The Miami International Boat Show scored a win in its long-running legal saga with the Village of Key Biscayne Wednesday when the Third District Court of Appeal upheld a state environmental permit allowing the construction of a massive temporary marina at Virginia Key.
Village officials challenged the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s five-year permit for a temporary 830-slip marina issued ahead of last February’s inaugural boat show at the Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key. Their request for an administrative hearing was dismissed by a lawyer for the state on the grounds that the Village, which neighbors Virginia Key but is not a party to the permit, had no standing to challenge the permit.
****
“This ruling will have an ongoing impact it because it affirms a five-year permit, which solidifies the Miami International Boat Show’s presence going forward as an economic engine for the South Florida community,” said Kerri Barsh, an attorney with Greenberg Traurig who represented the boat show.