BOCA RATON, Fla. — City officials in Boca Raton will discuss a new ordinance that would require buildings to go through a recertification process.
The city has been working on the new regulation after seeing the Chaplain Tower collapse in Surfside.
A draft of the ordinance was provided to WPTV and city council will discuss it during their Monday workshop.
The ordinance is asking owners of condo buildings that are either 25 or 30 years old to submit for recertification.
“We saw that in Surfside, 40 years did not do the job so we are going to have a shorter one,” said Andy Thomson.
The ordinance requires buildings that are over 50 feet tall, or larger than 5,000 square feet, or have more than 500 people to submit a structural and electrical engineering report. The city would give the owners 180 days to start any repairs.
“The sooner I get it the better,” said Emily Gentile with the Beach Condo Association.
Gentile said they work with over 60 buildings from Boca Raton to Highland Beach and are ready to help HOA’s and owners get through this new certification process.
“We are here to help, we will push it through and get it done,” she added. “Hopefully if we do all these things we wont have another Surfside.”
Thomson said the city wanted to work fast to get the ordinance in place to start rectifying the buildings in the city, “Our number one responsibility is to preserve the health and safety of our residents.”
