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,JAN `6 BOOK 75 FAE 480 It is requested that the data herein presented be given formal consideration by the Board. of County Commissioners at their regular meeting of January 3, 1989. DESCRIPTION & CONDITIONS: At the regular meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on September 13, 1988, the Board voted unanimously to direct staff to initiate changes to county dock regulations. The recommenda- tion was based on concerns raised by L.A.T. Marine, a local dock building company, that present county standards are unnecessarily more restrictive than those of the City of Vero Beach, Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and the Florida Department of Natural Re- sources (FDNR) . On November 10, 1988, planning staff presented a dock ordinance amendment proposal to the Planning & Zoning Commission for their review. The Planning & Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance amendment and forward it to the Board of County Commissioners for final adoption. ALTERNATIVES & ANALYSIS: The main issue which has been raised regarding present county dock regulations is the restriction of docks to a maximum projec- tion of ten percent (10%) of the waterway width where a dock is located. A minimum projection of eight (8) feet is presently guaranteed, regardless of waterway width. Specifically, the concern is that the restriction conflicts with the need to project docks waterward to a point where water depth is suffi- cient for boat/bottom clearance in existing man-made canals. Staff reviewed regulations of the City of Vero Beach, the Florida Department of Natural Resources (FDNR), and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) to determine ordinance modifications that would be consistent with other jurisdictional and local agencies. With consideration to navigational needs and consistency with other applicable agencies, the ordinance amendment proposes to allow docks to extend to 20% of waterway width, with tie -off pilings allowed to project to 25% of waterway width. Additionally, the ordinance amendment proposes to require that docks and other waterfront structures be located to minimize negative impacts on shoreline vegetation (ie -mangroves) and marine grassbeds, as applicable to a given site. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners adopt the proposed dock ordinance amendment. Commissioner Scurlock had understood that the matter of unimproved Tots which was discussed a couple of weeks ago would be a part of this ordinance, but Director Keating explained that would be a separate item and that he expected to bring that to the Board sometime later this month. Commissioner Bowman understood that this was based on canals that have a minimum width of 50 feet, and asked if narrower canals were going to be in trouble. 36