2026-09-29 - Certificate of Use Program Webinar

00:01Good evening and welcome to the

00:02certificate of use pilot program

00:04webinar. My name is Jim Hzel, urban

00:07design and planning manager in the

00:08development services department with the

00:10city and I'll be your host for this

00:12webinar.

00:13The purpose of this webinar is to

00:15provide an overview of the CU pilot

00:17program. The webinar includes a

00:19presentation with background

00:21information, an overview of the

00:23application requirements and a

00:25step-by-step guide on how to submit an

00:27application.

00:28There will be an opportunity for

00:29questions at the end of the presentation

00:31through the Q&A button and box. In

00:35addition, this webinar is being recorded

00:36and will be posted on the city's website

00:38for future use.

00:53The city commission approved the CU

00:55program as a pilot program for one year.

00:57At that time, staff will report back to

00:59the city commission with the results of

01:01the program so that the city commission

01:02can decide to continue the program at

01:05that time. The purpose of a CEO is to

01:08verify that a business is permitted in a

01:10particular zoning district pursuant to

01:12the city's unified land development

01:14regulations. It is a tool to assist new

01:18business, new businesses, business

01:19owners and businesses that are

01:22relocating property owners and landlords

01:24by verifying that the location permits

01:26the businesses the business so owners

01:29can make an informed decision before

01:30signing a lease or hiring contractors or

01:33incurring unnecessary costs.

01:36Many cities use ACU process including

01:40the city of Oakland Park, Miami,

01:43Tamarack,

01:45just to name a few.

01:49A CU is a document that verifies

01:51compliance with specific zoning

01:53requirements of the city's ULDR. As

01:56mentioned, it's a tool to guide

01:57decision-m and avoid unnecessary costs

02:00to businesses.

02:02Starting October 1st, 2026, a CU is

02:06required for any new business, a change

02:08in business ownership, business

02:10relocation,

02:12a change in business operation

02:14substantially different than current

02:16operations, change in business occupied

02:18space such as an expansion, and if a

02:21business is issued a code violation,

02:28a CU is not required for a business that

02:31has a valid business tax receipt prior

02:33to October 1st unless one of those items

02:35are triggered. Obtaining ECU is

02:38mandatory prerequisite to submit for a

02:40business tax receipt starting October

02:421st, 2026.

02:45B TR applications submitted and deemed

02:48complete by the city prior to October

02:501st are exempt from getting a CU.

02:55There are many benefits to the program

02:57including

02:59saving time for uh upfront before hiring

03:03a design team or contractor or signing a

03:05lease or purchasing property.

03:07Providing a peace of mind knowing what

03:09is needed to operate a business in a

03:10location.

03:12Reducing costs from potential violations

03:15hiring an attorney or signing a lease.

03:18Providing a more efficient review or

03:20approval process. And lastly, enhancing

03:23the customer service experience.

03:27To get started, it's best to gather the

03:29necessary information and documents for

03:31submitt. There are required items and

03:34then supplemental additional items if

03:36available. The required items are on the

03:39top of the screen and includes include

03:40if you have a business tax receipt

03:42number for existing businesses,

03:44name and address of business owner, name

03:46and address of property owner, the

03:48business location, ownership

03:51documentation or approval from the

03:52property owner, and a business use and

03:55description. The additional information

03:57is listed on the screen as well. It

03:59should be noted that additional

04:01information can help expedite the review

04:03process if the information is available.

04:09Supporting documents are also an item

04:12that needs to be provided to assist and

04:14expedite the review process. This

04:16includes documentation on ownership,

04:19floor plans or site plans or parcel

04:21layout and property surveys.

04:25This complete list is available on the

04:27city's website under certificate of use

04:29web page.

04:32It should be noted that the CU confirms

04:34the proposed use is permitted on the

04:35property. It does not authorize

04:38construction, renovation, signage, or

04:40other work that may be required by

04:42separate permits or approvals.

04:45Businesses are also responsible for

04:46obtaining any required county, state, or

04:49federal license or certificates.

04:51Receiving a CU does not replace those

04:53requirements.

04:57Once an application is submitted, the

04:59application is either denied or more

05:01information is needed or in process

05:04under review. If denied, the applicant

05:07is notified via email with the reason

05:09for such a denial,

05:12such as the use is not permitted in the

05:13zoning district. If more information is

05:16needed, staff will contact the applicant

05:18asking for the missing information.

05:21in process means the staff is reviewing

05:23the application and getting ready to

05:24send it for the final zoning review

05:27before issuing the certificate of use.

05:30The CU is issued at that time which is

05:32an image on the right hand of the

05:34screen. The certificate contains the

05:36specifics for the business, the location

05:39and any conditions of approval that are

05:41applicable to the application.

05:44It is recommended that you download and

05:45save a copy of the certificate as it

05:48will be needed for future use.

05:53Some frequently asked questions include,

05:55do I need to obtain a CU to submit for

05:57business tax receipt? The answer is yes.

05:59After October 1st, 2026, a CU is

06:01required.

06:04What issues may be identified during the

06:05CU review. Some of those issues include

06:08the need for parking reduction approval

06:10due to insufficient parking on the

06:12property, a change of use approval from

06:14the development review committee, a site

06:17plan amendment for modifying an approved

06:19site plan, or building permit for change

06:21of occupancy per the Florida building

06:23code.

06:25If there are issues as stated above,

06:27does the CU get denied? No. The CU will

06:29be issued with conditions listed so the

06:32applicant is aware.

06:34Is there a fee for obtaining a CU? Yes,

06:36the fee is $238.50

06:39and must be paid at the time of

06:40application submitt.

06:44If you need assistance, the urban design

06:46and planning division staff is available

06:47to assist applicants with the process

06:50and any questions. You may contact staff

06:52at 954-828-4295

06:56or 9548286721.

07:02Now, for this part of the presentation,

07:04I'm going to shift over to do a live

07:06application. So, give me a moment as I

07:08switch screens.

07:28For this part of the webinar, I will

07:30walk through each step to file an

07:32application for the CU program.

07:36To begin, you would sign into your

07:37account with Lauder Build. If you don't

07:39have an account, you'll have to create

07:40an account. And once you do, you would

07:42sign in to the Lauder Build application

07:47here. You'll see if you uh if you've

07:51started an application or not or if you

07:53need to file a new one, you would file

07:55go to the top and click apply

07:58and urban design and planning would be

08:00your option.

08:03Upon that you would agree to the terms

08:05and conditions

08:08and continue with your application.

08:11And when you have to select the type,

08:13you would go under planning and zoning

08:16and you'll see certificate of use right

08:19there. So you click on that and continue

08:22with your application.

08:28This is a disclaimer. You have to click

08:30on that. I won't open that up. Just

08:32trying to speed us up.

08:37You'll begin by putting the applicant

08:38information and property information in.

08:41So, for example, I will enter in an

08:43address

08:46of our building office here

08:50and hit search.

08:53Upon that, you'll see the address pop

08:55up.

08:57You choose the address

09:00and it will populate automatically the

09:04parcel information and owner property

09:06owner. Hit select.

09:10As you can see it automatically

09:11populates for the property information

09:15and then you hit continue application

09:21and you have to choose the applicant. On

09:22this page, you have your account. You

09:24would choose from your account

09:32and you have to identify the business

09:34owner which is also something you could

09:36choose from the account.

09:38Make this easy. I'm picking myself

09:40again.

09:43Once this information is provided or you

09:45continue application

09:48and you get into the details of the

09:51application information, the items that

09:54have an asterct next to the item is a

09:57required field. So, we'll go ahead and

10:01fill this out. You can see the

10:02information as I go along.

10:06And each question has an aspect you must

10:09complete in order to go on to the next

10:11page.

10:13So, I'm going to

10:18I don't have a business tax receipt

10:20number because I'm a new business. Will

10:22the business use operation be the same

10:24as location?

10:26I'm going to say no.

10:28What is the purpose of use? So, I'm

10:30going to be opening a new business

10:38there.

10:40the address currently vacant. I'll say

10:43this. If I know how long it's been

10:45vacated, you can fill that information

10:47out because it doesn't have an asterisk.

10:49So, that's the additional information I

10:51was mentioning earlier.

10:53Um, is there currently a tenant in the

10:55space? I would say no. If that's the

10:58case, will I be making modifications to

11:00the space? Yes, I will.

11:03And tenant name.

11:07And if I know the square feet of the

11:10space, I'll put that in.

11:14This is the same as my space that I'm

11:16occupying. If I know parking spaces, I

11:18put that in as well. That's a required

11:21field. If there's open violations,

11:25you can hit unknown. If you don't know,

11:27or if you are aware, you can hit aware.

11:30And then proposed business use. What

11:32type of business am I doing? I'm doing a

11:33restaurant.

11:35And I'm going to be new place to eat

11:40and drink.

11:44I'm going to do outdoor

11:47dining as an addition.

11:54Once this information is filled out, you

11:56would continue with application

12:01and start to fill out the other items on

12:03here which hours operation

12:06say Monday through Sunday or something

12:11uh 12 a.m. 9:00 p.m.

12:17customers be visiting the site. In this

12:19case, yes, I would hope so.

12:21company vehicles. I would say no. If I

12:24have my number of employees, I would let

12:26I put that in

12:29that this would be a zero for licensed

12:32other employees. Outside storage, yes, I

12:35would have outside storage.

12:38Any proposed use? Yes, I'm going to have

12:39outdoor dining.

12:42Uh cannabis products or anything like

12:44that? No. Doing a restaurant. So, that's

12:46no. And yes, I'll be selling alcohol.

12:50If this was a homebased business, that

12:52field would drop down and I would fill

12:54that out as well. Same thing for a short

12:56term short-term rental here. Those are

12:58not highlighted because I'm chose a

13:00restaurant as my business uh type. So,

13:03I'm click clicking on that for foods

13:06site consumption. Yes.

13:10We'll have it food for takeout. Yes. So,

13:12I would fill out all these questions

13:13will be outdoor dining. Yes.

13:16I'm going to have eight seats outside.

13:20I'm having no sidewalk cafe because I'm

13:23outdoor dining and I would click no

13:26there.

13:27Once this these fields are complete, you

13:29continue application

13:32and required documents here. If I had

13:35any of these documents, I would be

13:36uploading and adding. So you would click

13:38add and then pick the document from your

13:40files and you would upload it. So I'm

13:42going to skip that portion here and

13:45continue with the application.

13:47There are some uh acknowledgements that

13:49need to be made. So you would read the

13:51acknowledgement and click those as well.

13:57Once those are done, we continue with

13:59application

14:03and an opportunity to review the

14:05information

14:07happens here. If you need to edit, you

14:10would edit, click the edit button, edit

14:12whatever is necessary. But this gives

14:15you a summary of everything that's

14:16completed for your application. So you

14:18can review that information at that

14:20time. Once that's done, you would

14:23continue application

14:31and then get to the screen where you

14:33have to make payment. So I would choose

14:35my item here and click checkout. Um, I'm

14:39not going to go through that step

14:40because I don't want to process anything

14:42here from a fee. But that is basically

14:46the application process. And once it's

14:48submitted, it goes through the review

14:49process as mentioned in the

14:51presentation.

14:52Um, with that, I don't know if there's

14:54any questions, but we could open up

14:56questions at this time.

14:59Let's see if there's any in our Q&A.

15:07I would like to note that this will is

15:09what was recorded. It'll be posted on

15:11the website starting tomorrow. So if you

15:14want to go back and watch the video

15:16again, I know I tend to speak a little

15:18fast so but no questions have come up

15:21yet.

15:28Just another moment or two. Give

15:30everybody an opportunity.