Florida Administrative Code › 68 - FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION › 68D - Vessel Registration and Boating Safety › Chapter 68D-21 - APPROVAL OF LOCAL ORDINANCES ESTABLISHING BOATING-RESTRICTED AREAS › Section 68D-21.001 - Requirements for Applications

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1)
				Approval by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is not
				required for ordinances adopted pursuant to Section
				327.46(1)(b),
				F.S. Regulatory markers necessary for implementing those ordinances must be
				permitted as required in Sections
				327.40 and
				327.41, F.S., and as provided in
				Chapter 68D-23, F.A.C.
(2) Any
				municipality or county application for approval of an ordinance establishing a
				boating-restricted area pursuant to Section
				327.46(1)(c),
				F.S., must be submitted to: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
				Division of Law Enforcement, Boating and Waterways Section.
(3) Each application must include:
(a) The name of the applicant municipality or
				county.
(b) The name, mailing
				address, telephone number, and any email address or facsimile number of the
				applicant's:
1. Primary contact person;
				and,
2. Attorney or qualified
				representative.
(c) A
				certified copy of the adopted ordinance for which approval is sought. A county
				or municipality may submit a draft ordinance for review and approval. Approval,
				if granted, is conditioned upon the draft ordinance being adopted without
				amendment and does not become effective until a certified copy of the ordinance
				as adopted is received by the Boating and Waterways Section. If the draft
				ordinance is amended, approval of the draft ordinance will be rescinded and the
				ordinance as adopted will be reviewed.
(d) A statement identifying the provision
				within Section 327.46(1)(c),
				F.S., authorizing regulation of vessel speed or operation by the
				ordinance.
(e) One or more scaled
				drawings no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches, reproducible in black and
				white on standard office photocopying equipment which clearly show the
				following:
1. The jurisdictional boundaries of
				the municipality or county enacting the ordinance and, for county ordinances,
				the jurisdictional boundaries of any municipality in which a boating-restricted
				area is located.
2. The exact
				boundaries of each boating-restricted area established by the ordinance and the
				restrictions on vessel operation imposed within each boating-restricted
				area.
3. Any other known
				boating-restricted area (federal, state, county, other municipality, etc.)
				located within 2, 500 feet of any boating-restricted area established by the
				ordinance.
4. The location of any
				of the following within a proposed boating-restricted area or used as a basis
				for establishing a boating restricted area, identified with a label or legend
				as to whether or not it is available for use by the general public:
a. Any boat ramp, hoist, marine railway, or
				other launching or landing facility.
b. Any fuel pump or dispenser at any marine
				fueling facility or licensed terminal facility.
c. Any lock structure.
d. Any designated public bathing beach or
				swim area.
5. The
				location of any of the following within a proposed boating-restricted area or
				used as a basis for establishing a boating restricted area:
a. Any bridge, including any bridge fender
				system, if present.
b. Any dam,
				spillway, or flood control structure.
c. Any confluence of water bodies presenting
				a blind corner.
d. Any bend or
				other intervening obstruction to visibility that may obscure other vessels or
				other users of the waterway in a narrow channel, fairway, or other similar area
				within the meaning of Inland Navigation Rule 9 (33 U.S.C. §2009) as
				adopted by Section 327.33, F.S.
e. Any specific hazards to navigation (with a
				label or legend describing the hazard).
6. If relied upon as a basis for establishing
				the boating-restricted area, the location and description of any of the
				following within the proposed boating restriced area boundary:
a. Any specific area subject to unsafe levels
				of vessel traffic congestion, together with documentation showing these unsafe
				levels, as provided in Rule
				68D-21.004.
b. Any specific area subject to hazardous
				water levels or currents, together with documentation showing these hazardous
				levels, as provided in Rule
				68D-21.004.
c. Any reported boating accident for which
				speed, wake, or operation of a vessel was a primary contributing
				factor.
d. Any issuance of a
				Uniform Boating Citation or written warning related to vessel speed, wake, or
				operation. The Applicant shall be responsible for reviewing citations and
				written warnings to ensure they are relevant to the application as provided in
				Rule 68D-21.004(3)(c)
				3.b. Applications submitted with citations or written warnings that are outside
				the scope of Rule 68D-21.004(3)(c)
				3.b. will be denied without prejudice to the Applicant reapplying with only
				citations and written warnings identified in Rule
				68D-21.004(3)(c)
				3.b.
7. The
				shoreline-to-shoreline width of the body of water upon which the boating
				restricted area is to be established and, if the water body is a lake or pond,
				the total surface area expressed in acres.
(f) Documentation that the ordinance was
				developed, prior to presenting language for adoption, in consultation and
				coordination with:
1. The governing body of
				every other county or municipality sharing jurisdiction over the area in which
				the boating-restricted area is located.
2. The United States Coast Guard if the
				boating-restricted area is to be established on navigable waters of the United
				States as defined in 33 C.F.R. §2.36(a) (2009), which is adopted by
				reference and is available at
				http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html.
3. The United States Army Corps of Engineers
				if the boating-restricted area is to be established on navigable waters of the
				United States as defined in 33 C.F.R. §329.4 (2009), which is adopted by
				reference and is available at
				http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html.
(g) A summary of the facts and circumstances
				the applicant contends justifies the establishment of the restriction on speed
				or operation and a list of the evidence in support of that contention the
				applicant desires for the agency to review.
(h) An appendix containing all evidence
				listed in paragraph (g), above, except that the appendix need not include the
				following:
1. Copies of Boating Accident
				Reports or Boating Accident Investigation Reports if those reports are
				identified by law enforcement agency case number and provided in a list. If the
				Boating and Waterways Section does not have a copy on file of one or more such
				reports, it will request that the applicant supplement the application appendix
				with copies of those reports.
2.
				Copies of Florida Uniform Boating Citations or written warnings if identified
				by citation number or warning number in a list. If one or more citations or
				written warnings are not already entered into the ArrestNet Database maintained
				by the Commission, the Boating and Waterways Section will request the applicant
				to supplement the application appendix with copies of those citations or
				warnings. The applicant can request information regarding citations or warnings
				that are contained within the ArrestNet database by emailing
				DLE.reports@myfwc.com.
(i) Proof that the applicant has at its own
				cost published, as provided by Sections 50.011-.031, F.S., once a week for 2
				consecutive weeks, prior notice of the public hearing on the ordinance in a
				newspaper of general circulation in the area(s) affected by the
				ordinance.
(j) The signature of the
				applicant's attorney or qualified representative.
(k) The date the application is
				submitted.