Florida judge limits rights of local governments to regulate use of public waterways
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft@BoatUS.com
Date: November 1, 2007BOATU.S. MEMBERS PREVAIL IN FLORIDA ANCHORING DECISION A recent Collier County, FL, court decision that found a restrictive
Marco Island recreational boat anchoring ordinance in violation of
state law could help lead to a statewide solution to Florida's
patchwork of local anchoring laws. The Marco Island ordinance restricted recreational boaters to a
maximum 12-hour anchoring period when located within 300 feet of a
seawall, and maximum six-day anchoring period anywhere beyond that
distance. Collier County Judge Rob Crown's October 26th decision said
that the Marco Island ordinance was "an unlawful regulation of
publicly owned sovereign waterways in violation of Florida law." BoatU.S. Vice President of Government Affairs, Margaret Podlich, said,
"Across Florida other local governments have enacted similar
ordinances, that unfairly give local interests control over public
waterways. We hope this court decision contributes to a statewide
solution that is fair to all Florida citizens." Earlier this year, the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a series of six
stakeholder meetings around the state to hear concerns about anchoring
issues. To get the anchoring case to court, BoatU.S. member Dave Dumas, a
resident of Marco Island, FL, intentionally broke the law in January
of this year because he and other local boaters from the Sailing
Association of Marco Island thought it was overly restrictive. Another BoatU.S. member, Donald Day, Esq., of the Naples, FL, law firm
Barry, Day, McFee & Martin, handled the case pro bono. Said Day, "As a result of Judge Crown's decision and current state
statutes, many local governments around the state have advised me that
they will not be enforcing their anchoring ordinances and will look to
the state for guidance in the form of a uniform anchoring regulation.
A lot of credit goes to BoatU.S. members who contacted their local
governments to voice their displeasure with these inconsistent,
arbitrary and restrictive ordinances." Said Dumas, "The City Council thought they could do whatever they
wanted and chose to take the position of a select few in this
community. But they should have maintained a neutral position and
arbitrated a solution that benefited all citizens." In Marco Island, a yet-to-be-announced special closed-door meeting of
City Council members and the city attorney will decide whether to
appeal or accept Judge Crown's decision. BoatU.S. - Boat Owners Association of The United States - is the
nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters with over 650,000
members. |
