Proposed Miami Condo Rules Wouldn’t Prevent Another Collapse, Engineers Say

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A month after Florida lawmakers failed to require more frequent and more thorough inspections of aging condominium buildings, Miami-Dade County officials have drafted their own reforms.

But a few engineers said the proposed changes, which are set to receive a public hearing today, April 13, wouldn’t be enough to prevent another tragedy like the collapse of the Champlain Towers, which killed 98 people last year adjacent to Miami Beach.

The Miami Herald newspaper reported that while the ordinance would require inspections 30 years after construction, instead of the 40-year inspections now in place, it would not mandate that inspections look at a building’s design plans, check for proper reinforcement structures or perform other needed testing.

Many of the changes being made to Miami-Dade’s recertification guidelines don’t address what went wrong in the June 24 collapse in Surfside, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Washington told the newspaper. One part would require examination of foundation settlement and signs of overloading, but would not check for water intrusion, steel corrosion or concrete deterioration.

“This seems to be skipping around the actual big issues,” said Professor Dawn Lehman, who was hired by the Herald to examine the causes of the condo collapse. “The good thing is they’re trying to hit on the right subject matter, but I think what is underneath there is probably something missing.”

Some property insurers aren’t waiting for officials to act, according to news reports, and in many cases are asking condo associations for information on inspections, repairs and engineering work before renewing policies. Premiums are expected to spike dramatically for many condos, driving many long-time residents out of high-rise buildings.

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Photo: A makeshift memorial for the victims of the Champlain Towers South condo collapse. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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