A Florida Senate hearing has been scheduled for the legislation that would drastically change anchoring laws in the state, and may set a precedent for other states to follow. Senate Bill 1548 will be read before the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee at the State Capitol in Tallahassee – Tuesday, March 31, 2015, along with any amendments. The meeting is from 1:30-3:30 p.m. during which six bills will be heard and discussed (see agenda). The hearing will take place in the Mallory Horne Committee Room, 37 Senate Office Building.

A team from the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) and other boating advocate groups will be at the hearing representing the cruising community, and other cruisers are joining with them; however, more representation would be more effective, especially Florida residents. Can you make it to Tallahassee this Tuesday? If you can – or can get a small group together – send me an email and I'll connect you with the team on site. Although the meeting is short, the team expects that a few of the six bills will have very little discussion. Your prepared remarks should be brief and concise (2-4 minutes) – the team will be happy to help when you get there.

Even if you can't make it to Tallahassee, you can make a big difference by sending emails today to the members of the committee. Information from the SSCA Concerned Cruisers Committee:

TIME TO SEND YOUR EMAILS!!!!!

Emails should be sent to members of the FL Senate Environmental Preservation Committee starting now (since the Senate Bill has now been scheduled for hearing this Tuesday). They should be concise, clear and respectful. The emails should come from individuals organically, and independently. The messaging needs to be civil. Boaters and Cruisers are the good guys. There should be no personal attacks or insulting comments. Rather, clear points should be made to explain why SB 1548 should be amended to remove the section that would create a statewide ban any overnight anchoring of a vessel in public waters within 200 feet of an upland private dwelling unit. The Committee hearing will be held on Tuesday (31st) at 1:30 p.m. (Room 37S, Senate Office Building in the Capitol Building, Tallahassee).

Emails can begin now through Tuesday addressed as “Dear Chairman Dean and Senators of the Environmental & Preservation Committee”. The following are their email addresses.

Chairman Charlie Dean: [email protected]
Vice Chairman Wilton Simpson: [email protected]
Senator Thad Altman: [email protected]
Senator Greg Evers: [email protected]
Senator Alan Hays: [email protected]
Senator David Simmons: [email protected]
Senator Chris Smith: [email protected]
Senator Darren Soto: [email protected]

Best is for Boaters and Cruisers to craft and personalize their own brief emails (2-5 paragraphs) using below points or their own points.

Florida Senate Bill 1548
Opposition to Dwelling-Unit Anchoring Set-Back Provision
______________________________________________

1. As boaters and cruisers, we support the SAFETY-RELATED provisions of SB 1548 that directly relate to the stated purpose and title of the bill which is Vessel Safety such as: the provisions limiting anchoring within a safe distance from a marked mooring field, public boat ramp, marine railway, launching facility or landing facility. Similarly, public safety justifies the provisions restricting the anchoring or mooring of a vessel that is incapable of navigating under its own power, vessels that cannot dewater, vessels leaking petroleum, vessels in violation of marine sanitation laws, and vessels that are unattended or derelict. We support all of these provisions.

2. But statewide legislation should not include provisions that are founded upon interests that are not necessary for safety. We oppose provisions that are designed to establish preferential rights or control over areas of public waters of the State of Florida based upon setbacks from all “developed waterfront property” that would arbitrarily create areas of public waterways within which occupants of boats may not anchor. Such provisions are related to convenience, preference, and aesthetics, rather than safety, and would result in laws that pick between classes and groups of people based upon the nature of the structure they choose to occupy.

3. Therefore, we strongly oppose the provision banning overnight anchoring in public water anywhere within 200 feet of a dwelling unit that was built on private land. We respectfully ask that, as members of this Committee, you please remove this provision

4. We are sensitive to the concerns raised by some legislators and constituents about issues related to anchored boats. Some of these relate to disputes about between a few individual high-profile property owners and boaters. We recognize that these concerns have increased and will continue to increase as more people move to Florida and buy properties located adjacent to public land such as submerged land and the waterways above it along Florida’s coast.

5. As to disputes between individual upland property owners and boaters, we believe those are matters that are proper for handling on a case-by-case basis through enforcement of civil and penal measures, such a nuisance and harassment. Although existing laws allow for policing of such bad conduct, we would support reforms that strengthen the enforcement tools to help resolve such disputes. But we do not believe the proper approach is to pass sweeping statutory statewide bans on where members of the public can anchor on public waterways throughout the State.

6. Waterfront property owners (including many of us boaters) must be reminded that the marine coastal resources of this State are not private. They are public. The submerged lands that would be roped off by a blanket set-back would encompass land that is owned by the State and, accordingly, by ALL Floridians … including many of the boaters and cruisers who also own land in Florida and pay taxes in Florida to help support the State's ownership of this submerged land.

7. We understand the “Not-In-My-Back-Yard” or NIMBY concept. But public waters are not the "back yard" to any waterfront private property. It is public submerged land. The back yard of upland private property ends at the mean high waterline. Every waterfront property purchaser knew this when they purchased their land. As upland property owners, we should not expect the government to give us control and dominion over public waters just because we purchased private property adjacent to it.

8. Such a blanket setback covering lands owned by the public would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to proposals by people owning property adjacent to other public lands (such as condos on a beach and houses next to state parks) … asking that beachgoers stay off the beach and park visitors stay away from the boundaries of state parks.

9. Similarly, as boaters, we recognize that it would be improper for us to ask government to give us control and dominion of land that is upland of the waterline through a provision preventing landowners from locating their house or condominium within 200 feet of any shoreline. This too would be unfair. To be fair, we recognize that private upland property is not the "back yard" of boaters.

10. We've heard some people in the capitol tell stories about their experiences with boats anchored near properties they own on a lake. Remember, marine coastal waterways are very different from a private lake. First, coastal waterways are not private at all. Second, in most lakes, the depths throughout it allow anchoring just about anywhere. With marine coastal waters, however, there is a small number of areas where there is enough depth to anchor a vessel and enough depth in the areas necessary to access those anchorages ... and where there is adequate protection from the wind and weather. These anchoring spots are unique and serve as the basis for the estimated 1,000,000 boats travelling throughout Florida's waterways annually.

11. The proponents of such this anchoring ban have not performed a necessary analysis showing the consequences such as the number of anchorages that would be eliminated by a particular setback. Without that geographic and bathymetric analysis, it is very risky to adopt such a setback.

12. Remember too, that there are some stretches of the Inter Coastal Waterway where there may only be a couple small suitable anchorages within a stretch of 50 miles or so and theses spots are necessary resting grounds for boaters seeking safe, daytime travel, and safe night time rest. We would not want to take away these safe havens for the convenience or view of others who are safely ashore.

13. The proponents of the anchoring setback have not performed a necessary analysis showing the economic consequences such as the amount of lost revenue, lost taxes, and lost jobs resulting from the exclusion of so many customers supporting so many coastal small businesses from the Panhandle to the Florida Keys, Southeast FL and all the way to Jacksonville. It is not clear to us that local businesses and Chambers of Commerce have been included in this discussion ... although there are some local Chambers that are starting to take notice. Without this economic analysis and full involvement from the small business community, we believe such a provision is not ripe for consideration.

14. Access to Florida's coastal waterways is a key component of this State's rich maritime history. One recent article asked whether Florida is becoming '...The most cruiser-unfriendly state'. This is a sad trend. To many, Florida MEANS water and the salt life. This needs to be preserved, protected, and jealously guarded.

Other WaterwayGuide.com articles/editorials:

• New Florida House bill targets derelict/at-risk vessels
• New FL House Bill: Good news for cruisers, or too early to tell?
• Pushing back against proposed anchoring laws in Florida
• Will many Florida anchorages be a thing of the past?
• Storm clouds on the Florida anchoring horizon
• Anchoring restrictions introduced in Florida bill
• SSCA releases Florida anchoring rights position

The SSCA trifold to help you contact your FL representatives: http://www.waterwayguide.com/images/SSCA-Trifold-Anchoring.pdf