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Gulfport wants derelict or abandoned boats removed

The city manager wants to move legally and discriminately but he wants the eyesore boats gone.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published January 29, 2006

GULFPORT - Tom Brobeil is trying to clean up Gulfport's waterfront, but he is frustrated by a lack of clear authority to do so.

"We're not mad at anybody, but we want to clarify," said the city manager about the legal framework that governs boats in his waters. Some are a mess, but he doesn't think state law gives him a path to get rid of them. "We want to get the job done, but we want to protect ourselves."

Brobeil and his staff have been wrestling with boats that seem unsightly and unseaworthy, but also poring over statutes to understand how far he can push without running afoul of boaters' rights. He said at any given time, in sight of downtown's increasingly popular restaurants and bars, there are seven or eight boats that are falling apart, sunken, wired together or otherwise a "blighting factor." Brobeil is seeking broader legal authority to handle the issue directly.

The issue rests with definitions, but also interpretations and expediency. A boat that is "abandoned" can be removed by any law enforcement authority, including Gulfport's police, said Capt. Alan Richard with the legal office of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. State law names FWC as the only agency that can order removal of a "derelict" vessel. How to quickly act on a boat is what frustrates Brobeil.

"We don't want to have to wait for FWC officers to have the time," Brobeil said, careful to praise the agency's work but note its 10 Pinellas officers have many responsibilities. "If you look at what these guys have to enforce, where does this fall on their list of priorities?"

Brobeil said once FWC starts work examining a boat, it's as quick as he could expect, but officers' workload means he has to wait months for FWC to start the process. He has proposed to FWC that it grant his police officers the authority to do the work, but he is also seeking a change to state law so all cities would have that authority.

There are two statutes that govern the issue, Richard said. One that deals generically with lost or abandoned property defines it as "wrecked, inoperative, or partially dismantled" or having no "apparent intrinsic value." If a boat is found in such a condition and it is impossible to find an owner, any law enforcement officer can order its removal, but at government expense.

A more specific statute defines a derelict boat as "wrecked, junked, or substantially dismantled." A derelict vessel is by definition abandoned and can be removed, once FWC has determined it is derelict. Not everyone agrees on what is derelict.

"It doesn't appear to me there is a derelict vessel problem" in Gulfport, said Maj. Jim Brown, the boat and waterways section leader with FWC. He said Gulfport has the same problem other communities have throughout the state where marinas are disappearing and there are fewer formal places to store a boat. "There are vessels there that are stored at anchor."

The statewide marina shortage and hurricane damage to boats has raised the derelict issue with a number of jurisdictions of late, so FWC is increasingly aware of the problem some have. It gained sole authority to define derelict vessels in the '70s, Richard said, after some cities were overeager in solving similar problems. But he said, as a practical matter, it's not hard for law enforcement to deal with the issue.

He said if a boat is wrecked or sunken or otherwise damaged, an officer can try to find identifying marks. If there are none (and those abandoning a boat will often remove them), then the boat is abandoned and any agency can remove it. If the agency can find an owner, its officers can arrest the owner because leaving a derelict boat is illegal. Once an owner is arrested, a judge can determine that the boat is derelict and the arresting agency can then remove the boat.

"They don't need us," Richard said.

Pinellas County officials concur, saying they've removed boats from Hurricane Hole, Big Bayou, Treasure Island, Snug Harbor, Crystal Beach and even the Gulfport area. The county even has money to pay for the removal in those cases when owners can't be found.

Still, Brobeil is being cautious to make sure he is covered and can solve his problems thoroughly.

"If someone will give us something in writing, we'll go do it," he said. "But there are a lot of boat owners who are very suspicious when government tries to take authority."

Richard said the idea of FWC officially delegating authority is legal and possible, but "Nobody's ever asked us to do that."

[Last modified January 29, 2006, 01:27:17]