Zoning explained · Miami-Dade County

D3 Waterfront Industrial District (Miami 21) Miami, Florida

D3 - Waterfront Industrial reserves the shoreline for water-dependent uses. Only marine/water-dependent uses are BY RIGHT (Marine Related Commercial Establishment, Marine Related Industrial Establishment, Marina). All OTHER industrial and commercial uses require a WARRANT, so non-water-dependent activity does not consume scarce waterfront.

23 permitted business types

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Education › Zoning & land use › Miami — D3

Permitted uses

What you can operate in D3, Miami

The businesses the D3 district in Miami allows. The ones on the left are permitted by right; the ones on the right need a special approval first. (Zoning codes are set by each municipality, so D3 here means specifically Miami's D3 district.)

Allowed by right

Marine Related Commercial EstablishmentMarine Related Industrial EstablishmentMarina

With special approval

Office (By Warrant)Food Service Establishment (By Warrant)General Commercial (By Warrant)Open Air Retail (By Warrant)Place of Assembly (By Warrant)Recreational Establishment (By Warrant)Religious Facility (By Warrant)Community Support Facility (By Warrant)Infrastructure and Utilities (By Warrant)Public Parking (By Warrant)Rescue Mission (By Warrant)Transit Facilities (By Warrant)Research Facility (By Warrant)Special Training / Vocational (By Warrant)Auto-Related Industrial Establishment (By Warrant)Manufacturing and Processing (By Warrant)Products and Services (By Warrant)Storage / Distribution Facility (By Warrant)Alcohol Beverage Service Establishment (By Exception)Major Facility (By Exception)

Build envelope

Development standards

Headline dimensional limits for this district. Confirm exact figures against the current code for your specific parcel.

StandardDensity N/A - no residential or lodging

Water-dependent priorityonly marine-related commercial/industrial and marinas are by-right; non-marine industrial and commercial require a Warrant

StandardIndustrial parking min 1/1,000 sf; marine 1 per 5 slips; min 1 bike rack per 20 vehicle spaces

LegendR=By Right; W=By Warrant (conditional); E=By Exception (conditional); blank=prohibited

Accessory usesNo separate accessory column; accessory uses customarily incidental to a permitted principal (water-dependent) use. No residential accessory uses

StandardRead from Miami 21 Art. 4 Table 3 (D3 column); standards Art. 4 pp. IV.17-IV.19; industrial per Art. 6; permitted = by right, conditional = needs conditional-use/special approval

StandardBroward County district — confirm the parcel is inside City of Miami limits

The fine print

In plain English

BY RIGHT No hearing needed

If your business is on the by-right list, you can occupy a space in this district and open — no zoning hearing. Building permits and licensing still apply, but the use itself is already allowed.

SPECIAL Approval first

Special-approval uses can work here too, but they go through a public review before opening. Plan for extra time and possible conditions — we'll tell you which path a space needs.

Looking for space zoned D3 in Miami?

Tell us what you'll run in it — we'll match you to the right building in Miami and flag anything that needs approval.

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Sourced from the Miami Code of Ordinances. View the official code ↗