Efforts to strengthen the enforcement of ordinances that limit long-term anchoring and abandoned vessels in Jacksonville waterways are progressing with the help of the city’s Office of General Counsel, according to Jacksonville Waterways Commission member Mike Barker.
The city’s legal minds are currently working to combine two ordinances that govern these issues in order to provide law enforcement with a simple framework.
It’s the latest chapter in a years-long battle to address derelict or abandoned vessels in the city’s waterways, an issue that has garnered the support of local and state elected officials, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC), law enforcement and the boating community.
Abandoned vessels are more than eyesores. They can damage other boats and docks if they break loose during storms or sink into the river. Barker estimates approximately three vessels sink in the river every year, and each can cost the city as much as $30,000 to remove.
In 2021, Florida District 12 Rep. Wyman Duggan successfully passed a measure that granted counties the power to impose anchoring restrictions in urban areas with narrow waterways and significant boating traffic. In 2022, Jacksonville’s City Council passed ordinances that separately address long-term anchoring and the removal of abandoned vessels.
“The problem was that it was confusing everybody, including law enforcement,” Barker said. He reached out to Jacksonville’s Office of General Counsel and invited them to a series of meetings with law enforcement agencies. Attorneys recommended combining and simplifying the ordinances to create a clear enforcement framework.
“There’s going to be one set of ordinances that will cover how long a vessel can sit there and what the penalties will be if you anchor and leave a boat there. And it’s going to make it just a lot simpler for everybody to understand, a lot cleaner,” Barker said.
Barker also said that under the current laws, the timeline for removal is too long and the fines are too small. After three rounds of citations and fines totaling less than $500, it can take more than five months to remove an abandoned vessel, Barker said.
“What that means is for less than $500 somebody could just drop their boat over the summer and let it sit here for three or four months. And that didn’t make any sense. Clearly, they’re just trying to avoid marina fees,” Barker said.
Barker said the newly drafted ordinance will impose larger fines and reduce the timeline for removal down to two months.
“We welcome engaged boaters. If you’re a legitimate mariner and you’re cruising the eastern seaboard, and you want to come and visit – great. We welcome that. But don’t bring your junker here and dump it,” Barker said.
On its website, FWC has a searchable map that shows the locations of derelict vessels in Florida. The map shows approximately 16 derelict vessels in Duval County, nine of which are pending removal, including one 30-foot vessel in the Cedar River that was initially reported in September 2023. The rest are under investigation.
Barker expects the Office of General Counsel to finish drafting the new, simplified ordinance in the next month or so, and it could go before the City Council for a vote this summer.
