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Old 01-11-2012, 01:52 PM
bocasurfcam bocasurfcam is offline
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Default Protest in Miami Beach

Just received this from a friend who works for the City of Miami Beach:

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/Boarder...137098193.html

Surfers and paddleboarders in Miami Beach are taking on city hall over what they say is the unfair enforcement of a longtime city ordinance.
Water sport lovers will be protesting at Miami Beach City Hall Wednesday over the ordinance which doesn't allow the use of surf, paddle or kite boards north of 3rd Street.
Jesse Bull, chair of the Miami Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, said the 1964 ordinance is outdated and that the city may have started enforcing it in response to an incident between a jogger and a kiteboarder.
"We've been told that there was a complaint by a jogger who thought a kiteboarder got too close to him, and if that's the case, that's a legitimate concern," Bull said. "But I don't think that's a concern that suggests we should just ban the use of those kinds of equipment.
"To just blanketly say because we had this one incident we're going to ban everyone from every area to me is just not the right approach."
The city released a statement Tuesday, saying they may look for additional areas to allow the use of the boards.
"The City of Miami Beach has not passed any new legislation, nor is any currently pending, regarding further restricting the use of boards (surf, paddle, kite) beyond the current restrictions that exist in the city code," Miami Beach spokeswoman Nannette Rodriguez said in the statement. "We have responded to complaints received about illegal watersports concessions on our beaches, as well as the use of certain types of watersports equipment that is permitted only in a particular area of the beach."
The protest is planned for 4:30 p.m.


--


Hilda S. Mitrani
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Old 01-11-2012, 03:55 PM
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BigR BigR is offline
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understandingly,
but have you ever been to 5th st MB after 9am and before 6pm?

it is standing room only

the only time you can even have space to lay out lines and launch
is maybe around 7am

of course that's when the joggers come out..............

the best waves are at the south end anyways...........
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Old 01-11-2012, 04:47 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Another update from Miami Beach Board Ban Meeting

I just received a phone update from the meeting. Here is a summary of what I heard:

About 50 board riders showed up, comments by board riders during the Public Comment segment were halted by the commission as they were unfamiliar with the issues being presented and not sufficiently prepared at this time.

As a result:

1. The ban on surfing and application of the 1964 ordinance have been reversed for now. The 1993 ordinance designating no watercraft swim zones is back into effect. No mention was made about kiting, windsurfing or SUP however.

2. The issue has been tabled until the March neighborhood commission meeting when it will be examined in greater depth once more information has been gathered.

3. Kiting interests are going to meet with and discuss/orient City staff with kiting and SUP activities in the interest of favorably resolving this situation for sustainable board riding in Miami Beach.

All board riders, take extra care to ride responsibly and avoid complaints in the interim and from here on out for that matter while this is sorted out.
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Old 01-12-2012, 06:18 AM
bocasurfcam bocasurfcam is offline
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Default update

Here is the update I received. looks like Miami Beach is kite friendly for now.

Miami Beach ends short-lived surfing ban
By David Smiley The Miami Herald


In response to protests from watersports enthusiasts, Miami Beach officials agreed Wednesday to end a recently enforced ban on surfing and other sports north of Third Street.

By David Smiley
dsmiley@MiamiHerald.com

Miami Beach's short-lived surfing ban north of Third Street ended Wednesday.
In response to a crowd of watersports enthusiasts complaining that surfers, paddleboarders, kitesurfers and other athletes had been sequestered to the southern tip of the beach, city officials agreed to once again open up other areas along the city's beachfront.
"We're conscious of the fact this was not handled appropriately and that surfing has always been allowed in Miami Beach," Commissioner Michael Góngora said.
Athletes were elated.
"I'm pretty thrilled," said Noah Grove, a 25-year-old kitesurfer who showed up at City Hall holding his board and carrying his kite on his back.
Grove said Wednesday was the first windy day in a month, but he delayed hitting the 23rd Street beach, a popular kitesurfing spot made briefly off-limits, after learning about a protest from a Facebook page.
"Part of the reason I moved down here was to" kitesurf, said Grove, who moved from Tennessee in June.
Assistant City Manager Hilda Fernandez said Wednesday morning that the city began actively enforcing the ban last month after receiving complaints about kitesurfing and paddleboarding on the beach.
Fernandez said that after researching the city's ordinances, legal staff found laws that banned surfing, paddleboarding, skiing, windsurfing and other water sports from all public beaches but two: The Jetty Beach and The First Street Tower.
Fernandez said she didn't know whether the city was previously unaware of those laws, but administrators told lifeguards, code enforcement and police to ask those breaking the law to relocate south of Third Street. The law states that violators could receive a $500 fine or 30 days in jail, but Fernandez said the city never issued fines or made arrests.
Still, athletes who say they have had almost free rein over the beach for years quickly drummed up opposition to what they said was enforcement of an "antiquated" 1964 law.
"The watersports community, we are freaking out," Mike Gibaldi, a board member of the surfing activist group Surfrider Foundation, told The Miami Herald. "To take all the surfers in Miami Beach and jam them down south of Second Street and also jam in paddle boards and kite surfers, that is a recipe for diaster, injuries, lawsuits, chaos."
Commissioner Jerry Libbin said he was even getting complaints from lifeguards asked to enforce the ban.
"Let them surf," he said. "They know where they're allowed."
City Attorney Jose Smith said Wednesday that surfing and other sports recently relegated to the southern tip of the beach are actually allowed to enter the water in a number of areas further north on the beach. The only spots they are restricted from, he said, are a dozen restricted swimming areas that stretch out 100 feet into the water.
The city plans to discuss the city's regulation of surfing and other watersports, as well as an apparent problem with illegal beach vendors, during an upcoming commission committee meeting.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/1...#storylink=cpy
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Old 01-17-2012, 05:31 AM
kiter_dude kiter_dude is offline
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Default glad to hear it turned into a positive

typical of commissioners to back off when faced with a large group (especially when not anticipated)

get involved and stay involved

congrats to all my bros on the east coast!

kd
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