Updates

[ricki]

Wanted to post some of the emails going out with updates here many from Laurel.

"I sincerely hope that the Kiteboading community will prevail in this endeavor. After reading your mention of the other flying sports I am saddened to tell you that they will NOT prevail, in my opinion. The Audubon Society and the Fla. Fish and Wildlife agency, working together have been incredibly successful in trumping citizens rights to the beach with the Endangered Species Act. the Florida Shoreline Alliance, the Migratory Bird Protection Act and the Fla Protected Species Act. The real threat to our ability to kiteboard on the beach is the FACT that when birds see a flying object, kite, parasail, chute, kid's kite, whatever; they "flush" or run for cover. When they do this they leave the nest unguarded and one of two things can and does occur. The crows, which hang out around the nesting areas, immediately go for the chicks. I don't know if they consume the eggs or not, but in the summer months when the parent bird leaves the nest because it is frightened, and the eggs are exposed, the sun cooks them in minutes. This is real, proven, can be demonstrated and was demonstrated by Trent, accidentally a few days ago when we were kiting at South Lido. Trent's reaction when I showed him the Snowy Plover freaking out and circling overhead and the crows moving in on the nest, as his kite sat overhead in the sky, says it all; "this really is a problem".

I have managed to separate us, as kiters from them and the threat that we all have been to the endangered birds, by showing the County staff members that we are able to eliminate flying our kites on the beach during nesting season, by launching and landing away from the nesting areas and keeping our kites low, near ground level, at the edge of the window. The flying out of the sky and landing on the ground or taking off from the ground is a definite, threat to the endangered, nesting and migratory birds that the ordinance changes seek to protect and the other issue of public safety I believe leaves them in an untenable position, just as us landboarding would if we tried to protect the ability to do it at the beach.

The line that we are walking right now is; County Staff has been swayed in their decision to include kiteboading in the list of prohibited activities at the beach because;

1. We have, as a group, a track record that is 12 years old, of safety and responsibility.

2. There has not been any significant public objection to Kiteboarding, there have however, been some instances of landboarders
on Siesta Key, destroying dune areas, entangling beachgoers and otherwise terrorizing beach walkers. These have not been numerous and no injuries have happened but this is the activity that we are not defending, nor promoting. Landboarding on the beach is going to be banned in the new ordinance. Gabor, Trent and Dave; the three muskateers of landboarding could not have been more agreeable in the interest of all of us retaining beach access for Kiteboarding in the water.

3.The staff members who spent a lot of time on the internet and on U tube educating themselves about kiteboarding, came away with some very definite opinions of the sport and agreed among themselves that it was a public safety issue in addition to threatening the endangered nesting and migratory birds and determined that it was not an appropriate activity on a public beach. They were open to being persuaded, with the evidence of the evolution of the sport and the unique situation that we have of having one of the best beaches anywhere for the sport; that relegating the activity to somewhere other than the beach is not realistic for the sport.

4.It has been conceded that landboarding is to be prohibited.

5.They believed me when I said that WE POLICE THE BEACH EFFECTIVELY. This is the biggest doubt that they had that all of the practices and methods that I described actually are used and assure public safety. The real test will be if we really demonstrate, without exception that we really can continue to do this.

6.They understand the mechanics of kiteboard launching and landboarding and the relation between the wind direction, the swim zones, pedestrians along the waters edge etc. at least they have a rudimentary understanding and they can see that by implementing buffer zones around swim areas and having us abide by pedestrian right of way rules, we can, in fact, kiteboard at the beach, as we have done for 12 years, without creating a public safety issue.

7. They are agreeable to the following regulations instead of a ban;

No landboarding on public beaches

A 200' buffer zone at the waters edge to extend from the swim zone, where entering and exiting the water is forbidden

Kiters giving pedestrian traffic right of way

Kites being launched and landed away from nesting areas and pedestrian traffic

This is a preliminary set of rules that we have agreed upon to replace the banning at all beaches language. It must stand the test of being sold to the Audubon and Fish and Wildlife officials on Wednesday as being adequate, workable and enforceable to the extent that it really will protect the nesting and migratory birds. We will see tomorrow if the power of persuasion holds a candle to the power of the passionate wildlife advocates. 'ps. I just got the call from the County Environmental Official regarding tomorrow's meeting with Audubon and demonstration and they have been unable to arrange this.

Pps

I am sending this to everyone on my e-mail list. Hope you don't mind. Laurel"

"Hey Joe, no go for tomorrow, they were unable to get Audubon representatives to get here. I think that County staff is convinced and well able to present our platform of cooperation and commitment to forwarding their cause. By the way, I personally became a member of the Audubon Society today. I also joined the Sarasota Kiteboarder's Coalition as a member group and made the following statement in my application;

As the founder and spokesperson for the Sarasota Kiteboarders Coalition, I am joining us, as a group, to engage us with the Audubon Society in instituting, facilitating and advancing methods in our sport and in our enjoyment of the beaches, that protect the nesting and migrating birds on Sarasota County beaches and at other beaches where we may have occasion to travel.

By working with the Audubon Society, we hope to help create awareness among ourselves, garner the committment of other beach users and effectively contribute to the success of protection and preservation efforts of the Audubon Society for the threatened bird species that nest on, rest on and fly over our beaches."

"Hello again, I do apologize for the enormous volume of mail that I am flooding you all with. No way can I afford the time to edit my thoughts in this application. Each conversation and or development; you are getting it. Any of you who wish to be purged from list, let me know otherwise my method is that EVERYONE GETS EVERYTHING in or out on this subject. OK?

Next; background in more detail: The County staff members that I sat down with on Monday produced a copy of City Ordinances from 2001 that they were given by the City Police or City Code. They said that the ordinances prohibited Kiteboarding On or near any City Beach. What is the difference between a city and a county beach? Ownership. S. Lido is owned by the County, Lido Public Beach and North Lido are owned by the City. Jurisdictions for city and county enforcement, I think are; Sheriff at S. Lido, ( a county Park) and Sarasota City Police at Lido and N. Lido.

According to staff, they were told by the City of Sarasota Police official that they consulted with, that kiteboarding had been banned on Lido since 2001 in Ordinance 01-4282 sections 10-23 and 10-24. They were also told by the most well known and present Sergeant or Lieutenant or possibly Captain, who is always out on Lido at the Nature Center and elsewhere, that the Police Department had been actively enforcing this ordinance banning kiteboarding.

Well...... First and foremost, the ordinance, upon reading, DOES NOT refer to kiteboarding at all. Of course, since kiteboarding was in it's infancy in 2001 and there WERE NO ISSUES with it until now; it doesn't stand the test of reason that an ordinance prohibiting it would have been put in place. I am going to have to do some research to find out what activity was targeted and why, but it wasn't kiteboarding.

The ordinance reads as follows and I have to type it as I can't scan it yet.

Sec10-23 Towing or manipulating flying or sailing devices, parachuting near beaches.

It shall be unlawful for any person to tow or manipulate any person attached to any flying or sailing device or parachute through or over an area within five hundred feet each side of the water's edge of any public or private gulf beach customarily used for swimming or surf bathing below an altitude of five hundred feet above the surface of the water.

Sec10-24 Operating, etc., flying devices near beaches.

It shall be unlawful fro any person to operate in, be a passenger in or control any flying device carrying a person or persons through or over an area within five hundred feet each side of the water's edge o fany public or private gulf beach customarily used for swimming or surf bathing below an altitude of five hundred feet above the surface of the water.

These ordinances refer to parachuting, obviously, but probably were meant keep parasailing away from the beach. It may also have been meant to cover things like ultralights that used to give rides from the water to the sky and back again. At any rate this was misinformation given to County Staff by City Staff and when County Staff took it at face value, without seeing the error, it was easy for them to make a rule prohibiting kiteboarding on the County Beaches too. Then, to be told that this had been being enforced on Lido, I think that it is no wonder that suggesting banning kiteboarding came so easily to County Staff.

In ordinance 10-23 it clearly says; one person towing or manipulating another person. We don't do this, do we? Anyway, that's just a little more background for you.

I'm going to the beach.

See ya.

Laurel"