Online Survey on Florida Anchoring and Mooring Available, October 1-9, 2016
FWC seeks public input on anchoring and mooring rules, pilot program
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking feedback from cruising boaters, local boaters and other residents in evaluating the state’s Anchoring and Mooring Pilot Program and related ordinances.
The FWC has posted a brief online survey to accept this feedback. It should take approximately five to 10 minutes to complete and will be available to the public Oct. 1-9. Survey
Any input is greatly appreciated in evaluating and improving boating in Florida.
The Florida Legislature established the Anchoring and Mooring Pilot Program in 2009. The intent was to explore potential options for regulating the anchoring or mooring of non-live-aboard vessels outside the marked boundaries of public mooring fields throughout the state.
After public input, the FWC selected the cities of St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Stuart (in conjunction with Martin County) and the cities of Key West and Marathon (in conjunction with Monroe County) as five sites for the pilot program. They were granted temporary authority to regulate mooring in their jurisdictional waters through local ordinances.
All ordinances enacted under authority of the pilot program will expire on July 1, 2017, and will be inoperative and unenforceable thereafter, unless re-enacted by the Legislature.
Participation in the survey will help determine the effectiveness of the program, developed ordinances, and a variety of concepts related to specific restrictions on anchoring of vessels which may be considered in the future.
To access the survey and for more information, go to MyFWC.com/Boating.
The Florida anchoring issue will be with us every year. This survey is part of the planning for next year’s legislative session and more legislation limiting anchoring. More communities will be vying to be included in the anchoring bans that were granted in two south Florida counties last year.
As a life-long resident of Florida, I have watched the law-making process over many decades. It is ironic that a state legislature with the majority of its members being elected on the platform of less government continue to issue laws regulating all forms of personal choice, including where one might anchor. Sorry if this sounds political, but this is a political issue and I have attempted to craft words in a benign manner.
If any of you are Floridians, and have decided to provide input through this survey, please take your time in studying each question (and there are many, particularly if you have anchored in a pilot project area since 2011) before answering. As an example, some of the questions refer to the appropriate distance to be anchored from residences or marine structures such as boat ramps. While you might have a great opinion of how far you believe is appropriate, any answer of a distance could result in laws regulating how far you must anchor. Any distance required could be difficult to follow given how large your swing circle could be. You could anchor at the appropriate distance, the wind direction change resulting in your boat swinging into an illegal spot. In many areas, laws regulating how far one can anchor from a residence will create overlapping illegal areas that essentially bans anchoring.
Last year, I wrote my State Senator questioning the proposed, and eventually passed law for south Florida. He responded that the anchoring law was needed for safety – that people water skied in the area and boats at anchor are a safety issue. I responded that they law did not prohibit anchoring in the day time, when there were people water skiing, only at night when people did not water ski – so the proposed law had no impact on the safety of skiers. He did not respond and voted for the anchoring prohibition.
We have some tough battles ahead. Our fight in Florida is not just for reasonable anchoring laws in Florida. Legislatures tend to copy laws from other states. As anchoring laws in Florida get legislated, other states will soon follow – Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina . . .
My recommendation on the survey is to use the comment box at the end of the survey to build your case that no additional anchoring laws/restrictions are needed in Florida.
Be aware that waterfront homeowners will also be responding to the survey.
Glen Moore
Last Dance, DeFever Passagemaker 40
Flagler Beach, FL
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