HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1515 Anchoring Limitation Areas
SPONSOR(S): State Affairs Committee, Environment, Agriculture & Flooding Subcommittee, Duggan and
others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 1946
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Environment, Agriculture & Flooding 16 Y, 0 N, As CS Gawin Moore
Subcommittee
2) State Affairs Committee 21 Y, 0 N, As CS Gawin Williamson
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Current law designates certain densely populated urban areas that have narrow state waterways, residential
docking facilities, and significant boating traffic as anchoring limitation areas. In an anchoring limitation area, a
person is prohibited from anchoring a vessel at any time during the period between one half-hour after sunset
and one half-hour before sunrise. Anchoring limitation areas are typically enforced by the Division of Law
Enforcement of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and its officers, county sheriffs and
deputies, and municipal police officers.
The bill specifies that notwithstanding the existing prohibition on local regulation of anchoring of vessels
outside of the marked boundaries of mooring fields, a county may establish an anchoring limitation area within
densely populated urban areas, which have narrow state waterways, residential docking facilities, and
significant recreational boating traffic. The aggregate total of anchoring limitation areas in a county may not
exceed 10 percent of the county’s navigable waterways. The bill specifies that existing anchoring limitation
areas established in statute are grandfathered-in and exempt from the requirements established in the bill.
The bill requires each anchoring limitation area to be less than 100 acres in size and to be clearly marked with
buoys and signs that provide reasonable notice of the duration of time beyond which anchoring is limited to
boaters. Additionally, the bill specifies that any ordinance establishing an anchoring limitation area may not
take effect until reviewed and approved by FWC.
The bill prohibits a person from anchoring a vessel for more than 30 consecutive days in any six-month period
in an anchoring limitation area, unless an exception applies. Upon an inquiry by a law enforcement officer or
agency, a vessel owner or operator must be given an opportunity to provide proof that the vessel has not
exceeded the 30-day limit. A vessel that is the subject of more than three violations within 12 months that
resulted in dispositions other than acquittal or dismissal must be declared a public nuisance.
The bill requires FWC to initiate rulemaking by July 1, 2021, to provide criteria and procedures for reviewing
applications by counties to establish anchoring limitation areas and procedures for public notice and
participation.
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the state and local governments.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h1515c.SAC
DATE: 4/6/2021
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Anchoring or Mooring
Anchoring or mooring refers to a boater’s practice of seeking and using a safe harbor on the public
waterway system for an undefined duration. Anchoring is accomplished using an anchor carried on the
vessel, while mooring uses fixtures, known as moorings, permanently affixed to the bottom of the water
body.1 Anchorages are areas that boaters regularly use for anchoring or mooring, whether designated
or managed for that purpose or not. Mooring fields are areas designated and used for a system of
properly spaced moorings.2
State Regulation of the Anchoring or Mooring of Vessels
The Legislature has delegated the responsibility of managing sovereign submerged lands to the
Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund
(Board).3 Pursuant to this responsibility, the Board is authorized to adopt rules governing anchoring,
mooring, or otherwise attaching vessels, floating homes, or any other watercraft to the bottom of
sovereign submerged lands.4 The Board has adopted rules regulating the construction of mooring and
docking structures on such lands,5 but has not exercised its authority to adopt rules regulating
anchoring.
Florida law prohibits a person from anchoring a vessel, except in case of emergency, in a manner that
unreasonably or unnecessarily constitutes a navigational hazard or interferes with another vessel.6
Anchoring under bridges or in or adjacent to heavily traveled channels constitutes interference, if
unreasonable under the prevailing circumstances.7 Interference with navigation is a noncriminal
infraction and punishable by a fine of $50.8
With certain exceptions, the owner or operator of a vessel or floating structure may not anchor or moor
such that the nearest approach of the anchored or moored vessel or floating structure is:
Within 150 feet of any marina, boat ramp, boatyard, or vessel launching or loading facility;
Within 300 feet of a superyacht repair facility; or
Within 100 feet outward from the marked boundary of a public mooring field or a lesser distance
if approved by the local government within which the mooring field is located.9
Additionally, the owner or operator of a vessel or floating structure may not anchor or moor within the
marked boundary of a public mooring field unless the owner or operator has a lawful right to do so by
contractual agreement or other business arrangement.10
An owner or operator of a vessel may anchor or moor within 150 feet of any marina, boat ramp,
boatyard, or other vessel launching or loading facility; within 300 feet of a superyacht repair facility; or
within 100 feet outward from the marked boundary of a public mooring field if:
1
Ankersen, Hamann, & Flagg, Anchoring Away: Government Regulation and the Rights of Navigation in Florida, 2
(March 2011), available at
https://www.cityofmarcoisland.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/administration/page/7491/anchoring_away_03_09_11_full_web
3.pdf (last visited Mar. 12, 2021).
2
Id.
3
Section 253.03(1), F.S.
4
Section 253.03(7), F.S.
5
See ch. 18-21, F.A.C.
6
Section 327.44(2), F.S.
7
Id.
8
Section 327.73(j), F.S.
9
Section 327.4109(1), F.S.
10
Section 327.4109(3), F.S.
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The vessel suffers a mechanical failure that poses an unreasonable risk of harm to the vessel or
the persons onboard the vessel. The owner or operator of the vessel may anchor or moor for
five business days or until the vessel is repaired, whichever occurs first.
Imminent or existing weather conditions in the vicinity of the vessel pose an unreasonable risk
of harm to the vessel or the persons onboard the vessel. The owner or operator of the vessel
may anchor or moor until weather conditions no longer pose such risk.11
A vessel or floating structure may not be anchored, moored, or affixed to an unpermitted, unauthorized,
or otherwise unlawful object that is on or affixed to the bottom of state waters. This does not apply to a
mooring owned by a private individual or entity who owns submerged lands.12
Local Regulation of the Anchoring or Mooring of Vessels
Local governments are authorized by general permit to construct, operate, and maintain public mooring
fields, each for up to 100 vessels.13 Mooring fields must be located in areas where navigational access
already exists between the mooring field and the nearest customarily used access channel or navigable
waters that the mooring field is designed to serve. Each mooring field must be associated with a land-
based support facility that provides amenities and conveniences, such as parking, bathrooms, showers,
and laundry facilities. Major boat repairs and maintenance, fueling activities other than from the land-
based support facility, and boat hull scraping and painting are not authorized within mooring fields.14
Local governments are further authorized to enact and enforce ordinances that prohibit or restrict the
mooring or anchoring of floating structures15 or live-aboard vessels16 within their jurisdictions and
vessels that are within the marked boundaries of permitted mooring fields.17 However, they are
prohibited from enacting, continuing in effect, or enforcing any ordinance or local regulation that
regulates the anchoring of vessels, other than live-aboard vessels, outside the marked boundaries of
permitted mooring fields.18
Anchoring Limitation Areas
Current law designates certain densely populated urban areas that have narrow state waterways,
residential docking facilities, and significant recreational boating traffic as anchoring limitation areas.19
The following areas are designated in statute as anchoring limitation areas:
The section of Middle River lying between Northeast 21st Court and the Intracoastal Waterway
in Broward County.
Sunset Lake in Miami-Dade County.
The sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County lying between Rivo Alto Island and Di Lido
Island, San Marino Island and San Marco Island, and San Marco Island and Biscayne Island.20
In an anchoring limitation area, a person is prohibited from anchoring a vessel at any time during the
period between one half-hour after sunset and one half-hour before sunrise.21 However, a person may
anchor in an anchoring limitation area if:
11
Section 327.4109(2), F.S.
12
Section 327.4019(4), F.S.
13
Section 373.118, F.S.; r. 62-330.420(1), F.A.C.
14
Rule 62-330.420, F.A.C.
15
Section 327.02(14), F.S., defines “floating structure” as a floating entity, with or without accommodations built thereon, which is
not primarily used as a means of transportation on water but which serves purposes or provides services typically associated with a
structure or other improvement to real property. The term includes an entity used as a residence, place of business, or office with
public access; a hotel or motel; a restaurant or lounge; a clubhouse; a meeting facility; a storage or parking facility; or a mining
platform, dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as such.
16
Section 327.02(22), F.S., defines “live-aboard vessel” as a vessel used solely as a residence and not for navigation; a vessel
represented as a place of business or a professional or other commercial enterprise; or a vessel for which a declaration of domicile has
been filed. The definition expressly excludes commercial fishing boats.
17
Section 327.60(2)(f), F.S.
18
Section 327.60(3), F.S.
19
Section 327.4108, F.S.
20
Section 327.4108(1), F.S.
21
Section 327.4108(2), F.S.
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The vessel suffers a mechanical failure that poses an unreasonable risk of harm to the vessel or
the people onboard unless the vessel anchors;
Imminent or existing weather conditions in the vicinity pose an unreasonable risk of harm to the
vessel or the people onboard unless the vessel anchors; or
The vessel is attending a regatta, race, marine parade, tournament, exhibition,22 or other special
event, including, but not limited to, public music performances, local government waterfront
activities, or a fireworks display.23
Anchoring limitation areas are typically enforced by the Division of Law Enforcement of the Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and its officers, county sheriffs and deputies, and municipal
police officers.24 Such law enforcement officers are authorized to remove and impound a vessel that,
after being issued a citation for violation of the anchoring limitation area, anchors the vessel in the
anchoring limitation area within 12 hours after being issued the citation or refuses to leave the
anchoring limitation area after being directed to do so by law enforcement.25
Anchoring limitation areas do not apply to vessels owned or operated by a governmental entity for law
enforcement, firefighting, military, or rescue purposes; construction or dredging vessels on an active job
site; vessels actively engaged in commercial fishing; or vessels engaged in recreational fishing if the
individuals on board are actively tending hook and line fishing gear or nets.26
Florida Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a navigable toll-free shipping route, extending for about 3,000 miles along
the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico coasts in the southern and eastern U.S. It utilizes sounds, bays,
lagoons, rivers, and canals and is usable in many portions by deep-draft vessels. The route is federally
maintained and is connected to inland waterways in many places. It was originally planned to form a
continuous channel from New York City to Brownsville, Texas, but the necessary canal link through
northern Florida was never completed; hence, it is now in two separate sections—the Atlantic and the
Gulf.27
The Florida Intracoastal Waterway means the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Georgia state line
north of Fernandina to Miami; the Port Canaveral lock and canal to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway;
the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Miami to Key West; the Okeechobee Waterway, Stuart to Fort
Myers; the St. Johns River, Jacksonville to Sanford; the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Anclote to Fort
Myers; the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to Tampa Bay; Carrabelle to Anclote open bay
section, using the Gulf of Mexico; the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Carrabelle to the Alabama state line
west of Pensacola; and the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint Rivers in Florida.28
Effect of the Bill
The bill specifies that notwithstanding the existing prohibition on local regulation of anchoring of vessels
outside of the marked boundaries of mooring fields, a county may establish an anchoring limitation area
within densely populated urban areas, which have narrow state waterways, residential docking
facilities, and significant recreational boating traffic. The aggregate total of anchoring limitation areas in
a county may not exceed 10 percent of the county’s navigable waterways. The bill specifies that
existing anchoring limitation areas established in statute are grandfathered-in and exempt from the
requirements established in the bill.
The bill requires each anchoring limitation area established by a county to be less than 100 acres in
size. The bill specifies that the calculated size of the anchoring limitation area does not include any
22
Section 327.48, F.S.
23
Section 327.4108(3), F.S.
24
Section 327.70(1), F.S.
25
Section 327.4108(5)(b), F.S.
26
Section 327.4108(4), F.S.
27
Encyclopedia Britannica, Intracoastal Waterway, available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/Intracoastal-Waterway (last visited
Mar. 22, 2021).
28
Section 327.02(15), F.S.
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portion of the marked channel of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway contiguous to the anchoring
limitation area. Additionally, the bill prohibits each anchoring limitation area from including any mooring
fields and requires them to be clearly marked with:
Signs that provide reasonable notice to boaters, identifying the duration of time beyond which
anchoring is limited and identifying the county ordinance that created the anchoring limitation
area.
Buoys installed and maintained by the county that mark the boundary of the anchoring
limitation area.
The bill prohibits a person from anchoring a vessel for more than 30 consecutive days in any six-month
period in an anchoring limitation area, unless an exception applies. In addition, the bill specifies that
any ordinance adopted by a county to establish an anchoring limitation area may not take effect until
reviewed and approved by FWC.
Upon an inquiry by a law enforcement or agency, the bill requires a vessel owner or operator to be
given an opportunity to provide proof that the vessel has not exceeded the 30-day limit on anchoring in
an anchoring limitation area. The bill specifies that such proof may include:
Documentation showing that the vessel was in another location at least one mile away within a
period of less than 30 days before the inquiry.
Electronic evidence, including, but not limited to, navigational devices or tracking devices that
show the vessel was in another location at least one mile away within a period of less than 30
days b