Local Rules Near Downtown Hialeah

Sec. 58-47(a) of the Hialeah Code bars operating or playing a radio, TV, tape, record, CD, DVD, musical instrument or other sound device that creates a 'noise disturbance' beyond a property's boundaries in residential or mixed residential-commercial neighborhoods.

Sec. 58-47(b) of the Hialeah Code presumes it a nuisance to operate or cause the operation of construction, drilling or repair tools and equipment between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., placing overnight construction noise squarely within the city's civil noise violations.

Sec. 58-48(c) of the Hialeah Code exempts 'any noise generated by the movement of aircraft according to applicable federal laws or regulations' from the city's entire noise article, so aircraft overflight noise is not regulated locally.

Hialeah makes it unlawful for any animal owner to let a pet disturb neighbors with habitual noise. Sec. 10-2(d) bars animals from causing 'annoyance, alarm or otherwise unreasonably disturb others by habitually howling, yelping whining, barking, screeching, braying or making other noises,' and the city enforces it as a civil code violation carrying daily fines.

Hialeah and Miami-Dade County do not impose annual night caps on short-term rentals. Florida Statute 509.032(7)(b) preempts cities from regulating the duration or frequency of vacation rental stays unless the ordinance predates June 1, 2011, which Hialeah's current STR rules do not.

Florida law (FL Statute Section 509.032) requires STR operators to maintain adequate liability coverage. Hialeah STR hosts should carry at minimum $300,000 to $1,000,000 in liability insurance. Standard homeowner policies typically exclude commercial rental activities and require a separate rider or policy.

Hialeah enforces occupancy limits for short-term rentals based on the Florida Building Code and local zoning regulations. Maximum occupancy is generally calculated by bedroom count and square footage. The city's dense residential character and code enforcement presence ensure compliance in neighborhoods.

Hialeah short-term rentals (rented more than 3 times per year for periods under 30 days) must obtain a Miami-Dade County Certificate of Use (CU), DBPR vacation rental license under FS 509.241, and remit 13% combined tourist + state sales tax. Florida FS 509.032(7)(b) preempts new city STR-specific bans.

Hialeah STR properties must provide adequate off-street parking per zoning requirements. Vehicles must not block driveways or create neighborhood congestion.

Hialeah enforces the Florida Building Code Residential Section R314 and NFPA 72 for smoke alarms. Alarms are required in every sleeping room, outside sleeping areas, and on each story including basements. Florida Statute 553.883 mandates 10-year sealed-battery alarms when battery-powered units are installed or replaced.

Consumer fireworks in Hialeah may only be used on July 4th, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day per FL HB 1059. Aerial fireworks sale prohibited. Sparklers legal year-round.

Sec. 58-13 of the Hialeah Code makes it unlawful to park a motor vehicle, trailer, RV, moped, bus or vessel on a sidewalk, curb, a raised landscaped swale next to a sidewalk, or in a spot that blocks or impedes access to a driveway.

Florida Statute Section 366.94 promotes EV infrastructure and limits local restrictions on home charging installations. Hialeah residents need an electrical permit to install a Level 2 (240V) home charger. HOAs cannot unreasonably prohibit EV charging equipment per FL Statute Section 718.113 for condos and Section 720.3075 for HOAs.

Hialeah Code Sec. 98-2202 sets minimum off-street loading spaces whenever a building is newly constructed or an existing structure's floor area grows by 50 percent or more. Retail, office, restaurant, wholesale, warehouse, repair-service and industrial buildings need one loading space once floor area passes 10,000 square feet, plus another for every additional 40,000 square feet. Hotels, motels, hospitals and similar institutions trigger a space at 30 units or beds.

Hialeah Code Sec. 98-2206 makes it unlawful to leave an abandoned, junked or mechanically incapacitated vehicle parked on any public right-of-way, swale or other public property, and bans the same on private property except inside an enclosed garage or for brief repairs like an oil change, fluid top-off, plug swap or flat-tire fix. Sec. 90-171 defines exactly which vehicles count as abandoned, junked or mechanically incapacitated.

Hialeah follows Miami-Dade Code §33-124.1 for commercial-vehicle parking in residential zones: Cat. 1 (taxis/marked vans under 8 ft): max 2 per home; Cat. 2 (utility/landscape vehicles): max 1, screened by garage or 6-ft opaque fence; Cat. 3 (over 20 ft long or 8 ft tall): banned. Fines start at $500.

Hialeah adopted its own RV and boat rules in 2024 (Ordinance 2024-013, Chapter 98 zoning), not Miami-Dade Section 33-20. A residential property may keep only one RV and one boat, and RVs may not be parked in the backyard. Violations draw a $500-per-day fine and utility disconnection.

Hialeah Code Sec. 98-2123 bans barbed wire fences outright in every residential zoning district, and Sec. 98-2122 outlaws electrified fences citywide except on industrial-zoned property that meets strict safety standards. A homeowner cannot fence a residential yard with either barbed wire or an electric charge; the narrow industrial exception requires an 8-foot non-electrified perimeter wall, warning signage, and a city building permit before any current is run.

In Hialeah's industrial zoning districts, the city will not issue a building permit for a fence or wall between adjoining lots if it falls inside the mandatory five-foot, one-inch building separation setback, which must otherwise stay clear and unobstructed.

Hialeah caps residential fences, walls and hedges at four feet along the front lot line and six feet along side and rear lot lines under Sec. 98-2121. Near driveways and alleys, front or side solid fences drop to a 2½-foot limit within ten feet of the driveway or alley opening for visibility.

Hialeah allows veterinarians to operate as a permitted professional-services use in the RO residential office district under Code Sec. 98-777, the same category as physicians and dentists. The city draws a hard line elsewhere, though: Secs. 98-973 and 98-1023 flatly bar medical clinics and veterinary offices from the CBD central business district and the OPS office and professional services district.

Hialeah bans keeping any wild, dangerous or undomesticated animal as a pet, from predatory mammals to reptiles and game birds. Sec. 10-2(a) makes it unlawful to 'harbor, maintain, control...or keep any livestock or wild, dangerous, undomesticated or vicious animals in the city,' and Sec. 10-1 defines the banned category broadly, with only narrow pet-shop and nonpoisonous-snake exceptions.

Hialeah bans keeping livestock, including chickens and other fowl, anywhere in the city except on property lawfully zoned agricultural. Sec. 10-1 defines livestock to include fowl, emus, rheas and ostriches, and Sec. 10-2(a) makes harboring livestock unlawful citywide. The only carve-out is agriculturally zoned land, excluding mobile home parks, where housing must still sit 100 feet from any dwelling.

Hialeah bars owners from letting any animal roam 'at large,' meaning off the owner's premises or beyond the owner's custody and control. Sec. 10-2(c) makes it unlawful to permit an animal to be at large in the city, and Sec. 10-1 defines the term, so a loose dog on a public street or a neighbor's yard is a Code violation.

Hialeah prohibits feeding wildlife that creates public nuisances, particularly feral cats, iguanas, and waterfowl. The city's warm climate and canal systems attract significant wildlife. Miami-Dade County Animal Services enforces wildlife feeding restrictions. Trash must be secured to prevent attracting raccoons, opossums, and rodents.

Florida law strips Hialeah of any power to regulate backyard beekeeping. F.S. § 586.10(1) preempts 'the authority to regulate, inspect, and permit managed honeybee colonies and to adopt rules on the placement and location of registered inspected managed honeybee colonies' to the state, superseding any city or county ordinance. Hialeah's own Sec. 10-3(b) only exempts bees on agriculturally zoned land from its livestock ban.

Hialeah does not prohibit artificial turf installation on residential property. FL Statute Section 373.185 supports water-efficient landscaping alternatives. HOAs cannot unreasonably restrict synthetic grass. Installation may require a site plan review for drainage compliance given Hialeah's flat terrain and stormwater management requirements.

Hialeah's occupied-property rule is separate from its vacant-lot rule: Sec. 78-33 makes the property owner, occupant and tenant jointly responsible for keeping the front, side and rear yard, plus the swale, in clean condition, and treats grass or weeds over six inches as prima facie proof of a violation.

Hialeah follows Miami-Dade County's tree protection framework under County Code Section 24-49, which mandates protection of tree and forest resources. Removal of protected native species such as live oak, mahogany, and gumbo limbo requires a tree removal permit from the city. Dead, hazardous, or invasive trees may qualify for exemptions.

Florida law (FL Statute Section 373.228) encourages rainwater harvesting statewide. Hialeah residents may collect rainwater from rooftops using rain barrels and cisterns without a permit for non-potable uses such as irrigation. South Florida Water Management District promotes rainwater collection as part of water conservation efforts.

Florida law (FL Statute Section 373.185) protects homeowners' right to install Florida-Friendly landscaping and prohibits HOAs and local governments from requiring traditional turf lawns. Hialeah residents can replace grass with native South Florida plants, xeriscaping, and drought-tolerant species. The South Florida Water Management District offers rebates for water-efficient landscaping.

SFWMD two-day-per-week irrigation applies in Hialeah. Odd addresses: Wed/Sat. Even: Thu/Sun. Before 10 AM or after 4 PM. Year-round.

Hialeah bars home offices from receiving customer or client visits entirely. Sec. 98-2030(c)(5) of the zoning code allows only deliveries of office supplies and repair or installation of office equipment at the residence; any other business traffic to or from a home office is prohibited outright.

Hialeah allows a home office as a secondary use in R-1, R-Z, R-2, R-3 and R-4 zoning districts, capped at 200 square feet of living area, one per residence, and staffed only by household members, per Sec. 98-2030(b)-(c) of the zoning code. Operators must obtain a city business license before starting.

Hialeah bans exterior signs or commercial advertising for home offices entirely. Sec. 98-2030(c)(6) allows no signs or other forms of commercial advertisement outside the residence, with one narrow exception: real estate brokers may post an interior sign on the home office door as authorized by state administrative rule.

Hialeah treats a licensed family day care home as a valid residential use in any residential zoning district under Sec. 98-2032. Capacity is capped by Sec. 98-2031 at groups as small as four infants or as many as ten children with age limits, and the use must comply with all residential zoning regulations.

Hialeah requires a building permit before any swimming pool or its safety barrier is built, under City Code Sec. 98-2021. No pool permit may be issued unless a safety-barrier permit is secured at the same time, and if the property is already properly enclosed, the barrier permit can be waived after a satisfactory inspection.

Hialeah strictly enforces Florida's Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (FL Statute Section 515.29) and Florida Building Code pool barrier requirements. All residential pools must have a 48-inch minimum barrier with self-closing, self-latching gates. Gate latches must be at least 54 inches from the ground. HVHZ-rated materials required.

Hialeah caps a residential utility shed at 100 square feet and 8 feet tall, requires it to sit in the rear yard on a three-foot perimeter setback, bars plumbing or living use, and requires a building permit from the building division before installation.

Hialeah ADU regulations follow Miami-Dade County standards. ADUs permitted in qualifying zones inside the Urban Development Boundary. HVHZ building code applies. Owner occupancy required.

Garage conversions to ADUs in Hialeah follow Miami-Dade standards. Min 5,000 sq ft lot, 220 sq ft habitable. Building permits and HVHZ compliance required. Licensed contractors mandatory.

Grilling and open-flame cooking in Hialeah's city parks is confined to picnic areas the recreation and community services department has specifically designated for that use. Sec. 62-11 requires an approved grill, stove, fireplace or other suitable container, prohibits leaving a fire unattended before it's fully extinguished, and separately bans scorching benches, tables or other park property with a grill.

Hialeah's sign code exempts holiday decorations from the standard sign permit that every other sign in the city needs. Sec. 74-87(6) lets residents and businesses put up seasonal lights, inflatables and yard displays without a permit, so long as the display needs no structural support and no electrical hookup that a licensed electrician would have to install and permit.

New or substantially improved homes in Hialeah's special flood hazard areas must elevate the lowest floor to the ASCE 24 standard or eight inches above the crown of the road, whichever is higher. Nonresidential buildings must clear four inches above base flood elevation or be engineer-certified as dry floodproofed.

Hialeah runs its own Stormwater Utility, billing every developed residential and nonresidential parcel an ERU-based fee to fund citywide drainage systems. Miss the due date and a 10 percent late charge, 8 percent annual interest, and eventually a property lien can follow.

Any development in a Hialeah special flood hazard area, from new buildings to filling and grading, needs a development permit and must be reasonably safe from flooding under the city's flood damage prevention article. The city adopts FEMA's Miami-Dade flood maps and study by reference.

Solar panels in Hialeah require building permits. All must meet HVHZ wind load. FL §163.04 protects right to install. FPL net metering available. HOAs cannot ban.

Hialeah's sign code caps most wall-mounted signage at ten percent of a building's facade, but window signs get a specific carve-out. Under Sec. 74-218(2), window and door signs escape that ten-percent ceiling entirely once the display windows or doors sit at least 50 feet back from any right-of-way or other public way, a rule the planning and zoning division applies citywide outside the HDUC and Palm Avenue corridor districts.

Hialeah treats political campaign signs as a 'specific purpose sign' under Sec. 74-148(c)(3), capping them at 8 square feet and 2 feet in height, one per lot or per street frontage per candidate. Every sign must come down within 30 days of the candidate's withdrawal, elimination or the election itself, no matter how long it has already been up.

On-premise LED signs in Hialeah are confined to industrial and commercial property with 100 feet of frontage, restricted to three commercial corridors, and may only advertise the business on that same property. Sec. 74-149 bans third-party advertising outright and limits operating hours to 6:00 a.m. through midnight.

Off-site billboards are banned everywhere in Hialeah except through the billboard replacement program in Sec. 74-150, which lets owners of existing legal nonconforming billboards facing the Palmetto Expressway, State Road 112 or I-75 relocate or rebuild them, capped at 672 square feet per face, without ever increasing the citywide billboard count.

Hialeah requires every lot owner, improved or unimproved, to keep the parcel free of accumulated garbage, weeds, vines and debris. Grass or weeds taller than six inches is prima facie evidence of a nuisance under Sec. 78-32. Code inspectors give notice and a compliance deadline; if the owner does not cure it, the city clears the lot and liens the property for its costs.

Hialeah requires every exterior building and wall surface to be properly painted or coated and kept free of chipping, cracking, discoloration or peeling. Maintaining any structure or condition that violates the minimum housing code is a separate, standalone offense.

Hialeah caps how bright a building can shine toward residential neighbors: Sec. 74-178 limits illumination on buildings facing homes to standard parking-lot wattage and requires upper-floor lighting to be screened by a tree line. Companion rules bar unreasonable sign glare into residential areas (Sec. 74-177) and require parking-lot lighting citywide to avoid unreasonable glare or hazardous conditions (Sec. 98-2196).

Hialeah measures digital billboard brightness against ambient light rather than a fixed number. Sec. 74-150(i)(4) requires an automatic light sensor and caps output at no more than 0.3-foot candles above ambient light, measured with a foot-candle meter at a preset distance tied to the sign's face size.

Hialeah has no separate habitability code of its own: Sec. 50-26 adopts the substantive provisions of Miami-Dade County's Minimum Housing Standards Ordinance, County Code sections 17-1 through 17-30.1, by reference and enforces them citywide through its own code compliance department.

Hialeah Code Sec. 78-108 requires garbage, waste and recycling dumpsters serving multifamily, commercial or industrial property to sit in a screened, masonry-enclosed spot at least ten feet from any street right-of-way, never on a right-of-way, sidewalk or public property.

Hialeah's solid waste department collects recyclables every two weeks in city-issued containers, and every household account holder must separate and set out recyclables or face a rebuttable presumption of a violation, with fines from $50 to $100 per infraction.

The city's solid waste department has exclusive collection authority: Sec. 78-68 sets garbage pickup twice weekly, Sec. 78-62 sets recycling once every two weeks, and Sec. 78-70 sets bulk trash once a month on alternating months, all on schedules the director of solid waste determines.

Dumping trash or garbage anywhere in Hialeah, public or private property, is unlawful under Sec. 58-27, covering streets, alleys, rights-of-way, parks, canals and lakes. Violators face a civil penalty of up to $250 for a first offense and up to $500 for every repeat offense under Sec. 58-31.

Hialeah runs a mandatory citywide residential recycling program: Sec. 78-63 requires every household account holder to separate recyclables into the city-issued container, and failing to recycle, or setting materials out mixed with garbage for two straight collections, is itself a violation.

Hialeah dictates exactly where and when garbage carts go out: Sec. 78-69 requires placement on the swale or curb cut, three feet from the street edge and five feet from other objects for automated carts, set out no earlier than one day before pickup and removed the same day.

Hialeah collects bulk yard waste, branches, grass clippings and palm fronds, once a month on alternating months, separate from regular bulk trash, up to eight cubic yards per residence under Sec. 78-71. Small material can be bagged or bundled, but bagged weight still counts against the same set-out limit.

Bulk trash pickup in Hialeah comes with a hard cap: Sec. 78-70 allows eight cubic yards per residence per collection day, placed clear of buildings, fences, poles and hydrants by at least five feet, with anything over the limit billed as a special service.

Hialeah food trucks may operate only on property zoned C-2, TOD, or NBD, or in the public right-of-way on a first-come basis, and must stay 500 feet from any gasoline station or combustible energy source unless a fire-rated wall separates them.

Hialeah's peddler ordinance, which by definition excludes food truck operators, bars foot vendors from stopping to sell at a fixed sidewalk spot and from storing or displaying any inventory, cart, or stand on the public right-of-way, including the sidewalk or swale.

Hialeah requires every mobile food dispensing vehicle to carry a current state Division of Hotels and Restaurants license and a city business tax receipt on board, plus site-plan or right-of-way approval, insurance, and a notarized property-owner authorization before it can legally operate.

Hialeah requires every peddler or itinerant vendor to get a city license, provide a state sales tax ID, and display a city identification card with license number while working, under Sec. 18-305. Vendors cannot set up a fixed selling spot, must stay 300 feet from highway ramps and overpasses, and cannot sell raw meat, poultry, fish or unlicensed food.

Hialeah respects residents' right to refuse solicitors through posted no-soliciting signs. Solicitors who ignore posted signs may face trespassing charges under Florida law. The city's solicitor permit requirements include provisions requiring solicitors to honor homeowner preferences.

Hialeah parks are off-limits overnight: fenced or gated parks close when the gates lock and reopen the next day, while unfenced parks carry a straight 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfew under Sec. 62-5. Vehicles cannot be left on any parkway or park lot during the same hours, with exceptions only for on-duty police, recreation department staff and written permit holders.

Hialeah's R-1 one-family district sets a 20-foot front yard, side yards of at least 10 percent of the lot's average width (minimum 5'1", maximum 7.5 feet), and a 20-foot rear yard under Code Secs. 98-500 through 98-502. Corner lots need a 15-foot side yard along the street, and a porte cochere may push up to 15 feet into the front setback if it meets city design standards.

Hialeah caps building footprint at 43 percent of lot area in the R-Z residential zero lot line district under Code Sec. 98-830, the only zoning division in the code that states a lot-coverage percentage this directly. The cap rises to 45 percent when the extra footprint is used for a utility room, and small accessory features are excluded from the calculation entirely.

Hialeah caps single-family homes in the R-1 one-family district at 2½ stories or 35 feet under Sec. 98-498. The R-2 one- and two-family district carries the identical cap, and Sec. 98-413(2) backs both numbers with a citywide rule that no building may be built or altered to exceed the height limit set for its zoning district.

Inside the Okeechobee Rapid Transit Zone overlay, Hialeah requires street trees along every street at an average 25-foot on-center spacing with at least a four-inch trunk diameter at planting. The spacing rule bends only where the site cannot fit both a tree and the intersection sight triangle.

Hialeah limits garage and yard sales to two weekends per calendar year under City Code Sec. 98-1926. The sale must take place in a residential zoning district, on the premises of the property owner or occupant, and can include only used or old personal effects, not items bought or obtained for resale.

Hialeah only allows storm shutters and similar hurricane protection to stay closed during a declared emergency, to cover a broken window for up to 30 days, to secure a business after hours, or to protect a vacant property. Leaving them shut the rest of the time is a code violation with civil fines attached.

Hialeah requires a hard-wired carbon monoxide detector on every floor of new residential construction that has habitable space, plus interconnected smoke detectors in every bedroom and on every level. Rental and commercial buildings must meet the same standard under a separate two-year compliance deadline.

Hialeah does not write its own building code; Sec. 14-2 adopts the Florida Building Code and specified Miami-Dade County code sections by reference as the city's construction standard. The building division then charges permit fees under a separate fee schedule set by Sec. 14-3, and Sec. 14-4 requires notice-of-commencement paperwork before work on real property begins.

Hialeah has no stand-alone local plumbing chapter; it adopts the latest Florida Building Code, including its Plumbing volume, by reference, with permit fees set through the building division's general fee schedule.

Hialeah requires every family day care home and large family child care home to comply with the city fire code and pass a $50.00 inspection, per Sec. 98-2033. A passing inspection earns a certificate of compliance valid for two years, after which the operator must recertify before the certificate expires.

Any march, motorcade, procession or parade that uses a Hialeah street, roadway or public right-of-way needs a permit approved by the city council under conditions the council sets for that event. Funeral processions under state law, and military, police or fire department parades, are exempt. Marchers who proceed without council approval face the Code's general civil penalty.

Reserving a picnic shelter or group gathering space at a Hialeah park requires an advance reservation for a specific date and time under Sec. 62-24(a); unreserved shelters can be used on a first-come basis only if the recreation and community services director deems it feasible. The same section separately requires a written department permit for overnight camping and for commercial-style photography using sets, structures or professional models.

In Hialeah's CR commercial-residential district, outdoor seating at restaurants and cafes must close by 11:00 p.m. under Code Sec. 98-877(a)(9). Supper clubs and nightclubs get no outdoor dining allowance at all, and restaurants seeking a full liquor license or live entertainment need a special use permit before they can operate.

Hialeah requires city council approval before anyone closes a street or hosts a gathering of 50 or more people, whether a block party, festival or rally. Sec. 18-27 makes it unlawful to run a special event without a permit, and the council can deny requests over incomplete applications, unpaid insurance, past violations, or insufficient police staffing to secure the route.

Any festival, street fair or commercial gathering of 50 or more people in Hialeah needs a city council-approved special event permit. Sec. 18-27 bars conducting a 'special event' without one, Sec. 18-26 defines the term to cover both commercial and public-advocacy events, and Sec. 18-31 layers on fees, insurance and a detailed site-plan submission before the city will sign off.

Anyone who wants to break into a Hialeah sidewalk, street or right-of-way, or run pipe beneath one, needs a streets department permit first. The permit holder must restore the area within 24 hours and provide barricades, signs and lights for public safety.

Hialeah bars obstructing any part of the swale, the right-of-way strip between the sidewalk and street, or any street or public roadway, under Sec. 82-5 and Sec. 82-33. Property owners must also keep abutting sidewalks, driveways, curbs and gutters free of unsafe conditions under Sec. 82-91, or the city can remove the hazard after notice and lien the property for the cost.

Hialeah puts the duty to keep abutting sidewalks, driveways, curbs and gutters safe on the property owner, occupant or agent, not the city. Owners must inspect and report unsafe conditions in writing, and unpaid repair costs become a property lien after 30 days.

Before Hialeah issues a license to any bar, nightclub or other establishment offering entertainment, Sec. 18-238 requires the space to be completely soundproof so that no noise from the operation may be heard from outside, fully air conditioned, and approved by the fire department. Chapter 58's general noise ordinance separately bars sound that disturbs neighboring property at any licensed establishment.

Hialeah still carries an A agricultural zoning district under Code Sec. 98-451, permitting farms, nurseries, greenhouses, orchards, dairies and cattle and poultry raising by right alongside one-family homes. The district is use-restricted rather than a broad right-to-farm shield: land zoned A can be used only for the purposes the section lists, and nothing else.

Sec. 58-12 of the Hialeah Code bars operating a motorized scooter, a self-propelled seatless vehicle on three wheels or fewer that is not state-licensed, anywhere on city sidewalks, streets, rights-of-way, parking lots, parks and other city-owned or operated property.

Hialeah residents who dispute a water or sewer bill because of a hidden leak must file written notice with the water and sewer department within 30 days under Code Sec. 94-195. The department only credits sewer charges tied to leaks that never reached the sewer system, and only after the customer pays a $25 inspection fee and submits a plumber's bill, proof of payment, and photos of the repair.

Redevelopment inside Hialeah's Neighborhood Business District (NBD) overlay, which covers the Palm Avenue and East 4th Avenue corridors near downtown, must follow adopted NBD design guidelines covering facade articulation, windows, and building character before it can qualify for the district's density and height incentives.

In Hialeah's NBD Neighborhood Business District overlay, developers earn density above the 32-unit-per-acre base, up to 70 units per net acre, and height above the 55-foot, five-story base, up to 95 feet and nine stories, by racking up incentive points for public benefits like a $40,000 housing trust fund contribution.

Hialeah caps secondhand goods dealer licenses at one per 4,500 residents citywide, requires a $100 annual license with a police background check, and mandates 30-day holds and detailed transaction records for every item bought or pawned.

Anyone pawning or reselling gold, silver or platinum in Hialeah must hold a $100 precious metal dealer license from the business tax division, pass a police background check, and hold pledged items at least 15 days before sale, with pawning banned between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Every Hialeah smoke shop, defined to include retail tobacco, nicotine and vape dealers, must hold a state nicotine/tobacco dealer permit, post an under-21 warning sign, check ID unless the customer clearly looks 30 or older, and keep storefront windows untinted under Sec. 18-211. Shops selling pipes or bongs must draw at least 75 percent of revenue from tobacco products.

Hialeah confines adult bookstores, video stores, motion picture theaters, relaxation spas, body-painting studios, exotic dance studios and encounter parlors to zones that already permit a bookstore, theater or massage parlor, and keeps them at least 1,000 feet from each other and 500 feet from churches, schools, day cares and residential-zoned land under Sec. 98-1767, with a city council waiver available.

Tattoo parlors pay a $175 annual business tax under classification 812199T and must hold a biomedical waste permit from the Miami-Dade County Health Department before the city treats them as properly licensed.

Wrecker companies doing city-initiated towing need a separate regulatory license on top of their occupational license, with an $800 application fee, employee background checks, and $500,000/$1,000,000 insurance coverage.

Hialeah Code Sec. 58-4(b) makes loitering a civil infraction, covering standing, remaining or sleeping on public streets, sidewalks, overpasses, bridges, parks or libraries in ways that hinder traffic, schools, libraries or public buildings, plus loitering or prowling under state law.

Smoking and vaping, including cannabis and hemp products under the chapter's own definition, are banned on all Hialeah park property, recreational facilities and public buildings under the 'Joanna Alemany Act,' Sec. 62-26. Fines climb from $100.00 for a first offense to $200.00 for a second and $500.00 for a third or subsequent violation, though first- and second-time offenders can opt into a free quit-smoking course instead.

Sec. 58-10 of the Hialeah Code bans skateboarding outright on public sidewalks, parking lots, driveways and other pedestrian-traffic areas within every commercially zoned district in the city, on top of any other law that already restricts the activity.

Hialeah bans soliciting money or anything of value at street corners and intersections citywide, and separately bars door-to-door solicitation of chattels or valuables in residential areas. A narrow twice-yearly exception exists only for trained public-safety volunteer groups.

Alcohol is banned outright on Hialeah's parks, playgrounds, pools and recreation centers, with only the Milander Center allowed to serve beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages, and only at city-sponsored or city-approved events. Sec. 62-21 lets other recreation facilities allow beer and wine when a professional sports team's use agreement or a mayor-approved city event permits it, and bars entry to intoxicated persons.

The business tax administrator decides disputed business classifications, unlisted businesses are taxed under the closest matching category, and owners get ten working days to appeal a classification to the city council.