Commissioners back drafting local ordinance to enforce state anchoring limits after HB 481 codified

Sunny Isles Beach commissioners on Aug. 21 authorized staff to draft a local ordinance to implement state law (House Bill 481) that limits extended anchoring of vessels in county waters and allows enforcement across municipalities. Commissioner Joseph, who brought the matter forward, said the new state statute gives the city “some teeth” to act, and the city attorney confirmed the statute has been passed and is in place. The city attorney explained the law creates a 30‑day anchoring limit within the county: once shore patrol notifies a vessel, the 30‑day clock starts; vessels that exceed 30 days within a six‑month period would have to leave and cannot simply move to another participating city to restart time‑counts. Commissioners asked whether Sunny Isles Beach could enforce the statute locally and whether citation records would be coordinated county‑wide. The city attorney said tracking will be needed so a vessel cannot avoid the limit by moving from one city to another. Local shore patrol would serve notice and track the 30‑day period; the statute treats the county as the enforcement area for the 30‑day calculation. No ordinance text was adopted. The commission directed staff and the city attorney to prepare a local ordinance consistent with the state statute and to coordinate with neighboring cities and county agencies to implement county‑wide tracking of citations and removals. Staff noted Miami Beach had already adopted an ordinance based on the state law and that Sunny Isles would likely mirror the statutory requirements rather than exceed them. The city attorney indicated staff could present a draft ordinance at the next meeting.