Boat U.S. - January 2008 - (Page 7) Anchoring Ruling in Limbo The city council of Marco Island, FL, voted Nov. 5 to appeal the ruling of a Florida circuit court judge that its anchoring ordinance is in violation of state law. The decision came after Judge Rob Crown ruled the city’s ordinance, adopted “an unlawful local regulation of publicly owned sovereign waterways in violation of Florida law.” But according to Marco Island resident and BoatU.S. member Dave Dumas, who intentionally broke the ordinance last January to test it in court (see “Cruisers Contest Anchoring Limits,” BoatU.S. Magazine, March 2007), the appeal may not go forward afterall. “The city did not submit its appeal within the court’s deadline so now we don’t Photo courtesy Naples Daily News. The trawler Kinship deliberately violated a local anchoring ban to test its validity. know what will happen,” Dunmas said at press time. “We were looking forward to the appeal.” just in the counties covered by that circuit, boats that are “in navigation.” The ordinance restricted recreational Dumas dropped the hook of his 42-foot Dumas explained. boaters to a maximum 12-hour anchoring “The city appeal is the best thing that Krogen in a popular anchorage and after period when located within 300 feet of a could have happened,” Dumas said. “This exceeding the 12-hour time limit set in the seawall, and a maximum six-day anchoring is a case of a local ordinance declared in ordinance, local police issued a citation. period anywhere beyond that distance. Another BoatU.S. member, Donald Day, Esq., conflict with state law so there’s a very good Dunmas and other local boaters from of the Naples, FL, law firm Barry, Day, McFee probability that a higher court would rule the the Sailing Association of Marco Island same way. & Martin, agreed to handle Dumas’ case thought it was overly restrictive and that it “But since they missed the deadline, without charge. violated a state law passed in July 2006 what will happen now is anybody’s guess,” A favorable ruling by a higher court prohibiting local jurisdictions from regulating Dumas added. would apply the decision statewide, not BoatU.S. Magazine January 2008 7 http://www.oceangrafix.com http://www.nauticalchartsonline.com http://www.oceangrafix.com
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