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4W Indian River County Manatee Protection and Baaifng Safety Comprehensive I4tanngenient Plan Zone 6 The potential for siting and expansion of marinas in the portion of Zone 6 lying north of the City of Vero Beach is restricted since the Town of Indian River Shores' existing zoning regulations do not permit the location of marinas within any zoning district. Also, three (3) watercraft -related manatee mortalities have occurred in the vicinity of John's Island and one (1) near the Vero Beach Municipal Marina. The existing 1:100 powerboat/shoreline density ratio should be retained for the portion of Zone 6 lying within the Town of Indian River Shores. The portion of Zone 6 lying within the City of Vero Beach is conducive to the expansion of existing boat facilities. Also, the probability of watercraft impact to manatees is low since manatee use in this area is low. Furthermore, natural resource constraints, including the presence of seagrass and shoreline vegetation, are minimal. Due to a lack of natural resource constraints and proposed expansion plans, a maximum shoreline/ density ratio should not be applied to the portion Zone 6 lying within the City of Vero Beach. Zone 7 Generally, Zone 7 is conducive to the siting and expansion of boat facilities. Subject to market demand, there are plans to expand the Grand Harbor marina by 200 wet slips for a total of 344 slips. Although on -water traffic originating from the Grand Harbor marina must travel approximately 15 miles to the Sebastian Inlet, the type of watercraft moored in this marina generally travel in a linear pattern within the ICW, Furthermore, the Grand Harbor Marina basin was designed to accommodate future expansion with no adverse impact on coastal wetlands or shoreline vegetation. Due to sparse seagrass beds, there appears to be little manatee use of the IRL west of the ICW, south of Hole in the Wall Island to the Lost Tree Islands, with the only exception being manatee use of the Grand Harbor Marina. Therefore, the overall probability of watercraft impacts to manatees north of the Merrill -Barber bridge or near existing boat facilities within "Lone 7 is low. Due to an overall lack of natural resource constraints and proposed expansion plans, a maximum shoreline/ density ratio should not be applied to the portion of Zone 7 lying within the City of Vero Beach. One potential site for marina development is located south of the Grand Harbor Development. Although the upland portion of this site is not directly adjacent to the IRL's shoreline, there are existing canals between the upland portion and the IRL. These canals are predominately lined with nuisance exotic vegetation and could benefit from a mitigation project associated with a new waterway access facility. Also, a marina in this location could potentially utilize dry storage instead of wetslips to further reduce impacts to estuarine wetlands. Due to an overall lack of natural resource constraints and proposed expansion plans, a maximum shoreline/ density ratio should not be applied to the portion of Lone 7 lying within the unincorporated county, Communily Development Department Page 57