PALM BEACH, Fla. – Not that it was ever an issue, but now it’s set in stone. No more presidential helipad at Mar-a-Lago.
A permit was pulled Tuesday by Pyramid Builders for the “removal of existing helipad,” the only helipad in Palm Beach. The town does not allow non-emergency helicopters, but made the exception after Trump was sworn in as president in 2017 to allow the 25,000-lb. Marine One to park at the members-only club.
Town Manager Kirk Blouin told the Palm Beach Daily News that keeping the helipad post-presidency was never an issue. He told the Daily News, “It seems to have been more controversial in media reports than it s in actual practice. They never made a request to keep it,” Blouin told the newspaper.
It is expected to cost about $15,000 to remove it.
The Town of Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the construction of the helipad on February 2017 on the basis that it was only for use for Presidential duties, and approval would cease when Trump was no longer President.
There was a dust up when a Trump corporate helicopter, not Marine One, was seen at Mar-a-Lago in 2017.
In other news at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach had been looking into an agreement that Trump signed with the town, which regulated who could live at the resort. An attorney’s review concluded that if Trump is considered an employee of the private member club, town zoning would allow him to live on the premises adding that agreement does not specifically ban him from making his home there.
Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in 1985 turning it into a club in 1993. The town of Palm Beach will hear the review as part of its council meeting next Tuesday.