-
Editorials
- Bradenton Herald
- Daytona Beach News-Journal
- Florida Times-Union
- Florida Today
- Ft. Myers News-Press
- Gainesville Sun
- Lakeland Ledger
- Miami Herald
- Naples Daily News
- NWF Daily News
- Ocala Star-Banner
- Orlando Sentinel
- Palm Beach Post
- Pensacola News Journal
- Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- TCPalm
- Sun-Sentinel
- Tallahassee Democrat
- Tampa Bay Times
- Columnists
- Cartoons
-
Press Releases
- Sayfie Review
- Jose Oliva
- Nikki Fried
- Bill Galvano
- Ron DeSantis
- Marco Rubio
- Ashley Moody
- Rick Scott
- Jimmy Patronis
- Congressional Delegation ≻
- Matt Gaetz
- Neal Dunn
- Kat Cammack
- Aaron Bean
- John Rutherford
- Michael Waltz
- Cory Mills
- Bill Posey
- Darren Soto
- Maxwell Frost
- Daniel Webster
- Gus Bilirakis
- Anna Paulina Luna
- Kathy Castor
- Laurel Lee
- Vern Buchanan
- Greg Steube
- Scott Franklin
- Byron Donalds
- Sheila Cherfilus McCormick
- Brian Mast
- Lois Frankel
- Jared Moskowitz
- Frederica Wilson
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- Mario Diaz-Balart
- Maria Elvira Salazar
- Carlos Gimenez
- Political Links
-
News Links
- Drudge Report
- NewsMax.com
- AP Florida News
- ABC News' The Note
- NBC News' First Read
- Florida Channel
- Florida TV Stations
- Florida Radio Stations
- Capitol Update
- Florida Newspapers
- Florida Trend
- South Florida Business Journal
- Tampa Bay Business Journal
- Orlando Business Journal
- Jacksonville Business Journal
- News Service of Florida
- Politico Playbook
- Washington Post The Daily 202
-
Research
- Florida Fiscal Portal
- Search Florida Laws
- Search House Bills
- Search Senate Bills
- Search County, City Laws
- Search County Clerks' Records
- Cabinet Agendas, Transcripts
- Search Executive Orders
- Search Atty. General Opinions
- Search Supreme Court Docket
- Florida Supreme Court Rulings
- Search Florida Corporations
- Search Administrative Rules
- Proposed Administrative Rules
- View Advertised Contracts
- Refdesk.com
- Government Services Guide
- Electoral Vote Map
-
Reference
- Florida House
- Florida Senate
- Find Your Congressman
- Find Your State Legislator
- Find Your Local Officials
- Find Government Phone #'s
- Florida Agencies
- Florida Cities
- Florida Counties
- Florida Universities
- County Tax Collectors
- County Property Appraisers
- County Clerks of Court
- County Elections Supervisors
- MyFlorida.com
- OPPAGA
- Advertise with us
Times: Sen Bob Graham knew a thing or two about finding common ground
Sun-Sentinel: Bob Graham did his best work for the people of Florida | Editorial
Herald: This Miami landmark may finally be saved. Making the case for the Marine Stadium | Opinion
Times: For Israel and Ukraine alike, US support is proving unreliable and inadequate
Times: Here's how USF is rising as a major research institution
Times: Editorial Cartoons for Thursday from Times Wire Services
Sun-Sentinel: The cruelty of exposing outdoor workers to extreme heat | Editorial
Times: Stephanie Says: Should I move out of Florida to a blue state?
Times: On the huge federal debt, the right questions, the wrong answers | Letters
Homeowners, boaters clash on anchored liveaboards
By JIM TURNER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, October 8, 2015.......... Fred Karlton told a House committee Thursday he has lined up a row of sailboats to separate his backyard from boaters who anchor for weeks at a time just feet from his waterfront Miami Beach property.
But while Karlton supports the state giving South Florida governments some authority to enact new anchoring rules, Brian Davidson, an attorney from Panama City who lives on a 46-foot sailboat with his wife, two children and a cat, said the state should give law enforcement more resources to address issues involving anchored boaters.
"If we're going to do a local bill, let's … make sure that there is a problem," said Davidson of the Seven Seas Cruising Association. "Because we're not hearing there is a statewide problem at all, except in Broward and the Miami Beach area. Let's make sure that those local bills serve a large enough swath so it doesn't make a navigation nightmare."
The House State Affairs Committee on Thursday started to discuss a potential measure by Rep. George Moraitis, R-Fort Lauderdale, that would carve out an exemption for Broward and Miami-Dade counties from a 2009 state law that prohibits local governments from preventing liveaboards or "cruising boats" from anchoring in their waters.
Moraitis noted that Fort Lauderdale officials would like to prohibit boats from being anchored in the recreational portion of the Middle River.
"I think most people legitimately want to use these anchorages for a day or so and then move along," Moraitis said. "Our problem has been that people use this as Campground America, where they kind of literally park there for months."
Karlton said the "shantytown" atmosphere from the anchored boats often makes it uncomfortable at night for property owners.
"I had to go buy 30, 12-foot sailboats, at a tremendous cost, in order to protect my right to privacy," Karlton said. "I understand that the Florida waterways are deemed public, but I don't differentiate between the public swale, where there is protection for homeowners, and the waterway and canal areas."
Mark Gold, an attorney who lives along another stretch of water in Miami-Dade County, said liveaboard vessels are anchored each winter for three or four months at a time, many with Canadian flags. He said they dump waste, blare music at all hours and include people walking around nude.
"Three months a year I have a trailer park in my backyard, some are multimillion dollar yachts to Chinese junks," Gold told the committee. "I won't let my kids jump in the water because of feces and waste."
Moraitis' proposal --- still being drafted --- already has attracted concerns from the boating community, which believes such a measure could be used to address a statewide problem that doesn't exist, or worse, could once again allow every community to set up their own anchoring laws.
David Childs, a lobbyist for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, said the committee needs to be careful in quickly enacting a law for one area that simply ends up "squeezing" boaters to other areas.
Other boaters said lawmakers should hold off on creating any new anchoring laws until the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission completes an ongoing study --- due in 2017 --- on its pilot mooring field programs in St. Augustine, Martin County, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and the Florida Keys.
Kraig Conn, a lobbyist for the Florida League of Cities, outlined a list of proposals the group would like the committee to consider, including imposing anchoring distances from boat ramps and mooring fields, establishing nighttime anchoring distances from residential property and limiting the time in which a vessel could be anchored in one location.
Davidson, who said he understands the need to address the South Florida issue, joined others in saying that the state should enforce existing laws.
"We do not feel that closing down safe anchorages is reasonable," Davidson said. "If you build a nice new fancy subdivision, with great schools and great amenities, everybody is going to flock there. We see that in urban areas all the time, which creates traffic issues and all kinds of headaches."
Fort Lauderdale Marine Police Officer Quinton Waters told the committee the problem with existing laws about anchored liveaboards is "there is no power behind it."
Waters said the owner of an anchored boat found blocking navigation can be issued a $90 ticket, but doesn't have to move.
Waters noted that he unsuccessfully asked one boater anchored in Lake Sylvia for two years to move.
"I asked the gentlemen to move to the other side of the lake, just so he's not in one citizen's backyard," Waters said. "And he goes 'Officer I'd love to move, but if I move I won't have Wi-Fi, because (Hyatt Regency) Pier Sixty-Six, the hotel is in the southwest corner of Lake Sylvia.' "