Government ANALYSIS Members Only

City Will Raise Water and Sewer Rates After Rejecting Two Bond Plans

On the last day it could have placed a question on the November 3 ballot, the Commission rejected both general obligation bond options and voted 5-2 to fund roughly $450 million of water, sewer and stormwater work through utility rates alone — a program about half the size of the one staff brought in. How much bills will actually rise won't be known until September.

Journal Staff Jul 24, 2026

Budget Infrastructure

Government NEWS Members Only

City's Flood Code Is Blocking EV Chargers Across Miami Beach — Not Just Normandy Isle

A Normandy Isle EV charging item closed without a vote, but the discussion exposed a citywide problem: the flood elevation code is stalling fast chargers everywhere except one lot that squeaked by on a technicality.

Journal Staff Jul 16, 2026

Infrastructure Transportation

Government ANALYSIS Members Only

5th Street Pedestrian Bridge Hits Another Wall as Committee Defers Decision to September

Miami Beach's troubled 5th Street Pedestrian Bridge remains stalled by an undocumented FPL power line, with a city committee deferring action until September while the developer awaits findings from an independent consultant.

Journal Staff Jul 16, 2026

Planning Infrastructure Transportation

Government ANALYSIS Members Only

After the $400 Million Deal Died, Miami-Dade Votes to Seize Fisher Island's Fuel Terminal by Eminent Domain

County commissioners on June 16 cleared the final procedural step toward condemning the roughly 10-acre PortMiami fuel depot — the move the Journal warned was looming — after Mayor Daniella Levine Cava walked away from a $400 million purchase. With only Raquel Regalado opposed, the vote sets up a constitutional fight already playing out in two courtrooms.

Journal Staff Jun 19, 2026

Planning Infrastructure Transportation

Government NEWS Members Only

Miami Beach Projects $9.5M General Fund Surplus for FY 2026, but Warns of $17.7M Gap Ahead

City Manager Eric Carpenter's second-quarter fiscal analysis shows Miami Beach on solid financial footing through March 2026, even as officials caution the city faces a projected $17.7 million General Fund deficit in FY 2027.

Journal Staff Jun 05, 2026

Budget Infrastructure

Litigation ANALYSIS Members Only

Miami Beach Resident Sues to Block State Law Behind Fontainebleau Water Park

A LaGorce Drive homeowner has filed suit in Miami-Dade circuit court to block a 2026 state law that allegedly orders Miami Beach to approve a commercial water park at the Fontainebleau Hotel, bypassing the city's Historic Preservation Board.

Journal Staff Jun 04, 2026

Planning Beach Infrastructure

Government ANALYSIS Members Only

Fisher Island Community Groups Sue Developer Over Broken Promise to Remove Century-Old Fuel Bunker

Fisher Island's homeowners association and private club have sued developer HRP Fisher Island LLC, alleging it abandoned a deal to demolish a dangerous 100-year-old marine fuel terminal and is instead selling the site to Miami-Dade County for roughly $400 million.

Journal Staff Jun 02, 2026

Planning Infrastructure Housing Transportation

Development ANALYSIS Members Only

Washington Avenue Housing Plan Heads Back to Commission, Scaled Back and Further Amended

Miami Beach's Land Use and Sustainability Committee voted to send a revised residential incentive plan for Washington Avenue back to the full Commission, adding new limits on unit size, lot size, and total corridor density.

Journal Staff May 27, 2026

Planning Infrastructure Housing

Government ANALYSIS Members Only

Lincoln Road Zoning Overhaul Heads to First Commission Vote — Key Community Groups Haven't Weighed In

The proposal to allow buildings up to 150 feet on the western end of Lincoln Road reaches the City Commission on May 20 for a first reading — but the Miami Design Preservation League, Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association, and Palm View Neighborhood Association have not taken public positions on a plan that could fundamentally alter one of Miami Beach's most historic corridors.

Journal Staff May 19, 2026

Planning Infrastructure Housing

Litigation NEWS Members Only

Miami Beach Man Sues Citi Bike Operator and French Manufacturer After Cycling Accident Left Him with 18 Open Wounds and Severe Concussion

A Miami Beach resident has filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court against Citi Bike operator Deco Bike LLC and French bicycle manufacturer Société Arcade Cycles, alleging that a defective bicycle chain caused him to flip over the handlebars and suffer serious injuries on a Miami Beach street.

Journal Staff Apr 24, 2026

Infrastructure Transportation

Development NEWS

Zoning Change Could Transform Vacant Miami Beach "Epicure Block" with 150-Foot Height Limit

A once-bustling commercial corridor that has sat largely boarded up for nearly a decade could be transformed into a 150-foot mixed-use tower under a sweeping zoning overlay proposal that came before the Miami Beach Planning Board on April 7, 2026 — but not before board members raised pointed questions about parking, building mass, and whether the proposal goes far enough to deliver on the city's housing goals.

Journal Staff Apr 08, 2026

Planning Infrastructure Housing

Government NEWS

Commission Eyes Sweeping Height and Density Increases Along Lincoln Road — With Strings Attached

A proposal set to come before the Miami Beach Planning Board on April 7, 2026, would dramatically reshape the development landscape along a stretch of Lincoln Road and its surrounding blocks, offering property owners the ability to build taller and denser — but only if they permanently surrender their rights to operate hotels, short-term rentals, and other transient uses.

Journal Staff Apr 06, 2026

Planning Infrastructure Housing