Here we go again…a new Florida House bill would eliminate several popular anchorages

[Waterway Guide]

A new bill introduced in the Florida State House of Representatives on Monday would ban overnight anchoring in several popular anchorages in Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, and Destin FL starting July 2016: New FL House bill would eliminate several popular anchorages located in General | Waterway Guide News Update.

[WindwardPrinces]

Wow. Seems to me this sets a dangerous precedent.

Not sure I understand the Destin thing. I'm not aware of a problem there regarding emergency boats being impeded after sunset. They're proposing putting up some pilings that would seem to me to be even more of a hazard to navigation to unsuspecting boaters.

We should look at these things suspiciously and warily.

I'll check in on the FWB yacht club, and see what the folks there think.

But this quote is indicative of the mindset. In other words, it's not about blocking emergency vehicles, but about controlling the area:

The bill Caldwell introduced this week would allow “everything to happen on Crab Island that happens now during the day,” Gaetz said.

Its intent is to target the permanent and semi-permanent structures that pop up around Crab Island during the summer months by forcing their removal from the area at night.

“We want a fun and festive place, but the floating trailer park atmosphere is not consistent with the type of community we’re building,” Gaetz said.

Caldwell’s bill, which Gaetz said is still very much a work in progress, bars the anchoring of any vessel in a designated zone from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise.

[Davy J]

Wow. Seems to me this sets a dangerous precedent.

Yeah....... And this time they didn't even try to mask it with derelicts or off-sets. Just a total ban on anchoring for their biggest donors.

[sailorboy1]

Weird that a Representative from Destin introduces a bill that isn't even about his area. I don't understand how banning nighttime anchoring effects the "recreational" areas by stopping the water skiers, do they water ski at night?

[WindwardPrinces]

Waters said another issue stems from people who register a number of boats, anchor them, then rent them out like apartments – and as long as they keep them registered there's not much the police can do. He also noted that a homeowner in Miami anchored several small boats to keep boaters from anchoring near his property.


This is clearly a NIMBY Thing. This is that same Miami guy who doesn't want people anchoring in his sight lines. I'd be reluctant to let him "win" just on principle.

It seems like renting boats like condos that are anchored out is a different kind of problem. You can't regulate business? Seems to me you could license and tax it as a business. They sure do that for hotels everywhere else.

[zeehag]

good luck.
this all sounds so exactly like cali and the so cal anchorage wars that endured for sooo long until anchorages were closed arbitrarily by the local govts.
and do not even think the designation of federal anchorage means anything, as local govt is allowed to change that. research san diego anchoring issues. closure of free anchorage

[WindwardPrinces]

I think you have to ask "What problem are we trying to solve?", and then compare that to "What problem/inconvenience are we causing with the new rule?"

Sometimes, more regulation creates more problems or inconvenience than it solves.

Do we really need a police lane cutting through the middle of Crab Island? Do we need all the vendors to move their barges at night? Do we need people to stop partying and go home at night? If they're too inebriated to move their boat at the end of the day, do we give them a $50 anchoring fee? On that count, I could see someone trying to move their boat when they're drunk in order to avoid that ticket, and I'd see that as a failure in public policy.

I'd like more background on this, but it seems to me to set the precedent that all municipalities can then use when establishing local rules restricting anchoring. If I'm wrong about this, please direct me to the well-researched rationale for this.

[WindwardPrinces]

bump for the evening crowd

[sharkbait]

Come to the Bahamas and leave the FL water nazis behind.

[WindwardPrinces]

Sure, but if you're coming from the states, you likely need to anchor out in Florida on the way...

[zboss]

I hate these anchoring laws... BUT... there is a very few vocal wealthy people pushing this agenda in Florida for their own benefit. I hope that once they are satisfied, we will see this issue go away. There are very few other areas that could be targeted as being "waterskiing areas" that would not also cause issues with those same owners docked boats.

I am hoping this very targeted selection of 4 anchorage areas ends the debate or at least takes some of the punch out of a statewide bill to prevent all anchoring.

There are still several areas in the Miami area that can be used to anchor and I can see why they would want to target the Destin anchorage. So, while not a complete win, this is a way to shut up that few jerks causing problems.

[Davy J]

there is a very few vocal wealthy people pushing this agenda in Florida for their own benefit. I hope that once they are satisfied, we will see this issue go away.

I think you are right about this part, once anchoring in Miami Beach is outlawed, the issue will quiet down.

My concern is that what will follow will be the "me too" communities. They will say, hey you banned anchoring over there.... can I have some of that too.

My guess is that Marco Island won't even wait until July 1st, begging to be added to the list.

[WindwardPrinces]

Originally Posted by zboss

I hate these anchoring laws... BUT... there is a very few vocal wealthy people pushing this agenda in Florida for their own benefit. I hope that once they are satisfied, we will see this issue go away...

...There are still several areas in the Miami area that can be used to anchor and I can see why they would want to target the Destin anchorage. So, while not a complete win, this is a way to shut up that few jerks causing problems.

I think you underestimate: a) the number of wealthy and influential people throughout Florida, and b) the legal power of precedent.

Once established, this can and will be used by every locality in Florida. Why not? How are all those other localities different from the representative sample presented here? They all have a few wealthy people with influence over their state legislators.

The one in Destin is particularly onerous, as we're talking about a sandbar that represents a relatively free area, that currently isn't controlled by any locality. Which apparently makes it fair game for the Florida legislature.

The only reason Crab Island is a fun place is because it currently isn't a police state. This legislation a) makes it more expensive for vendors to participate (as they'd each have to move their establishment every night), b) cuts a 40 foot "no boat zone" right through the middle of the area where boats currently anchor, and c) cuts down on the craziness that's the current draw of it.

I don't mind some allowance for public vehicle access, but seriously, they need a 40-foot police/emergency zone completely bisecting the area? 25 feet isn't enough? People must leave 1/2 hour after sunset? Why is that? What does that have to do with public safety? You've now allowed the local prudes to establish a curfew.

Also, shouldn't this be something the local people get to vote on?

This legislation bypasses the will of the local people, and puts a local issue in the hands of the Florida legislature. How is the Destin proposition related to the Miami one? Suddenly you've got legislators trading local favors to each other at the state level. I've got an uneasy feeling about this legislation. When you give up liberty in pursuit of security, you get neither.

The curfew at Crab Island has nothing to do with anchoring laws. It's an way to move local ordinances up to the state level, out of the hands of the locality, and into the hands of the influential.

[Blue Crab]

WP - this may be newish to you but is the culmination of about 30 years of double dealing by the few wealthy, NIMBY people, and the wannabe wealthy elected/appointed "authorities." Boaters have hung in pretty well but the endgame is clear.

My understanding is it all started with a guy playing BAGPIPES! at sunset at Sunset Lake: the Butterfly Effect.

[Dulcesuenos]

Didnt a law pass in Miami that makes it illegal to tie up your tender or dinghy to any seawall, SeaTow has been hired to tow and impound any violator.

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