68D-21.001. Requirements for Applications

(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 If the draft ordinance is amended, approval of the draft ordinance will be rescinded and the ordinance as adopted will be reviewed.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 [e-mail].

(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.

(4) Complete applications may be submitted:

(a) By mail or in person to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Boating and Waterways Section, 620 South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600, or

(b) As a Portable Document Format (.pdf) file attached to an email addressed to [e-mail].

(5) The Boating and Waterways Section will not process partial or incomplete applications.

Rulemaking Authority 327.04, 327.46 FS. Law Implemented 327.46 FS. History–New 10-6-10, Amended 11-10-21.