12/19/1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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July 1990: June 1993: Implementation of State/local speed zones (Signage must be permitted and in place by this time). State imposed deadline for Indian River County to adopt a Comprehensive Manatee Protection and Boating Safety Plan. If the deadline is not met, FDNR will impose a 1000' shoreline buffer slow -speed zone throughout State waters in Indian River County. Two areas in Indian River County have or will have State manatee speed zone restrictions independent from local speed zone regu- lations: the Vero Beach Power Plant locality, and the St. Sebastian River (and adjacent Indian River Lagoon at the conflu- ence of the St. Sebastian River and Sebastian Inlet). The FDNR manatee protection zone proposed for the St. Sebastian - River is a combination of 20 m.p.h. channel, slow speed, idle speed, and no entry zones. The attached map (Page 4 of "Attach- ment A") illustrates the proposal. The portion of the St. Sebastian River in Indian River County is proposed to be slow speed, with the exception of a maximum 20 m.p.h. channel in the lower reaches. The Vero Beach power plant area speed zones, already in effect, extend from Merrill Barber Bridge south to Prang Island. The zones generally consist of idle speed west of the Intracoastal and slow speed to the east, Intracoastal exempt, seasonally occurring from November 15th to April 30th each year. ALTERNATIVES & ANALYSIS: The Ad Hoc Manatee= Protection and Boating Safety Committee, recently created to make recommendations on this issue, has met twice. The Committee, chaired by Commissioner Bowman and comprised of individuals with various backgrounds, interests and expertise, voted to Choose alternative 3, and has formulated an interim conceptual manatee speed zone plan for submittal to the FDNR to satisfy the December 26, 1989 time frame. The Committee's' recommendations are summarized as follows: Slow -speed zones: The Committee voted to recommend that a slow -speed zone (7 m.p.h.) be implemented throughout the Indian ;,.:River Lagoon, with the exception of the Intracoastal Waterway and 'four designated Water Ski Exemption Areas (see the attached map). �'•q`''Generally, the four water ski exemption areas are: The Sebastian area, from marker 64 south to marker 68, extending from the east boundary of the Intracoastal Waterway east approximately 1000'; • The Wabasso Narrows area, from Wabasso Bridge south to marker 112, east of Wabasso Island and Pine Island, excluding the area west of the Intracoastal between markers 84 and 92, but including waters between "Hole in the Wall" and Barker Island south of the powerline cable crossing; DEC1 m9B9 The Gifford Cut area from McCullers Cove to Bethel Creek; and The South County area, from the south end of Prang Island to Porpoise Point, east of the Intracoastal Waterway. 73 BOOK 78 FAE 714