This item was initially heard at the March 30, 2022 Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee meeting.  The Committee instructed the Administration to work closely with Legal to investigate the failure of not having a Business Tax Receipt (BTR), penalties of not having a BTR, and docking regulations.

The Committee received an update of active boat operators and violations issued to unlicensed vessels at their July 29, 2022 meeting. An update of recent Property Management and Marina regulations was also given.  The Committee additionally recommended City Administration reach out to the City of Miami to see how they handle boat operators on their side of the bay.

Concurrently, the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee, is scheduled to have a follow-up discussion item with recommendations looking at Business Tax review and penalties for bad operators.

The Administration has created a Business Tax Working Group which is reviewing various sections of the City Code pertaining to BTR’s.  The working group is looking at:  application procedures, grounds for denial and suspension, revocations, violations, emergency actions, hearing procedures and enforcement of orders. They will be presenting their recommendations at the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee meeting.

The working group is comprised of team members from the following departments:

• Finance Department;
• City Attorney’s Office;
• Code Compliance;
• Police Department;
• Fire Department; and
• Building Department

The working group’s recommendations at the Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee will address punitive penalties for bad operators, including boat operators.

Docking regulations have been reviewed internally by Administration with input from members of the Finance Department, Code Compliance, Property Management, and the City Attorney’s Office.

As a result of the increase in charter boat businesses, the Miami Beach Marina has reached full capacity for new permanent businesses.  The Property Management Department has advised the following actions to have been imposed at the Miami Beach Marina:

• No new BTR applications for permanent slips will be approved unless a slip space for docking becomes available.

• For charter boats without a permanent docking slip, a Landing Slip Agreement must be first obtained, from the Marina, before their boat may drop off or pick up passengers.

• No BTRs will be issued to charter boat businesses without first obtaining a permanent docking space or a Landing Slip Agreement.

The City had experienced a rise in the number of licensed charter boat operators during the last fiscal two years.  This year, there has been a slight drop to the current number of 69 Charter Boat BTRs with a total of 131 vessels licensed in the City.

Charter Boat BTRs - Fiscal Year 2018-2023

Before obtaining a BTR for a Charter Boat business, the marine applicant must first obtain:

• Certificate of Use:  Planning and Zoning review of docking locations for loading/unloading.

• Risk Management Division:  comprehensive insurance review of applicant’s insurance to protect the assets of the City.

• BTR: review of compliance with City Code, County Ordinances and State Statutes.

• Property Management Department:  review of docking space slip availability at the Miami Beach Marina.

• Marine and Waterfront Protection Authority:  advisory review of applications.

Recent Events

City Administration met with their City of Miami counterparts on August 30, 2022.  As a result of this meeting, the City of Miami Beach and City of Miami Business Tax Sections will be having quarterly meetings to discuss common topics and emerging issues.

The City of Miami acknowledge that they have similar issues with bad boat operators on their waterways.  Their main commercial district Marinas are also at full capacity like the City of Miami Beach.

Like Miami Beach, boat operators violating the City code on the landside of operations are issued violations by Code Compliance.  The City of Miami addresses operator issues on the waterways via their Police Marine Patrol, along with Coast Guard assistance. 

With the directions and analysis received from the Finance and Economic Resiliency Committee, the regulations imposed by Administration and the Miami Beach Marina have slowed down the number of new applications for Charter Boats.

These tightened regulations, combined with proactive regular Code Compliance enforcement and augmented Police Department Marine patrols, has enabled the City to substantially curtail this business activity.  The joint efforts of Finance, Property Management, Code, and Police, along with the new Marina regulations and regular Coast Guard enforcement, have inhibited reckless behavior on our waterways.