Downtown docking 'zones'...

[ChriswUfGator]

Ok....wtf.

So we go to watch the fireworks yesterday, and they've changed all but about 200' of the entire downtown riverfront into a 30-minute "loading" zone. You're only allowed to stay 30 minutes. I hadn't even finished tying the boat off before a JSO officer showed up in a boat telling me that it was 30 minutes only and pointing at the sign. Which, luckily for me, was right next to another sign that said 72 hours. I took the position that their conflicting signage wasn't my problem, go ahead and write me the ticket. Which he didn't, but I bet that old sign comes down next week. Basically I got lucky.



But to the point, WTF? When did this little gem slip through? I'm not talking about the water taxi area either, I mean 90% of the actual public docks downtown are now 30-minute only "loading" zones. The boats in front of the landing were kind of funny, there were wide open spaces with hundreds of feet of open dock, then these little spots with boats rafted up 6-8 deep. This is ridiculous. Who did this and why?

[Noone]

DIA- Downtown Is Adrift
Anyone else feeling sorry for the Baltimore guys 2014-412?
2014-305 Docking Rules and Penalties- The seizure of your Watercraft for a violation.
Visit Jacksonville!

[ChriswUfGator]

Ok so it was Jim Love...

http://cityclts.coj.net/docs/2014-0305%5COriginal%20Text/2014-305.doc

Were there public hearings held on this nonsense? This bill is really idiotic, the only docks down there are city-owned, so he's basically turned the entire thing into 30-minute parking except for two little strips that like I said had boats rafted up to each other because most of the docks are now a loading zone.

[strider]

From 2014-305:

Section 1.      Amending Section 615.102 (Temporary docking at designated sites on the Northbank, Southbank Riverwalk, in front of the Jacksonville Landing and Metropolitan Park Marina, City-owned or leased bulkheads, floating docks, fixed docks or piers; seizure and impoundment of boats or vessels docked in violation of City ordinance or operated in an unsafe manner), Chapter 615 (Docking), Ordinance Code. Section 615.102 (Temporary docking at designated sites on the Northbank, Southbank Riverwalk, in front of the Jacksonville Landing and Metropolitan Park Marina, City-owned or leased bulkheads, floating docks, fixed docks or piers; seizure and impoundment of boats or vessels docked in violation of City ordinance or operated in an unsafe manner), Chapter 615 (Docking), Ordinance Code, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Chapter 615.  Docking.
      *  *  *
   Sec. 615.102.  Temporary docking at designated sites on the Northbank, Southbank Riverwalk, in front of the Jacksonville Landing and Metropolitan Park Marina, City-owned or leased bulkheads, floating docks, fixed docks or piers; seizure and impoundment of boats or vessels docked in violation of City ordinance or operated in an unsafe manner.
(a)   Temporary docking at City-owned or leased bulkheads, floating docks, fixed docks or piers shall only be at sites designated by the Director, Recreation and Parks Department, or other authorized official. It shall be unlawful for any boat or vessel to dock at designated areas in excess of the posted time or to dock in such designated area for a purpose other than that authorized by the Director or other authorized official. The Recreation and Parks Department shall cause at least two privately-owned, noncommercial passenger vessels loading and unloading areas to be created along the Southbank Riverwalk with signs prominently placed thereon to read "30 MIN.- NONCOMMERCIAL, PRIVATE VESSEL LOADING AND UNLOADING ONLY—VESSELS IN VIOLATION ARE SUBJECT TO IMPOUNDENT, SECTION 615.102 MUNICIPAL CODE." Violation of this Section shall constitute a class A offense against the City.
(b)   It shall be unlawful for any boat or vessel to dock at the Jacksonville Landing and Metropolitan Park Marina in areas designated as passenger loading and unloading zones in excess of ten minutes or to dock in such designated area for a purpose other than loading or unloading passengers on vessels; provided however, passenger loading and unloading at the Pearl Street designated docking area should not exceed thirty (30) minutes. Commercial use of the Pearl Street temporary docking area is subject to fees in Sec 123.102 (e)(5), Ordinance Code. The Recreation and Parks Department shall cause such loading and unloading areas to be created in front of the Jacksonville Landing and Metropolitan Park Marina with signs prominently placed thereon to read "10 MIN.—PASSENGER LOADING AND UNLOADING ONLY —VESSELS IN VIOLATION ARE SUBJECT TO IMPOUNDMENT, SECTION 615.102, MUNICIPAL CODE." Violation of this Section shall constitute a class A offense against the City.

The ordinance itself does not seem at fault here. It appears and I bet what the City Council thought they were voting in was an ordinance that created a place where people could drop off and pick up passengers when the river and the landing were busy and it was often difficult to do.  Actually makes sense to have a couple of small zones like this.  I don;t see anything that would require the loading and unloading zones to be larger than the 72 hour zones.  Nor that requires the 72 hour zones to go away.  Do you?  So this is a interpretation issue.  Like happens so many times, it is most likely a appointed official that has decided, based on someone's complaint, to go much further than necessary to achieve what the law intended.  Loud complaints in the right officials ear (maybe they want to run for office and are building a campaign war chest?) and I bet the 72 hour signs go back up for most of the areas.

Look at it this way, how happy can the Landing and other restaurant folks be over a 30 minute max.  Boaters often tie up and go get something to eat/ drink and so that should be a min of 2 to 3 hours so that can happen.

[ChriswUfGator]

You have a point strider. It just says there should be two on each bank, it doesn't say how big they're supposed to be. So whoever actually implemented this thing is the problem. Although at the end of the day it's still a problem with the bill itself, if it leaves something this big so open to (bad) interpretation. For example they've turned the entire dock in front of the TU center into one big loading zone, when 50' or less would have sufficed. Who do they think is going to be doing all this non-commercial passenger loading that needs this much space, does somebody around here have a private cruise ship I'm not aware of?

[Houseboat Mike]

is this something that Sam Mousa could fix? Seriously- who decided how big the zones were supposed to be?

[JimInJax]

It used to be that you could tie up there for up to 72 hours.

[avonjax]

The bottom line is WE SUCK! Somehow EVERYTHING in this city gets screwed up. Sad big village we live in.

[ChriswUfGator]

Well..this I think we can do something about...