News

By Tim Pallesen

    A proposal to allow personal watercraft rentals at the Atlantic Avenue bridge has coastal residents in an uproar.
    City commissioners will hear the proposal to rent watercraft such as Jet Skis and Waverunners at the Deck 84 restaurant and bar at their June 17 meeting.
    “This would be a magnet for more noise in a residential area — and a volatile mix to have with a bar,” Beach Property Owners vice president Andy Katz told the city Planning and Zoning Board on May 19.
    The meeting was packed by opponents who live along the Intracoastal Waterway.
    “The noise is from idiots who have to scream when they jump waves,” Beach Drive resident Anita Casey said. “No one in Delray needs those noisy little things. I don’t need more wackos in my backyard.”
    The request to amend the city’s land development regulations to allow personal watercraft in the downtown business district comes from Delray residents Clair and Margery Johnson, who have operated a Waverunner concession at the Boynton Harbor Marina for 20 years.
    The Johnsons, who want to rent four Waverunners from a floating dock off Deck 84, say Delray hotels requested the concession for their guests. Fueling would be at their Boynton location.
    But boaters joined with coastal homeowners to say the Atlantic Avenue business would be both noisy and dangerous where yachts line up to wait for the bridge to open.
    “Don’t ruin the charm of downtown Delray Beach,” pleaded Don Dobson, who lives on a sailboat at the nearby city marina.
    The Planning and Zoning Board recommended in a 6-1 vote that city commissioners deny the request. “It’s not the right spot for it,” board chairman Craig Spodak said.
    “This is not an activity that every city needs to have,” Katz said. “It would detract from the beauty of our downtown.”