Airspace Solutions and Protection

in the City of Miami

"Changes to Zoning Surfaces"
FAA Airports Division Meeting
February 27, 2015
Prepared by:
Jos A. Ramos, RA
Division Director Aviation Planning Land Use & Grants

Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) seeks a Letter of

Concurrence from the FAA that the proposed changes to the Miami
International Airport (MIA) Height Zoning Ordinance will be able to be
accommodated through airspace redesign.
Review proposed changes to MIA Height Zoning Ordinance
Review impacts to published procedures & MVAs
Identify any additional activities (meetings, data collection, data analysis, etc.) that
need to occur prior to providing Letter of Concurrence.
Need to get Zoning surfaces consistent with OE Analysis Process

Three Related but Separate

Issues

Disparity between FAAs Obstruction Evaluation Group (OEG) reviews

and Notices of Presumed Hazard and the MDAD (Code mandated)
airspace evaluations and MDAD issued Letters of Determination.

FAA proposed guidance for One Engine Inoperative (OEI) procedures as

part of Part 77 Hazard Determinations. (MIA already protects for OEI so this
should be a local non-issue for the FAA)

MDAD internal review and updating of MIAs Height Zoning Ordinance

Surfaces to include FAA coordination.

Miami-Dade County Height

Zoning Ordinance

Miami-Dade County has established airport height zoning districts

mandated by Article XXXVII Miami International Airport (MIA) Height
Zoning Ordinance.
Airspace zoning surfaces are generally modeled after and reflect FAA
airspace safety criteria (14 CFR Part 77 criteria).
They conform to and in some cases are more restrictive than the
imaginary surfaces established by Part 77 criteria.
In 2007, MDAD working closely with the FAA amended the MIA Height
Zoning Ordinance with the intent to harmonize the FAA review process,
the associated airspace boundaries, and the County review process to
provide a coordinated determination product. (This never received official
FAA Legal concurrence and as such is not currently part of the OE process)

Miami-Dade County Height

Zoning Ordinance

In 2007, the FAA was in the process of redesigning/removing select

procedures to accommodate the MIA Height Zoning surfaces.
These changes were never made by the FAA, and the affected
procedures are still published today.
Therefore, there are numerous instances of proposed permanent
structures which are determined to be permissible by MIA Height Zoning
Ordinance, but are receiving Notices of Presumed Hazard
determinations because they conflict with FAA procedures.
The MIA Height Zoning Ordinance requires that in the event the FAA
does not approve a structure at the requested elevation, neither the
County nor the City of Miami can permit the proposed structure.

2015 Zoning Ordinance

Amendment

MDAD has initiated an effort to update all operational approach and

departure airspace surfaces for all MDAD aviation facilities.
These surfaces were developed in 2005, and incorporated as part of a
2007 Zoning Code amendment.
MDAD along has re-visited the elevations of the High Structure SetAside District (HSA) surfaces that are mandated in the existing MIA
Height Zoning Ordinance with the possibility of raising the existing 1,010
AMSL HSA to 1,049 AMSL.
The changes to the MIA Height Zoning Ordinance have been brought
about primarily as a result of the City of Miami and the development
communitys interest in an increase in the maximum allowable height of
structures in the Central Business District of the City of Miami.

Overall High Structure Set Aside (HSA) Districts

Miami High Structure SetAside Districts - Existing

Miami High Structure SetAside Districts - Proposed

FAA One Engine

Inoperative (OEI) Proposal

A significant number of articles and news features regarding the much

anticipated new FAA One Engine Inoperative (OEI) policy and its false
expected impact to the City Of Miami and specifically the development
within its Downtown Central Business District and Brickell Area have
been recently published.
The general concern is that the OEI Policy will curtail and limit vertical
development in the City of Miami.
These articles are not representative of the actual issues as they relate to
Miami to include blatantly false information.

National OEI Pilot Program

MIA was selected to participate by the FAA because of the unique

conditions that MIA offers.
The airport and the County have gone to great length to contain
procedures and implement the appropriate zoning to protect the
airport by height limitations. The Airport historically has been more
restrictive than the federal requirements.

Source: Report on the National OEI Project March 2010

OEI Impact to MIA

The MIA Height Zoning Ordinance, which is part of the Miami-Dade

County Code, already includes mandated airspace surfaces that provide
height limits in Miami-Dade County.
The MIA Height Zoning Ordinance, is part the County Zoning Code, and
must be followed by all communities.
MIAs Height Zoning Ordinance already provides the coverage that is
being proposed by the FAAs OEI surfaces. that in some cases are more
restrictive than the OEI surfaces being promulgated by the FAA.

MIA OEI Surfaces

Runway 8L/26R
Non-precision Approach
34:1
Runway 8R/26L
Initial 10,000 of
Instrument Approach
65:1 Additional
40,000 at 40:1
Runway 9/27
Initial 10,000 of
Instrument Approach
50:1 Additional 40,000
at 40:1

High Structure
Set Aside District

Runway 12/30
Initial 10,000 of
Instrument Approach
65:1 Additional
40,000 at 40:1

MIA Instrument Approach

Districts
HZ - Horizontal District
160 AMSL

Runway 8L/26R
Non-precision Approach
34:1
Runway 8R/26L
Initial 10,000 of
Instrument Approach
65:1 Additional
40,000 at 40:1
Runway 9/27
Initial 10,000 of
Instrument Approach
50:1 Additional 40,000
at 40:1

TI Transitional
160 to 360 AMSL

Source: Miami-Dade County Zoning Ordinance

High Structure
Set Aside
District

Runway 12/30
Initial 10,000 of
Instrument Approach
65:1 Additional
40,000 at 40:1

Miami Dade County Height

Zoning Ordinance (Update)

MDAD conducted a webinar for tenant airlines on September 12, 2014.

Both domestic and international airlines/cargo carriers attended:
American Airlines, Atlas Air, British Airways, Delta, Lufthansa
United, FedEx and UPS were not able to attend the webinar, but were
briefed separately.
Consensus:
No impact on departure payloads due to change from 1,010 to 1,049.
Concerned with the prospect of losing non-precision approaches. (Note: FAA must
either redesign or eliminate some procedures to accommodate EXISTING ordinance
heights)
Urge the FAA to prioritize redesign of non-precision procedures as a back-up to the
ILS systems.
MIA TENANT AIRLINES REQUIREMENTS CAN BE ACCOMMODATED

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Changes Ready to be
Initiated
Required Changes as per FAA Flight Procedures Division in Atlanta
Approach/Departure Changes

Runway 26R

Runway 26L

RNAV (GPS) Fix EMBRA will need to move from its current position to a point about 1.8NM from AGLER in
order to maintain the current LNAV minimums.

Runway 27

RNAV (GPS) A stepdown fix will need to be added to this approach to maintain the current LNAV
minimums.

ILS or LOC Will require a stepdown fix to be added to the current approach at about 1.2NM from CHHAZ in
order to maintain the Current LOC minimums.
RNAV (GPS) Will need to add a stepdown fix at the same position as the proposed new stepdown on the
ILS or LOC approach to maintain the Current LP Minimums.

Departure Climb Gradients

Still being calculated

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Changes Ready to be
Initiated
Required Changes (continued)

MVA From 1800 to 2100 (possibly 2000)

1,010 and 1,049 Round to the same value.

Flight Procedures policy is to round up to the nearest hundred foot increment.
Air Traffic policy is to round to the nearest hundred foot increment.

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Need to Go Forward Finally

with Our FAA Partner

MDAD is finalizing a comprehensive MIA airport obstruction survey

MDAD has already started the process to amend our Airspace Zoning
Ordinance
FAA needs to champion concurrence with MIA zoning surfaces

MDAD has concurrence from Flight Procedures Group

MDAD can utilize survey data to invoke changes
Air Traffic has been ignoring this process
Changes need to be implemented immediately

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