City makes boat-free zone around Pier 60 official
By LESTER R. DAILEY
Article published on Thursday, April 27, 2006  |
CLEARWATER – Bill Morris, the city’s marine and aviation director, decided that signs on pilings would be a more economical way to mark the vessel exclusion zone around Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach than the buoys currently used.
But when he prepared to ask the City Council to approve the change, he discovered that there was a problem.
“There is no record the buoys marking the artificial fishing reef or keeping boaters a safe distance from the Pier 60 fishing pier were ever approved by the state,” Morris wrote in a memo to the council.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the buoys have illegally been there for decades.
“I’m sure we had authorization when it was originally done ions ago with the old pier,” Morris told the council members at their work session last week. “But we built a new pier.”
At last week’s City Council meeting, the council approved the pilings and amended the city ordinance dealing with exclusion zones for boats and aircraft to make the Pier 60 exclusion zone official. The exclusion zone must now be approved by the state, but Morris doesn’t anticipate that being a problem.
“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed (that) creating a safety zone around the pier to protect boaters from being injured by the fishermen’s hooks and lines is a valid reason for creating a ‘No vessel’ zone, which they can approve,” Morris wrote. The zone also protects fishing lines from being cut by boat propellers.
“With Council approval, we wish to install three pilings, 50 feet out and 100 feet apart, on either side of the pier, from the Bait House to the T-dock, and leave the four buoys off the points designating the reef as a ‘No vessel’ zone,” Morris added. “The existing buoys alongside the pier are being damaged or destroyed by the current dragging them into the pier supports. Those buoys delineating the artificial reef are farther out and away from the pier in water too deep to replace with pilings.”
The six pilings, at $210 each, and six signs, at $50 each, will cost a total of $1,560, which will be paid from the city’s Marine Facility and Dredging Fund. That’s slightly more than the buoys, which cost $200 apiece, but they require less maintenance.
“Over a year’s time, the pilings will pay for themselves by staying ‘on station,’” Morris explained. The installation and maintenance will be performed by existing city employees.
“This isn’t quite what it seems, where we’re restricting boats from an area where they were allowed before,” Morris said. “We went to put in pilings and looked for the ordinance to authorize it but we couldn’t find one, so we said ‘Let’s fix it.’ It’s pretty much a housekeeping thing.” The council agreed and unanimously approved Morris’ proposal.
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Article published on Thursday, April 27, 2006
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