West Palm Beach clears CityPlace air-taxi use as FAA drafts landing-site guidance
The Hibiscus Garage use amendment is a local milestone; a separate design review remains ahead, according to local reporting.
Key Takeaways
- •The city added a helipad or vertistop use in the Hibiscus Garage area.
- •West Palm Now reports that a separate site-plan review is required.
- •FAA draft national guidance is open for comment through January 11, 2027.
West Palm Beach commissioners have approved a development-rule amendment that adds a helipad or vertistop use in the Hibiscus Garage area of CityPlace. The November 9 decision is a local land-use step, while federal officials are separately seeking comment on proposed national design guidance for vertical-flight facilities.
The city’s meeting summary says the commercial planned-development amendment also updates small-business enterprise language. A separate CityPlace Development of Regional Impact ordinance received a first public hearing.
What remains to be reviewed
The planned garage landing deck still requires a separate Level III city site-plan review, West Palm Now reported. The publication said no operator or start date had been identified.
A federal proposal is open for comment
The FAA’s October 22 announcement describes draft standards for facilities serving aircraft that take off and land vertically, including elevated or rooftop sites. The agency said it expects to issue final guidance in summer 2027.
The FAA infrastructure page lists January 11, 2027, as the deadline for comments on draft advisory circular 150/5390-4. It also describes federal notification and airspace review for new facilities in general. That national process does not establish whether a CityPlace filing has been made or what its outcome would be.
