Concerns mount over boat ramp at Miami Marine Stadium

City of Miami officials continue to forge ahead with a plan to develop and construct a boat ramp next to Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, over the concerns and objections of the city’s own Virginia Key Advisory Board and other organizations.

Members of the advisory board tangled and argued several times throughout 2022 with city staff who were actively promoting and advancing the plan for a boat ramp on the barrier island that connects mainland Miami with Key Biscayne, via the Rickenbacker Causeway.

The city owns most of Virginia Key, including the historic Marine Stadium and the basin it faces. The city has had a plan to restore the stadium, closed since 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, for several years.

One year ago this month, the advisory board was informed that the city had already hired a contractor for the boat ramp project, but approval of the permit is an “exception” that must be reviewed by the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board (PZAB).

That didn’t occur until nearly year’s end.

At a meeting Dec. 21, the appeals board recommended approval of the boat ramp proposal, on a 7-to-1 vote.

It was in the form of a request by the city administration to approve an exception to current Miami 21 zoning requirements to allow construction of a new extended boat ramp into the basin.

The resolution reads, “… approving an exception … to allow the construction of a new boat ramp with two fixed docks and two floating docks with gangways that will extend 90 feet into Marine Stadium Basin at a real property designated ‘CS’ Civic Space Transect Zone generally located at 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway.”

City staff have argued their plan includes building a new boat ramp in an area that once was a boat ramp on the historic basin, while advisory board members have adamantly challenged that claim as a lie.

City staff reports on the boat ramp proposal state: “A portion of the boat ramp is located within the footprint of a previously existing non-functional boat ramp and will be expanded from the historic location.”

Board member Vinson Richter, who represents the Dade Heritage Trust, has on numerous occasions said the city staff’s contention that a boat ramp exists next to the stadium, or did exist, is simply false.

Lorraine Rosado-Pietri, boat ramp project manager with the Office of Capital Improvements, has been tasked with making formal presentations to city boards explaining the project.

City staff from the Department of Real Estate and Asset Management (DREAM) have also worked on the project.

The city government was awarded $1.25 million from the Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) board, and city leaders approved committing a matching amount for a total project cost of $2.5 million to construct the boat ramp launch facility.

The Historic and Environmental Preservation Board (HEPB) heard the controversial matter Jan. 10 and decided to defer it to a meeting set for March 7.

The HEPB is considering a request for a Special Certificate of Appropriateness, requested by the city’s Historic Preservation Officer due to the historical location of the project.

The city code says approval is “required for any major alteration, addition, or new construction for a historical site.” This process is to be for the HEPB to approve, deny or defer. It can also approve with conditions.

Other groups that have voiced objections to the boat ramp plan include the Sierra Club, Urban Environment League, Friends of Virginia Key, and the Virginia Key Alliance.

The alliance has vigorously opposed the boat ramp project since its introduction, and says it believes the project needs to be stopped due to potential severe impacts on both land and water for many different populations.

At the recent HEPB meeting, officers from the Marine Patrol said they were too understaffed to properly enforce the laws against illegal boat operators and personal watercraft posing danger to other passive users of the basin.

Opponents of a boat ramp on the basin have objected to the potential adverse impacts from countless vehicles and boat trailers trying to maneuver and park next to the stadium, and the danger posed to swimmers, kayakers, paddleboarders and other passive users on the water.

Opponents have also voiced concerns about how a boat ramp next to the stadium will adversely affect the stadium once the city restores and reopens the famous venue.

Ms. Rosado-Pietri made a slide presentation on the “MMS Boat Ramp” to the advisory board on Oct. 25.

In that latest staff report it lists the estimated construction start as occurring in the first quarter of this year.