Daddy Dave
Well-known member
09 March 2005
Ms. Vicki Phillips
Chairwoman
Citrus County Board of County Commissioners
110 N. Apopka Avenue
Inverness, Florida 34450
Chairwoman Phillips,
Please accept this document as the position paper of Florida Guides Association on the proposed noise ordinance of Citrus County. We are the statewide organization of USCG and Florida licensed and Charter Liability insured guides providing recreation upon the public navigable waterways of Florida. Our membership includes more than 400 active guides who comply with FGA professional requirements.
We have reviewed the proposed county ordinance pertaining to maximum allowable noise levels from motor vessels including airboats. We believe this proposed ordinance to be of great negative impact on our membership.
We see no baseline research supporting the proposed maximum allowable noise levels. We have looked for any Citrus County funded scientific study that would establish current median noise levels on any motor vessels from which improvements could be evaluated and find none. We have looked for some calculation of normal and customary noise level of various motor vessels with which any improvement or default could be measured and find none.
We understand that the population dynamics of Citrus County and many areas of Florida are changing and that many seasonal residents are unfamiliar with traditional uses of Florida's wetlands, waterways and coastlines. Traditions are an important part of any culture and airboats represent a uniquely Florida adaptation of transportation need. We are the group of trained, licensed and insured professionals who introduce thousands of these residents and tourist visitors each year to Florida navigable waterways -- the way they were created.
Florida will never be a warmer Midwest or Northeast. There should always be a natural Florida - the way it was created. Citrus County represents itself as The Nature Coast, and properly licensed guides and the general public should be allowed to enjoy that Florida and to expose others to it as well..
Many of our membership utilize airboats for lawful purposes, as guide boats and as recreational motor vessels. Airboats are the only motor vessels which operate without a subsurface propeller and therefor represent the least threat to manatees and other forms of waterlife. Airboats represent the only viable motor vessel access to our vast native wetlands without leaving tracks or damaging the underlying habitat.
It is the position of our association that motor vessels including airboats have open access to the public navigable waterways of Florida, even though some of these public waterways have experienced public boating access barriers at the hand of man. These waterways belong to all the people of Florida and not to upland adjoining land owners.
We support all lawful uses of public navigable waterways including guided tours, recreational boating in all forms and recreational angling. We oppose any act or action that by its nature or hidden intent seeks to eliminate access to these waterways by the general public.
FGA stands for the careful collection of scientific data, considered interpretation of that data and the best conclusions for wise use, and for renewable resource management actions based on those factors. We feel the proposed noise level ordinance has not followed any of these necessary steps.
We oppose the proposed noise ordinance for the following reasons:
1) There is no supporting baseline scientific study or evaluated data that establishes normal or customary noise levels for any motor vessel which is most likely to be affected by this proposal.
2) There is no economic impact study or data provided to quantify the likely financial impact results upon the effected businesses and general public of your proposed act. Our member guides who rely on reasonable access to Citrus County based public navigable waterways will be impacted in a substantial negative manner and there is no mention or measure of that impact.
3) There has been no attempt by Citrus County to associate with the affected stakeholder groups in an attempt to develop a plan of compromise or mitigation that would alleviate the need for an ordinance such as the one your Commission is considering.
4) We believe normal operation at the helm of most vessels at cruise is near 90 dB, but the helm area is not exposed to exhaust noise, which the vessel is traveling away from. Many vessels, even outboards with thru hub exhaust, will likely exceed the 90 dB rating at 50 feet when accelerating or running at wide open throttle.
5) You have not demonstrated that compliance with your proposed noise ordinance proposal is possible for motor vessels. To propose a law upon the citizens of Florida where compliance standards are not likely to be possible is unfair by its very nature.
6) This ordinance seems to place the burden of proof upon any person accused of a violation. We feel all citizens, even airboaters, are entitled to the protections afforded under the Constitution of the United States - which sets the requirement for any government to prove guilt beyond the exclusion of any and all reasonable doubt.
We propose the following compromise solutions to your proposed noise level ordinance:
1) Seek the active enforcement of existing Florida statutes concerning the requirement for all motor vessels to have effective mufflers and for motor vessel operation concurrent with community standards as with all motor vehicles.
2) Cooperate with and defer to ongoing research and evaluation being undertaken by Florida Atlantic University and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that seeks to establish baseline noise levels for airboats of various motor and propeller configurations.
3) Use the upcoming evaluated noise level data base from the F.A.U. / FWC noise study to formulate your noise level ordinance -- if one is necessary after state action on this same issue.
4) Start out with allowable noise levels that will take the worst offenders off the water and allow the overwhelming compliant majority of airboat users, business and recreational, to operate in a responsible manner.
5) Establish a user based council of effected stakeholders who can work among themselves for solutions to boating related issues without having to create new ordinances.
6) Develop effective waterfront residential area slow speed zones for all motor vessels to reduce wake and noise intrusion to developed residential areas.
Thank You for considering our position,
Capt. Dave Markett
Florida Guides Association
Regional Vice President
Florida Guides Association
PO Box 542991
Merritt Island, FL 32952
florida-guides.com
Ms. Vicki Phillips
Chairwoman
Citrus County Board of County Commissioners
110 N. Apopka Avenue
Inverness, Florida 34450
Chairwoman Phillips,
Please accept this document as the position paper of Florida Guides Association on the proposed noise ordinance of Citrus County. We are the statewide organization of USCG and Florida licensed and Charter Liability insured guides providing recreation upon the public navigable waterways of Florida. Our membership includes more than 400 active guides who comply with FGA professional requirements.
We have reviewed the proposed county ordinance pertaining to maximum allowable noise levels from motor vessels including airboats. We believe this proposed ordinance to be of great negative impact on our membership.
We see no baseline research supporting the proposed maximum allowable noise levels. We have looked for any Citrus County funded scientific study that would establish current median noise levels on any motor vessels from which improvements could be evaluated and find none. We have looked for some calculation of normal and customary noise level of various motor vessels with which any improvement or default could be measured and find none.
We understand that the population dynamics of Citrus County and many areas of Florida are changing and that many seasonal residents are unfamiliar with traditional uses of Florida's wetlands, waterways and coastlines. Traditions are an important part of any culture and airboats represent a uniquely Florida adaptation of transportation need. We are the group of trained, licensed and insured professionals who introduce thousands of these residents and tourist visitors each year to Florida navigable waterways -- the way they were created.
Florida will never be a warmer Midwest or Northeast. There should always be a natural Florida - the way it was created. Citrus County represents itself as The Nature Coast, and properly licensed guides and the general public should be allowed to enjoy that Florida and to expose others to it as well..
Many of our membership utilize airboats for lawful purposes, as guide boats and as recreational motor vessels. Airboats are the only motor vessels which operate without a subsurface propeller and therefor represent the least threat to manatees and other forms of waterlife. Airboats represent the only viable motor vessel access to our vast native wetlands without leaving tracks or damaging the underlying habitat.
It is the position of our association that motor vessels including airboats have open access to the public navigable waterways of Florida, even though some of these public waterways have experienced public boating access barriers at the hand of man. These waterways belong to all the people of Florida and not to upland adjoining land owners.
We support all lawful uses of public navigable waterways including guided tours, recreational boating in all forms and recreational angling. We oppose any act or action that by its nature or hidden intent seeks to eliminate access to these waterways by the general public.
FGA stands for the careful collection of scientific data, considered interpretation of that data and the best conclusions for wise use, and for renewable resource management actions based on those factors. We feel the proposed noise level ordinance has not followed any of these necessary steps.
We oppose the proposed noise ordinance for the following reasons:
1) There is no supporting baseline scientific study or evaluated data that establishes normal or customary noise levels for any motor vessel which is most likely to be affected by this proposal.
2) There is no economic impact study or data provided to quantify the likely financial impact results upon the effected businesses and general public of your proposed act. Our member guides who rely on reasonable access to Citrus County based public navigable waterways will be impacted in a substantial negative manner and there is no mention or measure of that impact.
3) There has been no attempt by Citrus County to associate with the affected stakeholder groups in an attempt to develop a plan of compromise or mitigation that would alleviate the need for an ordinance such as the one your Commission is considering.
4) We believe normal operation at the helm of most vessels at cruise is near 90 dB, but the helm area is not exposed to exhaust noise, which the vessel is traveling away from. Many vessels, even outboards with thru hub exhaust, will likely exceed the 90 dB rating at 50 feet when accelerating or running at wide open throttle.
5) You have not demonstrated that compliance with your proposed noise ordinance proposal is possible for motor vessels. To propose a law upon the citizens of Florida where compliance standards are not likely to be possible is unfair by its very nature.
6) This ordinance seems to place the burden of proof upon any person accused of a violation. We feel all citizens, even airboaters, are entitled to the protections afforded under the Constitution of the United States - which sets the requirement for any government to prove guilt beyond the exclusion of any and all reasonable doubt.
We propose the following compromise solutions to your proposed noise level ordinance:
1) Seek the active enforcement of existing Florida statutes concerning the requirement for all motor vessels to have effective mufflers and for motor vessel operation concurrent with community standards as with all motor vehicles.
2) Cooperate with and defer to ongoing research and evaluation being undertaken by Florida Atlantic University and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that seeks to establish baseline noise levels for airboats of various motor and propeller configurations.
3) Use the upcoming evaluated noise level data base from the F.A.U. / FWC noise study to formulate your noise level ordinance -- if one is necessary after state action on this same issue.
4) Start out with allowable noise levels that will take the worst offenders off the water and allow the overwhelming compliant majority of airboat users, business and recreational, to operate in a responsible manner.
5) Establish a user based council of effected stakeholders who can work among themselves for solutions to boating related issues without having to create new ordinances.
6) Develop effective waterfront residential area slow speed zones for all motor vessels to reduce wake and noise intrusion to developed residential areas.
Thank You for considering our position,
Capt. Dave Markett
Florida Guides Association
Regional Vice President
Florida Guides Association
PO Box 542991
Merritt Island, FL 32952
florida-guides.com
