Miami declares emergency over housing crisis, allowing city to award no-bid contracts
Miami has declared a public emergency over the worsening housing crisis, a step that allows the city to hire engineers and architects for affordable housing projects faster under no-bid contracts.
Commissioners on Thursday voted to declare an emergency so the city could exempt itself from state-mandated competitive bidding laws and expedite affordable housing projects by several months. The commission unanimously approved the resolution without discussion.
City Manager Art Noriega told the Miami Herald that the city has affordable housing projects in the pipeline in Flagami and Little Havana that are expected to benefit from the exemption from the state law, the Consultant’s Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA).
“The idea was to create some flexibility for us by creating an exemption from the CCNA because that really restricts you,” he said. “Because you have to go in sequence with the various architects and engineers under very strict guidelines. This creates a little more flexibility for us to be able to get more work spread quicker.”
Noriega estimated it could shorten the amount of time it takes to hire architects and engineers for projects from nine months to three or four months. Agreements would be awarded to companies in pools of firms already under contract with the city, and the contracts would still need to approval from the City Commission.
Commissioner Ken Russell, who sponsored the resolution, said it was important for the city to acknowledge the housing crisis in Miami and throughout Florida.
“Now as legislators we have the hard work ahead of us to create smart policies to address the crisis and create more affordable housing for all,” he said.
