Sign Petition to Protest Miami Beach Proposed Anchoring Ordinance
On May 18th your boating rights and the boating industry are at risk.

By Staff reports
Posted Saturday, May 7, 2005

 
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Boater's and marine industry professionals can now sign a petition opposing the proposed Miami Beach anchoring ordinance, to be voted on by the city Comission on May 18th, 2005. The online petition can be found on www.miamibeachanchoring.com, a new website built with the sole purpose of defeating this measure.

The website is the work of Belle Isle neighbor Roberto Souviron, who has organized the petition and is hoping to get as many signatures as possible to take to the meeting on May 18th.

On the website Souviron presents the following arguments opposing the draconian measure proposed by the Miami Beach City Commission:

"The city of Miami Beach is about to approve a very restrictive anchoring ordinance. If passed all boats in city waters will be limited to 72 hours at an anchor or mooring. This has many negative sides for Miami Beach residents and visitors:

· The ordinance will cost tax payer’s $1.1 million to implement and $628k to enforce every year

· Our city will loose its unique feature of the beauty and the adventurous spirit brought by foreign vessels in their way to the Caribbean.

· Neighbors with an anchored boat (even a dinghy) will have to move their boats to a paying marina making it harder for them to enjoy and more costly to keep.

· Local businesses will have less potential clients (less tourists = less business), specially those in the marine trade!.

· Out of City boaters planning to visit Miami will be far more restricted to visit the nicest places of Miami Beach and their trip costs will raise.

This ordinance has been sponsored by a few people who seem to have problems with a few boats, but this ordinance will affect all city neighbors and all city boaters. The city commission assumes that all boats are a “nuisance” and therefore rules that all boats should be prohibited after a 72hs stay. The fact is that few boats are a “nuisance”. This ordinance is an overdoing. At land, the state doesn’t prohibit all drivers from the road but only the problematic ones, we believe that such should be the rule on the water too. Join us inviting the Mayor and the City Commission to refrain from banning all boats and focus on banning only those that are problematic.

You can make a difference by:

1- Attending the May 18 meeting at Miami Beach City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach FL, 33139

2- Complete the form [on the website] to back the following general memorandum that we will send to Mayor David Dermer, City Staff Attorney Gary Held, City Manager Jorge Gonzalez and Commissioners Matti Bower, Jose Smith, Saul Gross, Richard Steinberg, Simon Cruz and Luis Garcia."

Please take a minute to visit www.miamibeachanchoring.com and sign the petition. Copies of the proposed ordinance and of the city manager's memo regarding implementation costs are also able to be viewed on the site.