Sec. 388.102. - Definitions.

For the purpose of this Chapter, the following terms, phrases, words, abbreviations and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. Aground , or grounded , means a vessel which is, intentionally or unintentionally, resting on the bottom of a body of water or on the shore (within the mean high tide mark). As used in this Chapter aground includes sunk. Anchoring means the temporary attachment of a vessel or floating structure to the bottom of a body of water or to the shore or coast by means of an anchor or similar retrievable ground tackle. Barge means as defined in F.S. § 327.02, a vessel that does not have living quarters, is not propelled by its own power, and is designed to be pushed or pulled by another vessel. Boating accident means a collision, accident, or casualty involving a vessel in or upon, or entering into or exiting from, the water, including capsizing, collision with another vessel or object, sinking, personal injury, death, disappearance of a person from on board under circumstances that indicate the possibility of death or injury, or property damage to any vessel or bulkhead, floating dock, fixed dock, pier or piling. Code enforcement officer means any designated or authorized employee or agent of the City whose duty is to enforce or assure compliance with ordinances enacted by the City. Commercial fishing vessel means as defined in F.S. § 327.02, a vessel primarily engaged in the taking or landing of saltwater fish or saltwater products or freshwater fish or freshwater products, or a vessel licensed pursuant to F.S. § 379.361, from which commercial quantities of saltwater products are harvested, from within and without the of the for sale to the consumer or to a retail or wholesale dealer. Effective means of propulsion for safe navigation means a vessel, other than a barge that meets the requirements of Rule 68D-15.002, F.A.C. (Effective Means of Propulsion for Save Navigation), that is equipped with one of the following: (1) A functioning motor, controls, and steering system; or (2) Rigging and sails that are present and in good working order, and a functioning steering system. Floating Structure means as defined in F.S. § 327.02(14), a floating entity, with or without accommodations built thereon, and which is not primarily used as a means of transportation on water but which serves purposes or provides services typically associated with a structure or other improvement to real property. The term includes, but is not limited to, each entity used as a residence, place of business or office with public access, hotel or motel, restaurant or lounge, clubhouse, meeting facility, storage or parking facility, mining platform, dredge, dragline, or similar facility or entity represented as such. Incidental movement upon water or resting partially or entirely on the bottom does not, in and of itself, preclude an entity from classification as a floating structure. Pursuant to F.S. § 327.02(14), floating structures are expressly excluded from the definition of the term "vessel". Pursuant to F.S. § 192.001(17), a floating structure is expressly included as a type of tangible personal property. Gross negligence means conduct so reckless or wanting in care that it constitutes a conscious disregard or indifference to the safety of the property exposed to such conduct. The use of this term shall not be interpreted as a waiver of F.S. § 768.28. Houseboat means as defined in F.S. § 327.02, a vessel that is used primarily as a residence for at least 21 days during any 30-day period in a county of this state if such residential use of the vessel is to the preclusion of its use as a means of transportation. Law enforcement officer means as defined in F.S. § 705.101, any person who is elected, appointed, or employed full time by any sheriff, any municipality, or the State or any political subdivision thereof; who is vested with the authority to bear arms and make arrests; and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic or highway laws of the State. Live-aboard vessel means as defined in F.S. § 327.02, as amended from time to time: (1) A vessel used solely as a residence not for navigation; (2) A vessel for which a declaration of domicile has been file pursuant to F.S. § 222.17 (Homestead and Exemptions: Manifesting and evidencing domicile in Florida); or (3) A vessel used as a residence that does not have an effective means of propulsion for safe navigation. A commercial fishing vessel is expressly excluded from the term "live-aboard vessel." Marina means as defined in F.S. § 327.02, a licensed commercial facility that provides secured public moorings or dry storage for vessels on a leased basis. Marine sanitation device means as defined in F.S. § 327.02, equipment, other than a toilet, for installation on board a vessel which is designed to receive, retain, treat, or discharge sewage, and any process to treat such sewage. Marine sanitation device Types I, II, and III shall be defined as provided in 33 C.F.R. part 159. Marker means a channel mark or other aid to navigation, an information or regulatory mark, an isolated danger mark, a safe water mark, a special mark, an inland waters obstruction mark, or mooring buoy in, on, or over the Waters of the county or the shores thereof, and includes, but is not limited to, a sign, beacon, buoy, or light. Mooring or to moor means to fasten, attach or secure a vessel or floating structure to a fixed object such as a pier, quay, or to an object fixed to the bottom of the waters of the county, such as a mooring buoy. Mooring field means a designated water area managed by a municipality or non-governmental entity where five or more recreational vessels are moored, established by local ordinance, codifying a management plan that regulates activity within the mooring field. Operate means to be in charge of, in command of, or in actual physical control of a vessel on the waters of the county, to exercise control over or to have responsibility for a vessel's navigation or safety while the vessel is underway on the waters of the county, or to control or steer a vessel being towed by another vessel on the waters of the county. Owner means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property in or title to a watercraft. The term includes a person entitled to the use or possession of a watercraft subject to an interest in another person which is reserved or created by agreement and securing payment of performance of an obligation. The term does not include a lessee under a lease not intended as security. Person means an individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or other entity. Reasonable effort to ascertain the name and address of the owner and any lien holder, as the term applies to vessels subject to registration requirements of F.S. Ch. 328, means, at minimum, a query to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or the appropriate agency in the state of registration, if known, to determine the name and address of the owner, as provided in F.S. § 328.48, and the name and address of any person who has filed a lien on the vessel as provided in F.S. § 319.27(2) or (3), or F.S. § 328.15. Registration means as defined in F.S. § 327.02, as amended from time to time, a State operating license on a vessel which is issued with an identifying number, an annual certificate of registration, and a decal designating the year for which a registration fee is paid. Safe navigation means as defined in Rule 68D-15.002, F.A.C. (Effective Means of Propulsion for Save Navigation), the ability of a vessel operator to make headway, properly steering the vessel on a predetermined course without substantial risk of injury or damage to other persons, vessels, or property solely from the vessel's operation. Vessel is synonymous with "boat" as referenced in Section 1(b) Art. VII of the State Constitution and includes every description of watercraft, barge, and airboat, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. Waters of the county means all portions of those waters, up to and including the mean high water mark, located within the limits of Duval County, including, but not limited to, all navigable and non-navigable waterways, canals, lagoons, bayous, bays, rivers, lakes, streams, springs, impoundments, and all other bodies of water, including fresh, brackish, saline, tidal surfaces or underground, and including surface waters created by the removal of soil from uplands, but excluding any area preempted by law. Willful misconduct means conduct evidencing carelessness or negligence of such a degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of the interests of the vessel owner. (Ord. 2025-432-E , § 1)