Agreement and bond as to right-of-way and subdivision improvements by persons submitting plats, replats, etc., to commission.
Miami City Code § 54-46
in effectSec. 54-46. - Agreement and bond as to right-of-way and subdivision improvements by persons submitting plats, replats, etc., to commission.
All persons submitting any proposed plat, replat, revised plat, amended plat, or resubdivision of any previous record plat or portion thereof of real estate in the city, to the city commission for its acceptance and conformation, are hereby required to accompany any such proposed plat with a suitable agreement entered into by such person with the director of the department of resilience and public works on behalf of the city, providing for the construction of any or all of the following improvements, as shall be specified by the department of resilience and public works in its engineering report on the proposed plat:
(1) The construction within the platted area of permanent-type street pavement, including grading and fill as required, sidewalk, curb and gutter, parkways, street lighting, stormwater systems, seawalls, permanent bulkheads, sanitary sewers, water mains and services in connection therewith, and other improvements where the proposed use and location make such improvements necessary.
(2) The construction of permanent-type bulkheads, seawalls, living shorelines, banks, berms, or any other appurtenant coastal infrastructure being constructed to protect the upland areas from tidal waters, storm surges, or any other sort of tidally-influenced water intrusion along the shoreline, canal, river embankment, or harbor line of any watercourse contiguous to the area platted, as follows:
a. Permanent-type bulkheads, seawalls, living shorelines, or other shoreline protection structures or elements as defined in section 29-81 of the City Code shall be constructed to a minimum elevation of six feet NAVD 88 along all tidally-influenced areas as the same is defined in section 29-81 of the City Code except for those waterfront properties fronting the Miami River and its tributaries which must be constructed to a minimum elevation of four feet NAVD 88. All such protective structures/elements must be designed and built in a substantially impermeable manner, certified/signed and sealed by a civil/structural engineer registered in the State of Florida, and provided with the appropriate modification details to be capable of being raised to a minimum of two feet above their initial designed and constructed elevation to mitigate high tide flooding associated with realized and additional sea level rise through the year 2070 as well as appropriate modification details, to include load calculations, demonstrating the capability of being raised a minimum of two feet above the minimal elevations. All such structures must be designed and constructed in accordance with the department of resilience and public works' design and construction standards.
b. The filling of land within any platted area contiguous to Biscayne Bay and all new or future islands or enlarged existing islands in Biscayne Bay must be constructed to a minimum, settled elevation of six feet NAVD 88.
(3) Adequate drainage by grading or filling of the land within the platted area to the level of the street grades established by the department of resilience and public works or the flood grade established and recorded on maps of Miami-Dade County, whichever is higher; provided that swale areas shall be used at the rear of lots when the nature of drainage conditions make them necessary for proper seepage of water in the substrata. Where fill is required, the fill material shall not contain any rubbish, tree stumps, debris, muck or other objectionable material. In development projects where drainfields may be required, the fill material must also be sufficiently permeable to meet standard percolation test requirements.
Areas which will become public rights-of-way shall contain fill material which conforms to the standard specifications of the city for the construction of streets.
Upon completion of the improvements, the performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or cashier's check hereinafter provided for shall not be released unless the permanent reference monuments indicated on the plat have been placed on the ground at the expense of the owner of the platted land and verified by the department of resilience and public works.
Street improvements shall be constructed in all dedicated rights-of-way lying within or bordering on the platted area, in accordance with plans, specifications and grades approved by the director of resilience and public works, without regard to the fact that parts or all of the rights-of-way may have been dedicated heretofore but either have not been improved or contain improvements which do not conform with current standard specifications. For the purpose of determining the improvements to be made in dedicated street rights-of-way, all arterial streets, wherever located, and all other streets except those in T-3 transect zones, shall be considered primary streets. All improvements, except water mains and services in connection therewith, shall be constructed in accordance with the city's standard specifications and established street grades and at the expense of the owners of the land platted. Water mains and services in connection therewith shall be constructed in accordance with the approved plans and shall be paid for by the owner of the land platted, in accordance with the standards of the water and sewer department then in effect. The time for the performance of the agreement may be extended by the director of resilience and public works. Such agreement shall be accompanied by good and sufficient performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of 115 percent of the total project cost of the improvements, which estimated cost shall have been first approved by the director of resilience and public works. Acceptance and confirmation of the plat by resolution of the commission shall constitute acceptance of the agreement and bond or irrevocable letter of credit. The conditions of the performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit shall be such that, if the principals thereto shall fully and faithfully perform the work in accordance with the terms of the agreement therefor, then the performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit shall be considered complied with; otherwise, the surety thereon, within 30 days after receipt of written notice from the director of the resilience and public works department of the failure or neglect of the principals to perform the agreement, may construct or cause to be constructed the improvements set forth in the agreement; provided, further, that the director of resilience and public works may require the surety to pay to the city the sum estimated to construct or complete the improvements set forth in the agreement, such sum to be estimated by the resilience and public works department, and the surety shall pay to the city any engineering, indirect and inspection costs not to exceed 32 percent thereof, such 32 percent not to include attorneys' fees, such attorneys' fees to be in addition to the 32 percent, which the city may sustain on account of the failure of the principals to carry out and execute all of the provisions of the agreement; provided, further, that the city commission shall have the right to construct or cause to be constructed, after public advertisement and receipt of bids, the improvements provided for in the agreement, and in the event that the city commission exercises such right, the principals and the surety shall be jointly and severally liable to pay the city the final cost of the improvements, together with any engineering, indirect and inspection costs, not to exceed 32 percent thereof, such 32 percent not to include attorneys' fees, such attorneys' fees to be in addition to the 32 percent, which the city may sustain on account of the failure of the principals to carry out and execute the provisions of the agreement. Upon completion of construction of the improvements by the principals or the surety, or payment to the city of the estimated or actual cost thereof, the director of resilience and public works and the city manager shall release the performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit, provided that the permanent reference monuments have been properly placed as hereinabove provided.
A cashier's check in the amount of 115 percent of the total project cost of the improvements may be deposited with the city in lieu of the performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit, the conditions of the deposit thereof to be such that if the depositor shall fully and faithfully perform the work in accordance with the terms of the agreement, the amount of the check shall be returned to the depositor; otherwise, in the event of the failure or neglect of the depositor to perform the agreement, the check shall be applied by the city to the cost of constructing or completing the improvements, including any engineering, inspection, and/or direct and indirect costs, costs not to exceed 32 percent thereof, such percent not to include reasonable attorneys' fees, such attorneys' fees to be in addition to the 32 percent which the city may sustain on account of the failure of the depositor to carry out and execute all of the provisions of the agreement.
The city manager and the director of the department of resilience and public works are hereby authorized and directed to withhold from submission to the commission any proposed plat, replat, revised plat, amended plat, or resubdivision of any previous record plat or portion thereof, unless the hereinbefore-mentioned agreement and performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit or cashier's check accompany the proposed plat.
(5) In all dedicated rights-of-way, the acceptance of the plat or replat shall be conditioned upon adequate landscaping as may be required by the director of planning upon consultation and coordination with all departments concerned. The landscaping shall include, but not be limited to, lawn, shrubs, bushes, hedges and trees. The director of planning shall not recommend the acceptance of any plat or replat unless the bond referred to herein contains the condition that such landscaping shall be provided for as required by the director of planning upon consultation and coordination with all departments concerned. Such landscaping will be designed to protect and preserve the appearance and character of the surrounding neighborhood through the screening effects and aesthetic quality of such landscaping.
(6) Any surety required herein shall be waived for governmental entities and agencies.
(Code 1967, § 54-20; Code 1980, § 54-30; Ord. No. 13467, § 2, 6-12-14; Ord. No. 13792, § 1, 10-11-18; Ord. No. 13919, § 2, 9-24-20; Ord. No. 13980, § 4, 3-25-21)
Source: City of Miami, Florida, City Code, City Charter, Special Acts and Related General Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/miami/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIITHCO_CH54STSI_ARTIICOEXRE_S54-46AGBORI-WSUIMPESUPLREETCOFetched: 11/1/2026