Charles Burkett

Following the Champlain Towers South collapse in June 2021, Mayor Burkett became a leading voice for building safety reform. He advocated at the state and local level for stricter building recertification requirements. Surfside adopted enhanced local ordinances requiring more frequent structural inspections of older buildings, and Burkett lobbied Tallahassee for statewide reform, which contributed to the passage of Florida SB 4-D in 2022 mandating milestone inspections for condominium buildings. He also pushed for greater transparency in condo association structural reporting.

Mayor Burkett maintained sustained public pressure for accountability following the June 24, 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside. He cooperated with NIST's federal investigation, supported the families' class-action lawsuit, and publicly called for transparency from condo associations. A landmark $1.02 billion settlement was reached in 2022 for victims' families. The NIST investigation has progressed significantly — as of September 2025 investigators identified the pool deck slab-column connection as the most likely failure initiation point, completing the majority of technical work by end of 2025. A draft report is expected in Spring 2026 with the next public technical update scheduled for June 2026. Full definitive answers on the structural cause remain pending until the final report is released. The financial settlement was delivered but complete accountability through a final official cause determination has not yet been reached as of April 2026.

Burkett has consistently advocated for maintaining Surfside's residential character and pushed back against large-scale development proposals. He supported zoning discussions aimed at limiting building height and density in key areas of the town. During debates over the future of the Champlain Towers South site, Burkett voiced concern about ensuring any redevelopment was appropriate for the community. The town commission under his tenure has maintained relatively conservative development standards, though the Champlain Towers site redevelopment by a private developer remains a point of ongoing community debate.

The Town of Surfside under Burkett's tenure has pursued stormwater improvement projects to address chronic flooding in low-lying areas of the community. The town allocated funds for drainage system upgrades and worked with Miami-Dade County on resilience planning. Some phases of stormwater improvement have been completed, while broader sea-level rise adaptation planning remains an ongoing, long-term effort constrained by funding and regional coordination challenges.