62-341.428. General Permit for Floating Vessel Platforms and Floating Boat Lifts (Transferred)

(1) A general permit for all activities that are not otherwise exempt under Section 403.813(1)(s), F.S., is hereby granted to the owner of an individual, detached, private single-family residence to construct, alter, operate, maintain, and remove floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts at their residence, subject to the limitations and conditions described herein. All the criteria, conditions, and limitations contained herein are applicable solely for the purposes of this general permit.

(2) In artificially created waterways, floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts are authorized at a dock or seawall associated with an individual, detached, private single-family residence on the contiguous uplands, provided that all of the following conditions are met.

(a) The cumulative over-water (including wetlands) surface area of the floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts must not exceed 1,000 square feet, either alone or in combination with any other floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts along the applicant’s shoreline.

(b) The floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts, along with the vessel or vessels stored on the platforms or lifts:

1. Are located at least 10 feet inside of the applicant’s riparian rights lines, at least 10 feet inside of the applicant’s property lines, or if owned by someone other than the applicant or the state, at least 10 feet inside the applicant’s projected property lines, using the same methodology used to locate and project riparian rights lines; and

2. Do not extend more than 25 percent into the width of the artificially created waterway, as measured from approximate mean high water to approximate mean high water in tidal waters, or from approximate ordinary high water to approximate ordinary high water in non-tidal waters.

(c) For purposes of this general permit, an artificially created waterway shall be defined as a body of water that has been totally created by dredging, filling, or excavation, with the upper edges of its two sides above wetlands and other surface waters, including canal systems where the adjoining land use consists primarily of private, single-family residences.

(d) Floating vessel platforms and floating boat lifts shall be directly attached to docks or seawalls, as applicable, with lines, cables, chains, or collars around pilings in a manner that will not adversely affect submerged resources and without the use of bottom anchors.

(3) In waters that are not artificially created waterways, floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts are authorized provided that all of the following conditions are met.

(a) The cumulative over-water (including wetlands) surface area of the floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts must not exceed 675 square feet in waters that are not Outstanding Florida Waters, or 300 square feet within Outstanding Florida Waters, either alone or in combination with any other floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts along the applicant’s shoreline.

(b) The floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts, along with the vessel or vessels stored on the platforms or lifts:

1. Are located at least 10 feet inside of the applicant’s riparian rights lines, at least 10 feet inside of the applicant’s property lines, or if owned by someone other than the applicant or the state, at least 10 feet inside the applicant’s projected property lines, using the same methodology used to locate and project riparian rights lines; and

2. Do not extend into the waterbody by more than 25 percent of its width, as measured from approximate mean high water to approximate mean high water in tidal waters, or from approximate ordinary high water to approximate ordinary high water in non-tidal waters.

(c) The floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts are authorized only at a dock or along a seawall associated with an individual, detached, private single-family residence on the contiguous uplands, where:

1. The dock or seawall was built in conformance with a permit issued under Sections 403.91 through 403.929, 1984 Supplement to the Florida Statutes 1983, as amended, or Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S., provided the permit, any associated sovereignty submerged lands authorization required under Chapter 253 or 258, F.S., and any required local governmental authorization did not reflect or require a defined mooring area. For purposes of this general permit, a defined mooring area shall be defined as one that is clearly delineated by mooring pilings or finger piers or which is otherwise clearly labeled as such on the drawings associated with the above permit or submerged lands authorization;

2. The dock or seawall was exempt under Section 403.813(1), F.S.; or

3. The dock or seawall was legally constructed prior to July 1, 1975, and is still functional.

(d) The location where the floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts are to be placed must have less than a one percent coverage of light-dependent benthic resources, as determined according to subsection 62-341.428(6), F.A.C. In addition, the floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts must not be located over any area containing or any area previously documented to contain Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii), living stony coral [true stony coral (order Scleractinia) and hydrocoral (order Milleporina)], or octocoral (subclass Octocorallia) communities. For purposes of this general permit, a community shall not include an individual specimen or scattered (less than one percent coverage) individual stony corals directly beneath the area to be occupied by the floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts.

(e) Floating vessel platforms and floating boat lifts shall be directly attached to docks or seawalls, as applicable, with lines, cables, chains, or collars around pilings in a manner that will not adversely affect submerged resources and without the use of bottom anchors.

(4) Floating vessel platforms and floating boat lifts authorized under this general permit must be constructed, operated, and used so as to:

(a) Be for the exclusive use of residents (or their guests) of the individual, detached, single-family upland residence on the contiguous uplands, and must not be used for or in association with any multi-family, revenue-generating, or commercial purpose. For purposes of this general permit, an individual, detached, single-family residence does not include duplexes, triplexes or quadruplexes;

(b) Be used solely for the purpose of storing a vessel or vessels, such that the vessel or vessels are stored out of the water at all times when not in use;

(c) Be located in an area having, at all times, including when a vessel is being loaded or driven onto the floating vessel platform or floating boat lift, a minimum distance of at least two feet between the bottom of a fully loaded floating vessel platform or floating boat lift and either the bottom of the waterbody or the top of any submerged resources (at mature height for the area), whichever is less, as measured at mean low water in tidal areas or mean annual low water in non-tidal areas;

(d) Not cause significant adverse impacts to submerged lands, wetlands, shellfish areas, or other biological resources;

(e) Not cause or result in violations of water quality standards during construction or use, including when vessels are driven onto or off of the floating vessel platform or floating boat lift;

(f) Not be located within an aquatic preserve, as designated and described in Chapter 258, F.S.;

(g) Not be added to structures or located in areas where boat mooring is specifically prohibited under conditions of a permit issued in accordance with Sections 403.91 through 403.929, 1984 Supplement to the F.S. 1983, as amended, or Part IV of Chapter 373, F.S., or under an authorization under Chapter 253 or 258, F.S., or other form of authorization issued by a local government;

(h) Not substantially impede the flow of water, adversely affect flood control, create a navigational hazard, or otherwise adversely impede navigation;

(i) Not be located in the following critical habitat locations for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii), as published in the Federal Register, Vol. 65, No. 66 on April 5, 2000, and depicted in Figures 1 through 9 at the end of this section: approximately 5.7 acres within the Indian River Lagoon north of the Sebastian Inlet Channel, and approximately 2.0 acres within the Indian River Lagoon south of the Sebastian Inlet Channel (Figure 1); approximately 4.3 acres within the Indian River Lagoon near the Fort Pierce Inlet (Figure 2); approximately 2,770 acres within the Indian River Lagoon north of the St. Lucie Inlet (Figure 3); approximately 900 acres within Hobe Sound (Figure 4); approximately 4.3 acres on the south side of Jupiter Inlet (Figure 5); approximately 15.0 acres within central Lake Worth Lagoon (Figure 6); approximately 95.5 acres within Lake Worth Lagoon in Boynton Beach (Figure 7); approximately 20.0 acres within Lake Wyman in Boca Raton (Figure 8); and 18,757 acres within Biscayne Bay (Figure 9); and

(j) Comply with the general conditions in Rule 62-341.215, F.A.C., and, if on submerged lands owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, the conditions in subsection (5) of this general permit.

(5) Compliance with all the terms and conditions of this general permit, including the general conditions in paragraphs (5)(a) and (b) below, shall constitute authorization to use and occupy submerged lands owned by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. The following general conditions shall be binding upon the grantee, and shall be enforceable under Chapters 253 and 403, F.S.

(a) All floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts under this general permit must be installed, operated and maintained in conformance with all the applicable terms and conditions of Rules 18-21.004 and 18-21.0041, F.A.C.

(b) All floating vessel platforms or floating boat lifts under this general permit that are located on any lands under the jurisdiction or management of the Department’s Division of Recreation and Parks must have prior written approval by the Division of Recreation and Parks, and such approval must be submitted with the notice to use this general permit.

(6)(a) Where required in accordance with paragraph 62-341.428(2)(c) or (3)(d), F.A.C., notice to use this general permit shall include a report of a resource reconnaissance performed by a person with expertise in the field of marine science, aquatic ecology, or biology. The reconnaissance must be conducted during April, May, June, July, August, September, or October within one year prior to submittal of the notice to use this general permit, and shall encompass the submerged bottom where the floating vessel platform or floating boat lift is to be placed. The reconnaissance must document the absence or presence (including amount and height) of light-dependent resources, which, for purposes of this general permit, shall consist of: Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) and other submerged or emergent rooted aquatic macrophytes, attached marine macro-algae, living stony corals [true stony corals (order Scleractinia) and hydrocorals (order Milleporina)], and octocorals (subclass Octocorallia). The report also must document the water depths at mean low water (in tidal waters) or mean annual low water (in non-tidal waters) at the nearshore edge, center, and farshore edge of the proposed location of the floating vessel platform or floating boat lift. The report shall include: a statement signed by the person performing the reconnaissance to the effect that the findings in the report accurately describe the conditions as they existed during the reconnaissance; a description of the date, time, and climatic conditions when the reconnaissance was done; the name of the person or persons performing the reconnaissance and their qualifications; a scaled or fully dimensioned sketch that clearly delineates the area inspected, including both a depiction of the configuration of the proposed floating vessel platform or floating boat lift in relation to the area inspected, any identifying features (including existing and proposed structures along the shoreline); and any notes or other specific findings that the person performing the reconnaissance desires to include. Resource presence or absence shall be documented and mapped using standard field methods. When present, the percent cover and height of the light-dependent resources shall be determined and reported using the resource survey procedures described in paragraph (6)(b). All methods used shall be clearly described in the report of the resource survey.

(b) Resource surveys shall be performed using the following procedures:

1. Resource percent cover – A visual estimate of the percent cover of the light-dependent resources on the bottom directly beneath the footprint of the area to be occupied by the floating vessel platform or floating boat lift shall be reported and depicted on the sketch required in paragraph (6)(a). When resources are present, their location shall be shown on the sketch and dominant community types labeled (such as by dominant macrophyte species, or as “living true stony coral community,” or as “attached macro marine algae community”), and the presence of any Johnson’s seagrass also shall be specifically noted. Percent cover estimates shall be based on either stem-count or canopy-cover standard methodologies published in vegetation monitoring literature, such as J. Braun-Blanquet, Plant Sociology: The Study of Plant Communities (Hafner Publishing, New York 1972).

2. Height of resources – The average mature height, for the general waterbody, of each of the resources identified in subparagraph (6)(b)1., above, shall be provided. Alternatively, where the average mature height of the resources for the waterbody is not known, the height of the tallest resource specimen shall be reported (to the nearest centimeter) for each different community type within the footprint where the floating vessel platform or floating boat lift is to be located. For macrophyte resources, the height shall be determined by combing with fingers the blades of each macrophyte species vertically up along a meter stick, and measuring the composite or average height of the blades.

(7) Permittees are advised of the following requirements:

(a) They need to obtain a Works of the District permit for the floating vessel platform or floating boat lift from the applicable water management district where required under Chapter 40B-4, 40D-6, or 40E-6, F.A.C.

(b) All in-water activities associated with construction or replacement of a floating vessel platform or floating boat lift, and all vessel operation within a manatee “No Entry Zone” or a “Motorboat Prohibited Zone” must be in compliance with Chapter 68C-22, F.A.C.

(8) The notice to use this general permit (Sections A and B of Form 62-343.900(1)) must contain an attached statement from the applicant certifying that the applicant contacted the county and applicable municipal local government with jurisdiction over the dock or seawall to which a floating vessel platform or floating boat lift is to be attached, and the county and municipal local government verified that the applicant’s floating vessel platform or floating boat lift will not be located in an area where the local government has issued an authorization prohibiting boat mooring or defining a boat mooring area.

(9) This general permit does not place additional limits or restrictions on the construction, operation, and maintenance of floating vessel platforms and floating boat lifts that otherwise are exempt under Section 403.813(1), F.S.

Specific Authority 373.026(7), 373.043, 373.044, 373.118(1), 373.406(5), 373.414(9), 373.418, 403.805(1), 403.813(1), 403.814(1) FS. Law Implemented 253.04, 373.118(1), 373.406(5), 373.413, 373.414(9), 373.416, 373.418, 373.426, 403.813(1), 403.814(1) FS. History–New 8-4-05.

Figure 1. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) within the Indian River Lagoon north and south of the Sebastian Inlet Channel.

 

Figure 2. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) within the Indian River Lagoon near the Ft. Pierce Inlet.

 

Figure 3. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) within the Indian River Lagoon along the western shoreline of Hutchinson Island north of the St. Lucie Inlet.

 

 

Figure 4. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) within Hobe Sound along the western shoreline of Jupiter Island.

 

 

Figure 5. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) on the south side of Jupiter Inlet.

 

Figure 6. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) north of Bingham Island in central Lake Worth Lagoon.

Figure 7. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) within Lake Worth, near Boynton Inlet in Boynton Beach.

 

Figure 8. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) within Lake Wyman in Boca Raton.

 

 

Figure 9. Critical Habitat for Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii) within a portion of Biscayne Bay.