Boat access restricted at popular Florida Keys beach
Miami-Dade boaters used to hanging out off a popular beach in the Florida Keys will soon face new restrictions if they still plan to frequent the area.
The Islamorada Village Council passed strict rules on where boaters can anchor off White Marlin Beach, a sandy Florida Bay shore in the back of Port Antigua, a Lower Matecumbe Key neighborhood.
The five-member council unanimously passed the ordinance Wednesday after hearing complaints for the past six years from Port Antigua residents fed up with weekends they say are marred by as many as 100 boats blaring music and people drinking, littering, speeding close to the shore on personal watercraft and trespassing on their property.
“If we choose a passive route, like to leave our homes for the day or hide in the closet to not confront people, they use our showers, our hoses, our downstairs bathrooms, porches and chairs, and some help themselves to whatever may be lying around in our carports on the way out,” Tatiana Madden, a Port Antigua resident, said during the online special call meeting on the issue.
The ordinance passed this week bans boats from anchoring or operating within 300 feet of White Marlin Beach. The zone consists of about 3,000 feet of shoreline.
“These people are dealing with this for 52 weekends a year,” said Councilman Ken Davis.
The rules will take at least a month to go into effect, said Islamorada Mayor Mike Forster, because the village needs to order the buoys and ropes that will mark off the area. The markers are expected to cost the village between $21,500 and $37,500, according to an Islamorada village staff analysis.
Those violating the ordinance face fines up to $250, the analysis states.
Councilman Jim Mooney said the issue goes beyond noise and littering. He said the numbers of boats seen some weekends in the area pose a serious safety risk to swimmers.
“The busiest guy in town should not be the fire rescue team,” he said.
Resident Iris Delgado, whose family bought their Port Antigua home last year, said the situation has gotten to the point where they can no longer enjoy their weekends.
“People are riding their boats and jet skis too fast inside the beach area. The extreme loud music all day long does not allow me or my family to speak without shouting at each other,” she said.
However, the ordinance remains controversial. The village has punted on passing similar rules since at least 2014 because partiers and boaters anchoring off the beach can be loud, but they aren’t breaking the law for the most part.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has posted deputies on boats there, but few people are arrested, and the agency’s dispatchers typically only receive a handful of complaints. Monroe County noise ordinances don’t apply during the day, and people are allowed to drink alcohol on boats.
About 12 people spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, and the group was split almost evenly for and against the ordinance. Those against it say it may actually create more danger because people will have to swim longer to get to shallow water or the beach.
Also, some said the ordinance only benefits those living along the beach in Port Antigua, giving them private access to what is a public shoreline.
“I’m sad to see the village pitting neighbor against neighbor because it appears to be an enforcement issue,” said Brad Dougherty of Upper Matecumbe Key.
Michael Markgraf, who bought his home in Port Antigua 16 years ago, said he empathizes with the people who have to deal with the weekend noise and crowds, but the beach does not belong to the neighborhood’s residents.
“It is a public space,” he said. “It was a public space when I bought the property.”
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 3:24 PM.
