Sec. 388.405. - Anchoring Restricted in Anchoring Limitation Areas.

(a) A person may not anchor a vessel for more than 45 consecutive days in any six-month period in an Anchoring Limitation Area established in this Part without leaving all Anchoring Limitation Areas on the waters of the county for at least 24 hours, and eight nautical miles away, except as provided in Section 388.406 , below. If a person moves a vessel from an Anchoring Limitation Area on or before the forty-fourth day, that vessel shall not relocate to another Anchoring Limitation Area within a radius of eight nautical miles within six months from the date the vessel was moved from an Anchoring Limitation Area. (b) A vessel anchored for one or more nights within an Anchoring Limitation Area, as described in this Part, shall display a current vessel registration decal on the port side of the vessel and shall exhibit an all-around white light where it can best be seen, pursuant to United States Coast Guard Navigation Rules (2023), as amended from time to time. A vessel anchored for more than one night within an Anchoring Limitation Area without a functional, visible all-around white light as described in the USCG Navigation Rules creates an imminent danger to public safety and may constitute a navigational hazard if unreasonable under the prevailing circumstances and may be subject to relocation or removal as a violation of Section 388.304 (a). (c) An unattended vessel, as defined in this Part, anchored or moored for more than ten days out of a 30-day period in an Anchoring Limitation Area may be investigated by a law enforcement officer as an unauthorized stored vessel and may be subject to Part 5 of this Chapter. (d) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a person may anchor a vessel in an anchoring limitation area during a time that would otherwise be unlawful: (1) If the vessel suffers a mechanical failure that poses an unreasonable risk of harm to the vessel or the persons onboard unless the vessel anchors. The vessel may anchor for three business days or until the vessel is repaired, whichever occurs first. (2) If imminent or existing weather conditions in the vicinity of the vessel pose an unreasonable risk of harm to the vessel or the persons onboard unless the vessel anchors. The vessel may anchor until weather conditions no longer pose such risk. During a hurricane or tropical storm, weather conditions are deemed to no longer pose an unreasonable risk of harm when the hurricane or tropical storm warning affecting the area has expired. (Ord. 2022-61-E , § 3; Ord. 2025-432-E , § 6)