FINDINGS AND LEGISLATIVE INTENT; DEFINITIONS; ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT

Jacksonville Ordinance Code tit. X, ch. 388, pt. 1

in effect

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 388.101 Findings and legislative intent.

Sec. 388.101. - Findings and legislative intent. (a) Pursuant to F.S. § 327.60(3), (2019), the Florida Legislature has expressly authorized local governments to enact regulations that prohibit or restrict the mooring or anchoring of floating structures, live-aboard vessels, or commercial vessels(excluding commercial fishing vessels, as defined in F.S. § 327.02), within the local government's jurisdiction. (b) Insecure and improper mooring or anchoring of vessels on the waters of the county, particularly with no anchor watch, increases the danger of grounding and breaking loose of vessels and thereby endangers navigation, life and property; insecurely and improperly moored vessels have broken loose in the past and damaged bridges, structures, infrastructure and other valuable property. (c) Vessels on the waters of the county that remain anchored or moored in the same location for over ten days out of a 30-day period not under the supervision and control of a person capable of operating, maintaining, or moving it from one location to another, demonstrates that the vessel is no longer engaged in the exercise of navigation, and such vessels are known to be contributors to abandoned and derelict vessels and conflicts with the Public Trust Doctrine, which holds and protects sovereign submerged lands and the water column above it for the benefit and use of the public. (d) Unattended vessels that remain on the waters of the county, whether at-risk or derelict, through deterioration cause physical damage to the surrounding ecosystems through the proliferation of marine debris, or the threat of discharge of sewage, oil and/or hazardous substances into the marine environment, and cause damage to infrastructure, including collisions with docks, bridges, and power lines, and contribute to the obstruction and loss of use of the waterways, public docks and boat ramps and pose a risk to public safety and the environment. Prohibiting vessels from becoming unauthorized stored vessels on the waters of the county bears a rational relation to the legitimate government interest of protecting public safety on the waterways, promoting maritime tourism, protecting county infrastructure, preventing obstructions to navigation and protecting sovereign submerged lands and the water column above it for the benefit and use of the public. (e) Lost vessels and abandoned vessels present a threat to public health, safety and welfare, such as potential hazards to safe navigation and commercial or recreational use of county waters, sources of pollution of county waters, sources of degradation of the aesthetic value of county waters and shoreline, and hazards to waterfront property and public safety during severe weather. (f) The Floating Structures that have been observed in Duval County pose a significant threat to the environment, human health, and navigational safety as an obstruction to navigation through deterioration, physical damage to the surrounding ecosystems, through the proliferation of marine debris, or the threat of discharge of sewage, oil and/or hazardous substances into the marine environment, including materials left on the Floating Structure if abandoned, and the potential use of the structure as an illegal dumping site for oil and other hazardous substances. (g) The potential damage that a Floating Structure could cause the persons or property is significant because they are not regulated as vessels and thus are not required to meet even basic structural capability or to provide basic safety equipment for either their inhabitants or other mariners, such as lighting equipment that would warn other mariners using the waters of the county that an obstacle was present in the marine environment. (h) Floating Structures are not required by the State to register with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, so ownership and liability for the damage that they may cause becomes a hindrance to enforcement. (i) Derelict vessels and vessels at risk of becoming derelict that have been observed in Duval County pose a significant threat to the environment, safe navigation, and commercial and recreational use of City waters and are sources of degradation of the aesthetic value of City waters and shoreline. Derelict vessels that remain on the waters of the county can become difficult and expensive to remove. (j) Pursuant to F.S. § 823.11, as amended from time to time, the City Council has the authority to provide by ordinance for the removal and disposition, including destruction, of derelict vessels, to promote the public safety, health, and welfare of the residents, and tourists and guests visiting or vacationing in Jacksonville, by reducing or eliminating the threats posed by derelict vessels. (k) Pursuant to F.S. Ch. 253, the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund is vested and charged with, among other things, the administration, management, control, supervision, conservation and protection of all lands owned by the State by right of its sovereignty, including sovereign submerged lands. (l) Enabled by F.S. Ch. 253, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection ("FDEP") has promulgated Rule 18-21.004, Florida Administrative Code (2019), which outlines the general proprietary powers of the FDEP and instructs that the activities on sovereignty lands be, with very few exceptions as outlined in the statute, limited to water dependent activities, and that residential structures be prohibited on sovereignty lands. (m) The provisions of this Chapter are not intended and should not be construed as in any way superseding or attempting to conflict with applicable statutes, ordinances, rules or regulations of the federal government or of the State of Florida but are intended to supplement any such enactments or provisions. Pursuant to F.S. § 327.60(2)(h) (2023), if any provision described in this Chapter is deemed inconsistent with any Florida Statute, the provisions of the Florida Statute shall prevail. (n) It is the legislative intent of the City Council in enacting this Chapter to provide additional or supplemental means of obtaining compliance with the requirements stated herein. Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be deemed to prohibit the City from seeking enforcement by any other means provided by law, including, but not limited to, filing an action for declaratory and injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction. (o) The Council in enacting this Chapter is acting as the governing body of Duval County, Florida. The area of enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter shall be on the waters of the county, as defined in this Part, throughout and within the boundaries of Duval County, Florida. The municipalities of Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Jacksonville Beach within Duval County are also authorized to administer and enforce the provisions of this Chapter either individually, or in partnership with the City or each other, or both. (Ord. 2025-432-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 388.102 Definitions.

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)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 388.103 Administration and enforcement.

Sec. 388.103. - Administration and enforcement. (a) Violations of this Chapter may be prosecuted as provided in F.S. § 125.69 and may be punishable upon conviction by a fine not to exceed $500 or by imprisonment not to exceed 60 days or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each violation of this Part shall constitute a separate offense. Nothing contained in this Chapter shall be deemed to prohibit the City of Jacksonville from seeking enforcement by any other means provided by law. (b) Except as otherwise stated within this Chapter, the Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department shall have responsibility for the administration of this Chapter for the City of Jacksonville and will cooperate with the second, third, and fourth urban services districts (the Beaches communities) in the administration of this Chapter. (c) The Director of the Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department, or designee, shall be responsible for the development of a tracking system to record complaints, notifications, citations, removals, and a general record of the enforcement of this Chapter. (d) The Director of the Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department, or designee, shall make annual reports to the Waterways Commission, in the month of June, regarding the enforcement of floating structures, derelict vessels, vessels at risk of becoming derelict, lost vessels, abandoned vessels, and At-risk/Public Nuisance Vessels, as defined in this Chapter. (e) Except as otherwise stated within this Chapter, members of all duly authorized law enforcement agencies within Duval County and its municipalities, as well as Code Enforcement Officers authorized pursuant to Section 23.803 of the Jacksonville Environmental Quality Division, as described in Section 23.801, Ordinance Code, and the Jacksonville Municipal Code Compliance Division, as described in Section 34.301, Ordinance Code, share enforcement duties as provided in this Chapter. (f) Except as otherwise stated within this Chapter, the Municipal Code Compliance Division shall be responsible for enforcement of the City's laws concerning nuisance abatement, floating structures, derelict vessels, vessels at risk of becoming derelict, and similar subject matters subject of this Chapter. (g) Except as otherwise stated within this Chapter, the Environmental Quality Division within the Office of Administrative Services shall be responsible for the enforcement of the City's laws concerning floating structures, derelict vessels, vessels at risk of becoming derelict, and other hazards to the environment, water quality, and related public health concerns within the waters of the county and similar subject matters subject of this Chapter. (h) The City may request legal representation from the Office of General Counsel, to commence and maintain the necessary action in the appropriate court to assist in the enforcement of this Chapter. (i) A law enforcement agency, law enforcement officer, or code enforcement officer, acting under this Chapter to relocate, remove, impound, store, destroy or dispose of, or cause to be relocated, removed, impounded, stored, destroy or dispose of, a vessel or floating structure from Waters of the county shall be held harmless for all damages to the vessel or floating structure resulting from such relocation, removal, impoundment, storage, or disposal, unless the damage results from gross negligence or willful misconduct. (j) Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted as a waiver of F.S. § 768.28. (k) A contractor performing activities at the direction of a law enforcement agency, law enforcement officer, or code enforcement officer, acting under this Chapter, must: be licensed in accordance with applicable United States Coast Guard regulations where required; obtain and carry in full force and effect a policy from a licensed insurance carrier in this state to insure against any accident, loss, injury, property damage, or other casualty caused by or resulting from the contractor's actions; and be properly equipped to perform the services to be provided. (l) All costs incurred by the City to abate a violation of this Chapter includes costs owed to a third party, and may include costs to relocate, remove, store, destroy or dispose of a vessel or floating structure pursuant to this Chapter; costs to remediate or mitigate damage or threatened damage to the environment caused by the violation which may include, but is not limited to, the release of a pollutant or contaminant as described in Sections 360.408(4) and (5), Ordinance Code; and may include costs to remediate or mitigate litter or debris caused by the violation; and the costs of enforcement of this Chapter. Costs are recoverable against the owner, operator, or other person legally responsible for the vessel or floating structure that is the subject of an enforcement action. Reimbursement for the removal, storage, destruction or disposal of vessels or floating structures resulting from the enforcement of this Chapter shall be provided to the entity that initially paid for those services. The Office of General Counsel shall represent the City in actions to recover such costs. The recovery of costs may include, but is not limited to, a special assessment lien against the subject vessel or floating structure. Such lien may be recorded in the public records of Duval County. Such lien shall accrue interest at the maximum legal rate allowed by law from the date of the City's invoice until the costs and administrative fee are paid. The Office of General Counsel is hereby authorized to file such instruments as are necessary to establish and enforce any lien for such costs. The City may foreclose on such lien pursuant to Section 91.112, Ordinance Code. Such lien shall have equal dignity with a tax lien. (Ord. 2025-432-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 388.104 Nonexclusivity of remedy.

Sec. 388.104. - Nonexclusivity of remedy. The remedies referenced in this Chapter are cumulative with other available remedies pursuant to state law or municipal law, including, but not limited to, arrest and prosecution pursuant to criminal statutes, civil remedies, and fines, and are not exclusive. The City's access to the courts of the state is neither precluded nor prohibited by the enactment of this Chapter. (Ord. 2025-432-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 388.105 Anonymous complaints.

Sec. 388.105. - Anonymous complaints. As provided in F.S. § 162.21(8), a code enforcement officer may not initiate an investigation of a potential violation of this Chapter by way of an anonymous complaint. A person who reports a potential violation of this Chapter must provide his or her name and address to the respective local government before an investigation may occur. This paragraph does not apply if the code enforcement officer has reason to believe that the violation presents an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare or imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources. (Ord. 2025-432-E, § 1)

Jacksonville Ordinance Code § 388.106 Interfering with enforcement.

Sec. 388.106. - Interfering with enforcement. (a) Notwithstanding Chapter 609, Ordinance Code, whoever opposes, obstructs, or resists any law enforcement officer or any person authorized by the law enforcement officer in the discharge of her or his duties as provided in this Chapter, upon conviction is guilty of a class D offense, as defined in Section 632.101. This Section does not prohibit prosecution under the Florida Statutes. (b) Notwithstanding Chapter 609, Ordinance Code, whoever interferes with, prevents or hinders any code enforcement officer in the performance of any duty required by this Chapter, upon conviction is guilty of a is guilty of a class D offense, as defined in Section 632.101. (c) Notwithstanding Chapter 609, Ordinance Code, whoever mutilates, obstructs, defaces, removes or otherwise tampers with an official notice required by this Chapter to be posted upon a vessel or floating structure, unless authorized to do so by a law enforcement officer, upon conviction is guilty of a is guilty of a class C offense, as defined in Section 632.101. (Ord. 2025-432-E, § 1)

Source: City of Jacksonville, Ordinance Code and Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/fl/jacksonville/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITXENAF_CH388BOWA_PT1FILEINDEADENFetched: 10/27/2026