By Rich Pollack
Highland Beach town commissioners in January shied away from regulating “floating vessel platforms” — floating extensions of a dock used to keep boats out of the water when not in use — despite concerns from the owner of one home who fears the platforms can infringe on property rights.
At issue was whether the town had the legal authority to require setbacks up to 25 feet from the property line for the floating vessel platforms, which would have coincided with 25-foot setbacks Highland Beach imposes on docks.
Several residents from the Bel Lido Isle neighborhood, which has a large number of homes with docks on lake-like basins, argued against any regulation of the platforms, pointing to several benefits. To bolster their case, they presented petitions with 75 signatures from 70 property owners.
Former Vice Mayor Greg Babij, a Bel Lido resident with a dock and floating vessel platforms, argued that most Palm Beach County waterfront communities have floating vessel platforms that are regulated by the state but unregulated by local government.
The platforms, which as their name implies rise and fall with the tides, have edges that are just 1 foot above the waterline, making them ideal for people pulling kayaks, jet skis, paddleboards and other recreational watercraft out of the water. They are also used to keep boats from sitting in the water, often in lieu of or in conjunction with fixed boat lifts.
“It’s the only way to get on or off a kayak or jet ski safely,” Babij said.
The issue came before the commission when a Bel Lido resident with a pie-shaped property on a corner lot raised concerns about a neighbor’s floating vessel platform, which the resident said infringes on property rights by blocking the view.
The neighbor, who has a 38-foot boat on the floating platform, says the platform is on his side of the property line. He pointed out that his boat could be in the water all the way up to the property line since the town has no setbacks for boats. He also said he could use a fixed boat lift.
While some commissioners appeared sympathetic to the concern about property values being diminished because the floating platform blocks the view, they also weren’t sure if they had the authority to impose setbacks, since the Florida Department of Environmental Protection had given the owner of the platform the green light to put it in.
“We have so many things in place where you can’t infringe on a neighbor’s property rights,” Commissioner Evalyn David said.
After doing research, Town Attorney Len Rubin concluded that the town could impose setbacks if the floating vessel platform is attached to a sea wall but not if attached to a dock and urged commissioners to be cautious if they decided to do so.
“We would need to show significant justification,” he said, adding that the state law still leaves much unclear.
Rubin told commissioners and audience members that the town has no authority to prohibit floating vessel platforms but could have the ability to regulate their location on a property.
Attorneys for the neighbor with the floating platform disagreed, saying that since the state issued a permit, the local government’s regulatory authority is limited.
After much discussion, Mayor Natasha Moore — a Bel Lido Isle resident — said she felt the matter was best left up to the state.
“I’m in favor of letting the state regulate floating vessel platforms,” she said.
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