Changes coming to offshore mooring ordinance

MELISSA REID
Staff Writer
mreid@lbknews.com

Police Chief Al Hogle informed the Town Commission at this week’s workshop that the police are working with the town attorney to make some changes to the town’s mooring ordinance, which would tighten regulations about how long boaters can anchor offshore.

“We are coming up with an ordinance to address mooring in town water over 72 hours. We have an ordinance, but we have some ability to regulate anchoring. We are trying to keep it very simple,” said Hogle.

Town Attorney David Persson said, “The state has preempted us from regulating live-aboards. This ordinance puts us in compliance with state ordinance.”

Town Manager Bruce St. Denis says that the state law supercedes the Town’s ordinances, and although the town has more restrictions on mooring unoccupied boats and live-aboards, they cannot apply them due to the more liberal state law.

At a Feb. 3 Village Association meeting, residents discussed the generally undesired visitors known as ‘live-aboards.’ Live-aboards referring to people who drop anchor offshore and live on their boats, staying at any particular location for an indeterminate amount of time. The boats that are currently moored offshore of the Mar Vista Restaurant, according to Drake, have been there since May 2009.

Some residents have expressed concerns over the anchoring of boats off the village waters, in particular concern for the environment due to the fact that people living on the boats empty their septic into the local waters.

According to Longboat Key Police, there was a ‘Lights Out’ boarding of all the boats anchored between Cortez and the south end of Longboat Key recently. Seventeen boats were boarded by the Longboat Police, Bradenton Beach Police, the Coast Guard as well as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection officers and Florida Fish and Wildlife officers, all checking for drugs, outstanding warrants, proper licenses, and proper handling of sewage.

Deputy Chief Martin Sharkey said people on the boats believe they have the right to drop anchor and live in state waters wherever they want. Therefore the town is trying to come up with some useable ordinance that everyone can all live by. According to Sharkey, boats are currently allowed to drop anchor within 300 feet of the shoreline.

Commission gave consensus to move forward with making adjustments to the ordinance.