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- “To provide the greatest possible access to Pinellas County waters for
both recreational and commercial boaters, while protecting the integrity
of natural resources, and enhancing the County’s reputation as the
preeminent boating/diving/fishing center of Florida.”
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- To identify the obstacles to achieving this vision.
- To help identify innovative and effective strategies for sustaining and
enhancing public boating access to Pinellas County waters.
- Develop recommendations for consideration by elected officials on how to
best implement the legislative changes.
- To encourage boating interests to be partners with local governments on
solutions.
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- Current economic conditions and land scarcity facilitate the
redevelopment/ conversion of boat ramps & marinas.
- Some significant local marine access facilities are either in the
process of, or under the threat of, conversion, such as:
- Clearwater High & Dry
- Huber Yacht Harbor
- Clearwater Bay Marina
- Maximo Marina
- The loss of certain facilities would force boat owners in Clearwater to
go elsewhere for service and repair, the closest option being Tarpon
Springs.
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- The siting of new boat access facilities or the expansion of existing
ones are dependent on environmental and land use factors, such as:
- Protection of marine resources
- Manatee congregation areas
- Sea grass protection and management areas
- Clean Marina Program
- Water Quality
- Compatibility with adjacent land uses
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- Comprehensive Plans
- Future Land Use and zoning regulations
- Water and Navigation Control Authority
- Working Waterfronts
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- Highlights of HB 955
- Creates Waterfronts Florida program to help communities revitalize
their waterfront areas.
- Expedites wetland and environmental permitting for marinas that reserve
10% of their slips for public use.
- Requires comprehensive plans to encourage the preservation of
recreational and commercial working waterfronts.
- Requires comprehensive plans to include access to waterways.
- Instructs the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to encourage the use of
sovereign submerged lands for water dependent uses and public access.
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- Highlights of HB 955 cont.
- Instructs DEP and the FWCC to conduct a study on the use of state lands
for recreational boating – report due to Governor by January 1, 2006.
- Allows for changes in fee structure setting aside monies to fund a
grant program for public launching facilities; changes fee structure to
allow monies to be retained by counties using funds for boating
infrastructure.
- Creates a tax deferral incentive program for owners to maintain working
waterfront property (requires County to adopt an enabling ordinance).
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- Highlights of HB 989
- DEP shall adopt a general permit allowing for local governments to
construct, operate and maintain public marina facilities, public
mooring fields, public boat ramps and associated upland parking.
- Exempts such facilities from DRI review as long as they comply with the
local comprehensive plan and the facility obtains clean marina status.
- Marinas and mooring fields shall not be over 50,000 sq. ft. when over
wetlands or surface water.
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- USA’s top destination for marine recreation
- Represents over $15.7 billion in annual economic impacts
- Creates over 180,000 jobs
- Boat ramps contribute $1.3 billion, 25,000 jobs and $128 million in
annual state and local tax revenue
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- The rise in the number of registered boats has greatly outpaced the rate
of population growth
- Conversely, public access continues to decrease
- Less than half of all marinas are open to the public, and a quarter of
those are boatyards
- Only 16% of boat ramps statewide are available for use by the general
public
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- Of the 63 identified boat ramps in Pinellas County, 41 are government
owned
- Of the 77 identified public access marinas in Pinellas County, 10 are
government owned
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Notes