami-Dade County issuing such development order. This exemption shall not apply to any additional development regardless of whether such additional development constitutes a substantial deviation under Chapter 380, Florida Statutes.

(c)

Alteration, expansion or replacement of an existing building or unit where the use is not changed and the number of units or square footage is not increased shall not be subject to the impact fee. The burden of demonstrating the previous existence of a use or structure or previous payment of impact fees shall be upon the feepayer. In cases where there is an existing use, any additional fees shall be based upon the alteration to the existing use or structure.

(d)

The construction of accessory buildings or structures where the use is not changed, such that an additional impact does not result and the number of units or square footage is not materially increased, is exempt.

(e)

A building replacement meeting the requirements of Section 104.3(D), South Florida Building Code (replacement necessitated by partial destruction) is exempt.

(f)

The issuance of a tie-down permit on a mobile home on which the impact fee has been paid is exempt.

(g)

Parking garages are exempt from the impact fees when the structure is accessory to a primary use structure.

(h)

The following development shall be exempt from the requirement that impact fees be paid, subject to an application by the feepayer to the Zoning Director and a determination by the Zoning Director that the proposed development activity is consistent with the CDMP and fits within one (1) or more of the following categories:

(1)

Any residential development activity, or portion thereof, which provides affordable housing as defined in the "Florida Affordable Housing Act of 1986," Section 420.602(3)(a) or (b), Florida Statutes, (1987) and amendments thereto.

(2)

Any commercial or industrial development activity located within an existing designated enterprise zone as defined in Section 290.004(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1987), and amendments thereto, provided that: (a) the proposed development activity has been granted a property tax exemption under Sections 29-81 through 29-89 of the Code of Miami-Dade County; (b) when such development activity is located within a municipality, the municipality has also granted a property tax exemption under the aforesaid Sections 29-81 through 29-89; and (c) the feepayer has furnished all the documentation required by the Zoning Director, in accordance with the provisions of the manual. Development activity meeting these criteria shall receive, upon application for and confirmation of tax exemption, an impact fee refund.

(3)

Any commercial or industrial development activity located within an area which has been approved for tax increment financing in accordance with the Code, where specific expenditures from tax increment dollars have been allocated for fire and emergency medical services capital acquisition, expansion and improvements as identified in Section 33J-12(a). The total amount of exemption shall not exceed the total expenditure from tax increment dollars for fire and emergency medical services capital acquisition, expansion and improvements.

(i)

An exemption must be claimed by the feepayer prior to paying the impact fee. Any exemption not so claimed shall be deemed to have been waived by the feepayer. If an exemption is sought pursuant to Section 33J-8(h) impact fees shall be paid prior to the issuance of the building permit. However, the feepayer shall be entitled to a refund pursuant to this chapter upon submitting a formal application for a refund to and receiving approval from the Zoning Director, on a form acceptable to the Zoning Director.

(1)

Application for a refund under Section 33J-8 shall be made within one (1) year of the later of: (1) the effective date of this ordinance or (2) the issuance of a certificate of completion or a certificate of use for the building. Failure to apply for a refund by the feepayer, within the above referred one-year period shall invalidate the right for a refund under this section.

(2)

Notwithstanding the aforesaid, if an exemption is sought pursuant to Section 33J-8(h), community development corporations (CDC) as defined in Section 290.033(2) [Florida Statutes] and community-based organizations (CBO) as defined in Section 420.602(5), Florida Statutes that have received assistance from Miami-Dade County or the State of Florida in funding predevelopment costs to provide affordable housing to low and very low income families shall have the option of executing a covenant running with the land, in a form approved by the Zoning Director, in lieu of payment of impact fees prior to the issuance of the building permit. Joint ventures of either a CDC or CBO with a for-profit developer, whose proposed affordable housing development has been approved by the Miami-Dade County Office of Community Development, shall also have the right to execute the aforesaid covenant.

(Ord. No. 90-26, § 2, 3-20-90; Ord. No. 92-153, § 2, 12-15-92; Ord. No. 94-168, § 1, 9-13-94; Ord. No. 95-215, § 1, 12-5-95; Ord. No. 98-125, § 30, 9-3-98; Ord. No. 07-58, § 1, 4-24-07; Ord. No. 15-144, § 4, 12-1-15)