In November, Palm Beach County voters voted to preserve marinas from development and expand access to other waterfront uses with a $50 million bond issue.

Marinas, boat ramps, boat yards and oceanfront parks are just some of the waterfront attractions offered for public use. The threat developers pose to these beloved resources -- and the jobs and revenue they generate --raised alarm earlier this year, when Sailfish Marina's owners nearly sold out to WCI, one of the most rapacious developing companies in the state. Led by County Commissioners Warren Newell and Karen Marcus, the county devised a plan to borrow $50 million, which would be repaid through property taxes, to buy development rights to the Sailfish and other waterfront uses at risk of development.

Selling out to condominium projects, reviled by water users as “dockominiums,” is tempting for marina owners. Building residential towers is much more profitable than the boating business. So, the county will now be able to buy the development rights from marina owners and limit the property to existing uses so the owners profit while the county benefits by preserving a precious resource. It's the same approach the county used to preserve farmlands from developers and to expand public ocean access. In the 1970s and ’80s, the county borrowed $90 million to buy up more than four miles of beaches.

John Sprague, legislative affairs director for the Florida Marina Industries Association applauds the successful referendum as “a vanguard step in the right direction.” MIA is preparing a state bill that would help preserve boating and waterfront access throughout the state, as well as increase the number of boat ramps.

FS