Miami Beach weighs allowing helipads on Terminal Island to serve a private marina

Update (Wednesday, 1:59 p.m.): City records identify the marina. One Island Park LLC owns the 3.71-acre property at 120 MacArthur Causeway on Terminal Island and is redeveloping it as a private marina “for use by the Owner and guests,” according to a 2025 letter from its lawyers at Akerman LLP. The Planning Board approved a conditional use permit for the marina 7-0 on Nov. 4, 2025, according to the board’s after-action report; the staff report says the site was previously approved for up to eight vessels. Commercial Observer reported in October 2025 that the marina plan is billionaire Ken Griffin’s, and that property records show the owner is an entity based at Citadel’s Brickell office and managed by Citadel’s chief operating officer. The helipad ordinance itself does not name Griffin or the company.

Miami Beach is moving to allow helicopter pads on Terminal Island, the small industrial island along the MacArthur Causeway, and the Planning Board is scheduled to review the change at its Nov. 3 meeting.

The proposed ordinance, file PB26-0852, would add helipads as an accessory use in the I-1 light industrial zoning district, but only for properties on Terminal Island. Arrivals and departures would be limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to the draft. Commissioner Joseph Magazine sponsored the change, which the City Commission referred to its Land Use and Sustainability Committee and the Planning Board on June 24. The committee gave it a favorable recommendation on Sept. 24, according to the Planning Department staff report.

The draft ordinance says allowing helipads is meant to “facilitate operations of the private marina” on the island while regulating operations to limit the impact on surrounding neighborhoods. It does not name the marina or its owner.

A June 13 email from the commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, attached to the city’s application, is addressed to a representative of a project called One Island Park and refers to that group’s planned request to include a helipad in its construction plans. In the email, the commander says the Coast Guard has no position on the helipad, but notes that it can restrict manned flights within 3,000 feet of its vessels and up to 1,000 feet in altitude when needed for operational or security reasons.

Terminal Island is home to a Florida Power & Light plant, a city fleet maintenance facility, the Fisher Island ferry terminals, a marina and the Coast Guard base, according to the staff report. Planning staff recommends that the board send the ordinance to the City Commission with a favorable recommendation, saying the change is limited in scope and should not harm the nearby residential neighborhood. The report does not include a noise study or flight estimates.

The item was on the Planning Board’s Oct. 6 agenda but was continued to November on a 6-0 vote, according to the board’s after-action report.

What’s next

The Planning Board meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the City Hall commission chamber, 1700 Convention Center Drive, and online as a hybrid meeting, according to the city’s events calendar. The meeting falls on Election Day. The board’s recommendation goes to the City Commission, which has the final vote on the ordinance.