Florida is attempting to appease wealthy waterfront homeowners by permitting local municipalities to create ordinances that would ban anchoring anywhere near private residences and in particular, anchoring overnight for cruising boaters. The manner in which these ordinances could be written could actually effectively ban anchoring in large parts of Florida.
Florida state politicians are attempting to circumvent the entire FWC Anchoring/Mooring Pilot Program by allowing any municipality not participating in the program to determine any minimum distance boaters can anchor from every private residence.
Passage of an amendment such as this would not only make knowing where in Florida overnight anchoring is allowed an impossible task, but could effectively eliminate legal anchoring in nearly all of the state.
Why should this matter to you? Because, laws enacted in Florida are being considered by waterfront communities as far away as Ontario Canada, even Australia and other overseas countries, and in all of the coastal states of the United States, including the Great Lakes. These laws, if enacted, will create a precedent that could negatively affect your rights to enjoy the waters of your state or province. We need you to speak out and protect boaters' and the public's rights to use the waters of Florida.
