Aventura-area Commissioner Micky Steinberg introduced an ordinance Tuesday to create a permanent Boater Safety and Bay Education Advisory Board for Miami-Dade County, citing recent boating-related fatalities and injuries on Biscayne Bay.
The first-reading ordinance (File No. 261217) would establish a nine-member board drawing from law enforcement, the recreational boating industry, commercial vessel operators, environmental protection and community advocates. Members must be county residents and would serve without pay. The board would meet quarterly and submit annual reports to the commission.
Steinberg, who represents District 4 covering Aventura, parts of North Miami Beach and Sunny Isles Beach, brought the measure forward after a temporary task force wrapped up its work. Mayor Daniella Levine Cava launched that task force in April 2025 in partnership with the Lucy Fernandez Foundation. The group held its final meeting May 4, hosted by the county's Department of Environmental Resources Management, and its top recommendation was making the advisory board permanent.
The ordinance requires a County Mayor's report before a public hearing and final adoption.
MetroMover Subzone expansion introduced
The commission also introduced a separate first-reading ordinance (File No. 261250) to add three privately owned Brickell-area parcels to the MetroMover Subzone of the Rapid Transit Zone. Commissioner Vicki L. Lopez sponsored the measure, which was introduced July 7.
The three properties at 66 SW 6th St., 625 SW 1st Ave. and 54 SW 6th St. all sit less than a quarter-mile from the existing subzone boundary, according to the legislation. Properties inside the subzone fall under county land-use jurisdiction and qualify for transit-oriented development bonuses that allow greater building density. The county's Comprehensive Development Master Plan calls for the highest development density within the MetroMover Subzone to attract transit ridership and minimize car trips.
A public hearing before the Transportation Committee is tentatively set for Sept. 9.
A related MetroMover Subzone ordinance (File 261063) was also on Tuesday's agenda for second reading after receiving a 4-0 favorable recommendation from the Transportation Committee on June 9. At that committee hearing, Chairman Oliver G. Gilbert III said staff was working closely with the new City of Miami administration on pending litigation and expressed optimism a resolution would come shortly. The outcome of the full commission vote on July 21 was not available at press time.
District funding approved
Commissioners approved fiscal year 2025-26 community-based organization discretionary reserve allocations for all 13 districts as consent items. Steinberg's District 4 and Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez's District 12 also tapped Arena Naming Rights Funds, requiring waivers of prior resolutions.
Residents can track both first-reading ordinances and submit public comments through the county's Legistar portal at miamidade.gov. The MetroMover Subzone expansion hearing before the Transportation Committee is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 9.
