§ 4.2-27. Regulations and standards.

(a)

Any person who operates a vessel upon the waters of this county shall do so in a careful and prudent manner so as to show no evidence of a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.

(b)

No vessel (excluding airboats) shall travel on a plane (not fully settled into the water) within one hundred fifty (150) feet of any shoreline, except when pulling a skier from or returning him to shore.

(c)

No vessel shall travel on a plane within one hundred fifty (150) feet of any canal opening or seventy-five (75) feet from any fixed structure, except when pulling a skier from or returning him to shore.

(d)

Skiing shall be prohibited in channels or canals which are connected to lakes.

(e)

No slalom course or ski jump may be placed in or remain in any water body in Polk County unless the following conditions are met:

(1)

The slalom or ski jump course shall have an open water approach of a minimum length of six hundred (600) feet and an open exit of a minimum length of six hundred (600) feet. An additional open water of one hundred fifty (150) feet must exist on either side of the slalom course; and

(2)

The slalom course or ski jump shall be permitted by the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection and any other regulatory agencies which require a permit for the placement of a slalom course or ski jump in a water body.

(3)

A slalom or ski jump course, which is in existence and has all required state and federal permits prior to the effective date of this article shall be exempt from the requirements of subsections (b), (c) and (e) of this section for the duration of the existing permits applicable to such slalom or ski jump.

(f)

All vessels shall operate at a slow down/minimum wake speed within one hundred fifty (150) feet from a canal or channel mouth. No vessel shall exceed an idle speed/no wake within a canal or channel.

(g)

All vessels shall keep at least three hundred (300) feet behind any vessel towing a skier and shall stay clear of, by at least one hundred fifty (150) feet, any bather or vessel (anchored or in motion) unless approaching at an idle speed. When a slalom course or ski jump is in use by skiers, all other vessels shall stay at least one hundred fifty (150) feet away on either side, and six hundred (600) feet from the entrance and exit. All motorboats shall yield the right-of-way to nonmotorized vessels.

(h)

A vessel shall not be operated by a person who is under the influence of drugs and/or alcoholic beverages to such an extent that his normal faculties are impaired to operate a vessel in a safe manner.

(i)

Every person under six (6) years of age, while on board a vessel measuring less than twenty-six (26) feet in length, shall wear a Type I, II, or III flotation device approved by the United States Coast Guard, while the vessel is underway. For purposes of this subsection, "underway" shall mean at all times, except when the vessel is anchored, moored or aground.

(j)

No person shall power load any vessel onto a trailer at any county boat ramp in such a manner as to potentially contribute to the undermining of the ramp or create a nuisance noise.

(k)

For the purpose of regulating the speed and operation of vessel traffic on the Oxbow section of the Old Kissimmee River outside the channelized portion of the Kissimmee River located in Sections 1, 12, Township 29S, Range 29E, in Polk County, Florida, the following vessel controlled zone is established along the portion of the Oxbow from the latitude longitude coordinates N27°59′03″, W81°22′83″ to N27°58′36″, W81°22′46″ as an idle speed no wake zone. The idle speed no wake zone is depicted on the map attached to Ordinance No. 93-37.

(l)

No person shall operate an airboat between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. Nothing herein shall prohibit the operation of a properly operated airboat by an individual possessing an alligator trapping license as required by Section 372.6673, Florida Statutes, and possessing a harvest permit issued by the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission pursuant to Rule 39-25.042, Florida Administrative Code. This exemption shall only apply during the harvest season as established by the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission.

Airboats may be operated during the hours of 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. during authorized waterfowl hunting season.

Exempt from the provisions of this section are Lakes Arbuckle and Hatchineha and immediately adjacent waterways and the Kissimmee River Oxbow located in Polk County between Lakes Kissimmee and Hatchineha and described in paragraph (k) of this section.

(m)

No person shall operate an airboat above an idle speed within five hundred (500) feet of a residence. This section shall not apply to the use of airboats by duly licensed and authorized persons engaged in the commercial eradication or control of aquatic weeds.

The distance setback from residences in this subsection shall not apply during the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday to the use of airboats by commercial operators of airboat tours or rides holding a valid occupational license for such purposes as of March 5, 1996, for purposes of gaining ingress and egress to their base of operations or to residences constructed on Lake Hamilton after the effective date of this ordinance [Ordinance No. 96-14].

(n)

Vessels operated on waters in the unincorporated area of the county:

(1)

Exhaust regulations. The exhaust of every internal combustion engine on any vessel operated on the waters of unincorporated Polk County shall be effectively muffled so as to muffle the noise of the exhaust in a reasonable manner. Furthermore, the exhaust of every airboat shall be effectively muffled by automotive or aircraft style equipment. The use of cutouts is prohibited, except for vessels competing in a regatta or official boat race, and for such vessels while on trial runs.

(2)

Enforcement. The provisions of this subsection may be additionally enforced as a noncriminal infraction by the Division of Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and its officers, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and its officers, the sheriff and deputy sheriffs, and any other authorized law enforcement officer, pursuant to the provisions of Sections 327.65 and 327.73, Florida Statutes.

(o)

Exemption. Nothing in this section shall apply to the use of an airboat by duly authorized agents of the state, county, or federal government in the performance of their official duties.

(p)

It shall be unlawful for any person to launch or stop or park or moor a boat in any lake-interconnecting canal, to engage in any activity which substantially interferes with boat traffic over the waters of such canals.

(Ord. No. 91-13, Art. III, § 3-1, 6-18-91; Ord. No. 92-30, § 3, 9-22-92; Ord. No. 93-37, Art. III, § 3-1, 8-10-93; Ord. No. 96-02, §§ 2—5, 3-5-96; Ord. No. 96-14, §§ 1—3, 5-21-96; Ord. No. 99-31, § 1(3-1.15), 8-31-99)

Editor's note

The map referenced in subsection (k) above, displaying the Kissimmee Oxbow designated controlled area, has not been set out herein, but is on file and available for inspection in the county clerk's office.