Residents, marina workers urge changes to League City liveaboard ordinance over business and displacement concerns

Several residents, marina workers and a grassroots liveaboard group urged League City council on Jan. 13 to revise the citys recently passed liveaboard ordinance, saying its definitions and permit limits could displace families and harm businesses that serve boats on Clear Lake.

Dustin Dietrich, who identified himself as an employee of TowBoatUS, told council the ordinanceincluding a 15% cap cited in his comments on liveaboards at marinascould "have a huge impact on the business that we do." He said limiting liveaboards to 15% of a marinas capacity would reduce customers for the lakes two pump-out companies, potentially driving prices up or forcing companies out of business, and would displace families who rely on boats as homes.

"If you limit their clientele, you only have two possible outcomes," Dietrich said. "Either you're gonna drive the price of their services up...or you're gonna limit their services so much, they're not gonna be able to profit enough to maintain their company." He added that displacement would disrupt childrens schools, health care and community ties.

Michael Sample, interim president of the grassroots group Liveaboard Free, said his organization wants to work with the mayor and council to "better tune" the ordinance and called liveaboards part of the solution rather than the problem. He acknowledged that a few marinas, notably JMK 5, have derelict or abandoned vessels that need addressing but urged enforcement of marina rules and cooperation with marina stewards.

"We are part of the solution and we are not part of the problem," Sample said.

Boat owners who spoke at the podium described several practical concerns with the ordinance as drafted. Jay Smart, a JMK 5 boat owner, called the ordinances definition of a liveaboard vague, saying the measure could classify someone as a liveaboard after brief domestic activities and could lock that status in for a year, allowing code enforcement intrusive access to vessels.

Gordon Johnson, also a JMK 5 owner, said the ordinances permit requirements ask for vessel safety inspection documentation that can take months to obtain from Coast Guard or certified inspectors. He warned that allowing law enforcement to perform vessel inspections "they're not trained for" is unfair and suggested the requirement for a one-year reapplication bar after a failed inspection be removed.

Anne Marie Elder, who said she spends weekends on her boat at Waterford Harbor, argued that liveaboards often serve as the first line of monitoring for marinas, spotting leaks and abandoned vessels and supporting local marine businesses, and that the city should avoid imposing unnecessary burdens on that community.

Councilors did not vote on changes to the ordinance during the meeting. Councilor MacKones said he and the mayor planned to meet and bring amendments back to the table to refine the ordinance and avoid unintended displacement while targeting problem marinas.

The council accepted public comments and discussed the issue without taking immediate regulatory action; members agreed to revisit the ordinance language at a future meeting.