ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – In between St. Augustine and Flagler Beach, the Atlantic Ocean meets the Matanzas Estuary, a popular spot we know as the Matanzas Inlet.
Last week, the St. Johns County Commission voted 5-0 to approve a new ordinance that would implement a slow speed minimum wake zone for the inlet to keep boaters and swimmers safe.
The zone would stop right before the Matanzas Inlet Bridge to make sure boaters can navigate through the bridge safely and accelerate past it.
“There are some shallow areas out in that part of the Matanzas. Those areas have become more popular for boaters and swimmers to congregate, and so there was a safety issue," said Rebecca Lavie, senior assistant county attorney.
Since January 1, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office has responded to 54 calls to assist boaters, issued citations for 73 wake zone violations, conducted 86 wake zone patrols, responded to 12 boaters or swimmers in distress and responded to twp boating accidents in the Fort Matanzas area. The hope is that the ordinance would help lower those numbers.
“The goal, of course, of the ordinance is to increase safety, but not create a situation that could potentially make it more difficult for others," Lavie said.
Now that commissioners have passed the ordinance, the county will package it up and send it off to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which will have 30 days to determine if it has all the information it needs for the application.
“Once they have a complete application, then they have 90 days in order to make the findings by competent substantial evidence that the ordinance is necessary to protect public safety," Lavie said. “And if they make that filing, then the ordinance will go into effect.”