A recent Collier County, FL, court decision that found a restrictive Marco Island recreational boat anchoring ordinance in violation of state law could help lead to a statewide solution to Florida's patchwork of local anchoring laws.

The Marco Island ordinance restricted recreational boaters to a maximum 12-hour anchoring period when located within 300 feet of a seawall, and a maximum six-day anchoring period anywhere beyond that distance. Collier County Judge Rob Crown's recent decision found that the Marco Island ordinance was "an unlawful regulation of publicly owned sovereign waterways in violation of Florida law."

"Across Florida other local governments have enacted similar ordinances, that unfairly give local interests control over public waterways," said BoatUS Vice President of Government Affairs Margaret Podlich. "We hope this court decision contributes to a statewide solution that is fair to all Florida citizens." Earlier this year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a series of six stakeholder meetings around the state to hear concerns about anchoring issues.

To get the anchoring case to court, Dave Dumas, a resident of Marco Island, FL, intentionally broke the law in January because he and other local boaters from the Sailing Association of Marco Island thought it was overly restrictive.

"As a result of Judge Crown's decision and current state statutes, many local governments around the state have advised me that they will not be enforcing their anchoring ordinances and will look to the state for guidance in the form of a uniform anchoring regulation, said Donald Day, Dumas's attorney who handled the case pro bono. "A lot of credit goes to BoatUS members who contacted their local governments to voice their displeasure with these inconsistent, arbitrary and restrictive ordinances."

Added Dumas, "The City Council thought they could do whatever they wanted and chose to take the position of a select few in this community. But they should have maintained a neutral position and arbitrated a solution that benefited all citizens."

A yet-to-be-announced special closed-door meeting of the Marco Island City Council and the city attorney will decide whether to appeal Judge Crown's decision.