Ordinance No. 2021-016CITY OF CLERMONT
.� ORDINANCE NO.2021-016
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA; AMENDING CHAPTER 70
"WATERWAYS" OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO ESTABLISH
ARTICLE III; CREATING SECTION 70-34 "DEFINITIONS"; CREATING
SECTION 70-35 "REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATING PERSONAL
WATERCRAFTS"; SECTION 70-36 "REGULATIONS FOR
WATERCRAFT RENTAL BUSINESSES"; SECTION 70-37 "PERMITS
FOR WATERCRAFT RENTAL BUSINESSES"; SECTION 70-38
"ENFORCEMENT"; AND PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT,
SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION
OF SCRIVENERS ERRORS, PUBLICATION, AND EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, watercraft safety concerns were brought to the attention of the City of
Clermont around the boat ramps and within the City of Clermont waterways; and
WHEREAS, the Clermont City Council recognizes that regulation of personal watercrafts
and businesses engaging in rentals of personal watercrafts and other vessels is necessary for the
health, safety, and welfare of the boating public.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Clermont,
Lake County, Florida as follows:
SECTION 1: RECITALS
The foregoing recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein by reference.
SECTION 2: TERMS
Article III "Regulations for Personal Watercrafts" of Chapter 70 "Waterways" is hereby created
to read as follows:
Article III "Regulations for Personal Watercrafts"
Section 70-34 "Definitions"
Commercial Operator. As used in this Chapter, "commercial operator" or "commercial
operators" shall mean and refer to any business lawfully engaged in the rental, leasing,
bailment for consideration, or other provision of transportation for remuneration of
watercrafts as defined in this Section.
Personal Watercraft. As used in this Chapter, "personal watercraft" or "personal
watercrafts" shall mean and refer to vessels less than sixteen feet in length that use an
inboard motor powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power and which
is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather
Page 1 of 7
CITY OF CLERMONT
�.ar.t ORDINANCE NO.2021-016
than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel. See Fla. Stat. §
327.02(36).
Watercraft. As used in this Chapter, "watercraft" or "watercrafts" shall mean and refer to
both vessels, as defined in Florida Statutes § 327.02(46), and personal watercrafts, as
defined in this Section and Florida Statutes § 327.02(36).
Messed. As used in this Chapter, "vessel" or "vessels" shall mean and refer to every boat,
barge, airboat, or other vehicle capable of being used as a means of transportation on water,
except for seaplanes. See Fla. Stat. § 327.02(46).
Section 70-35 "Re uirements for Individuals Operating Personal Watercrafts"
(a) Every person operating, riding, or towing behind a personal watercraft must wear an
approved non -inflatable wearable personal flotation device. Inflatable personal
flotation devices are expressly prohibited for personal watercraft use.
(b) The operator of a personal watercraft must attach the engine cutoff switch lanyard, if
operating a model equipped with one, to his or her person, clothing, or personal
flotation device.
(c) Personal watercrafts shall not be operated from the half hour after sunset to the half
hour before sunrise, even with the use of navigation lights. However, agents or
employees of law enforcement agencies and other first responders are exempt from this
subsection while performing their official duties.
(d) A person must be at least fourteen years of age to operate a personal watercraft and at
least eighteen years of age to rent a personal watercraft. Under state law, it constitutes
a second-degree misdemeanor for a person to knowingly allow a person under the age
of fourteen to operate a personal watercraft.
(e) Anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, must either successfully complete a National
Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) approved boating
education course, pass an equivalency course, or otherwise obtain temporary
certification from these courses. In addition to successfully completing such courses,
individuals must also possess a boating education identification card and photo
identification card, before they may operate a vessel with a motor of ten horsepower or
greater.
(1) Identification cards for persons completing the NASBLA course or the equivalency
exam shall remain in effect for life.
(2) Temporary certificates shall remain valid for twelve months after the issue date.
(f) All personal watercrafts must be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. Failure
to operate a personal watercraft in such reasonable and prudent manner shall constitute
careless boating in violation of this Chapter. Maneuvers which unreasonably or
unnecessarily endanger life, limb, or property shall also constitute reckless operation
of a vehicle in violation of this Chapter, which includes without limitation, weaving
Page 2 of 7
CITY OF CLERMONT
d.. ORDINANCE NO.2021-016
through congested vehicle traffic, jumping the wake of another vessel or watercraft in
a manner unnecessarily close to such other vehicle or when obstructed in visibility
around such other vehicle, and swerving at the last moment to avoid a collision.
(g) Operators of personal watercrafts must comply with all other applicable boating and
personal watercraft provisions of state law, such as those found in Florida Statutes §
327.39.
Section 70-36 "Requirements for Watercraft Rental Businesses"
Any business lawfully engaged in the rental, leasing, bailment for consideration, or
other provision of transportation for remuneration of watercrafts, for use by the public on
any waterway of the City of Clermont, must meet the following requirements:
(a) Generally. No person shall offer for rent, lease, or bailment for consideration a personal
watercraft which is not registered in the name of the business, which does not have a
valid Florida vessel registration number affixed thereon, which does not belong to a
watercraft rental business holding a valid permit for such operations, and which does
not otherwise comply with the provisions of this Section. Commercial operators must
keep a copy of their valid permit available at all times during which they perform
business.
(b) Operations Offices. Each watercraft rental business must obtain a business tax receipt
which shall be issued to the personal watercraft operations office. The personal
watercraft operations office must be located at a land -based site on property not owned
by the City of Clermont. Commercial operators shall immediately provide a business
card, phone number, name, and address for such operations office, upon request from
any City of Clermont personnel.
(c) Permitted Operations. Commercial watercraft businesses are only permitted to operate
at the Clermont Boat Ramp to launch watercrafts, retrieve watercrafts, and perform
related safety checks. Launching commercial watercrafts or conducting any aspect of
business, including without limitation safety checks and retrieval, are not allowed at
any other City -owned location.
(d) Procedures. Except as otherwise provided herein, all transactions related to the
watercraft rental, such as payment and reservations of rentals, must occur offsite on
property not owned by the City of Clermont. Furthermore, all watercrafts must remain
on their trailers until renters appear for their reserved appointment times. Commercial
operators are strictly prohibited from beaching watercrafts for staging. Commercial
operators also may not take on -site appointments for reservations.
(e) Advertisements. Commercial operators are not permitted to advertise or solicit sales
onsite at the Clermont Boat Ramp. This prohibition includes, without limitation,
signage, tables, tents, banners, flyers, and in -person solicitation. Commercial operators
Page 3 of 7
CITY OF CLERMONT
ORDINANCE NO.2021-016
may, however, feature the name of their company with reasonable branding on their
vehicles, watercrafs, and trailers.
(f) Parking Fees. All. commercial operators remain subject to the daily parking fees and
regulations posted at the Clermont Boat Ramp.
(g) Identification of Watercrafts. Identifying markings shall be placed on each watercraft
owned or operated by a commercial operator, which must clearly and legibly feature
the commercial operator's name.
(h) Fueling Procedures. Commercial operators may not store fuel tanks on the shoreline.
Fueling of watercrafs shall require a spill -proof nozzle or other acceptable device
designed for prevention of fuel overflow. Any spillage of fuel onto any City of
Clermont beach or into any City of Clermont waterways violates this Chapter.
(i) Safe Handling Instructions. Each patron of any commercial operator shall receive rules
provided by the operator, which must feature the above -stated regulations in Section
70-34 of this Chapter. All commercial operators and patrons must also comply with all
other boating and personal watercraft provisions existing in state law, such as those
found in Florida Statutes § 327.39.
(j) Violations. Commercial operators who fail to fully comply with these regulations shall
receive an initial warning. A second warning shall require the commercial operator to
immediately cease operations and vacate the premises for the remainder of the day. A
third violation shall result in the commercial operator forfeiting its permit and its ability
to operate on any City of Clermont property.
(k) Limitations. No person or entity shall offer for rent a watercraft or within the City of
Clermont except for a commercial operator that fully complies with the regulations set
forth in this Chapter.
Section 70-37 "Permits for Watercraft Rental Businesses"
(a) Each commercial operator must annually renew its permit and pay the related fee, as
set forth by the provisions of this Chapter and the City Council, respectively.
(b) The permit provided herein shall include the name and contact information for an
authorized representative of the watercraft rental business and the original or an
identical copy thereof, shall be prominently displayed at all times on any vehicle,
including any trailers, operated or used by the business.
(c) As an additional condition for the approval of the permit hereunder, the water craft
rental business shall provide to City in such form as may be required by the City, proof
of valid and current general liability insurance, insuring it against all claims made by
any person or persons for personal injuries or property damage incurred in connection
with the operation of the water craft with minimum policy limits for personal injuries
of $1,000,000 per person and $2,000,000 per occurrence, and for property damages of
$100,000. The permit shall provide that in the event that said policy is ever canceled or
Page 4 of 7
CITY OF CLERMONT
ORDINANCE NO.2021-016
terminated, Grantee shall notify City immediately with the name and proof of the
replacement insurance carrier and policy.
(d) The City Council shall establish, by simple resolution, the annual fee for the permit
necessary to operate a watercraft rental business, as required by Section 70-35 of this
Chapter.
Section 70-38 "Enforcement"
Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, the City may enforce this article
by alternate means including, but not limited to: code enforcement or code citations
pursuant to Florida Statutes Chapter 162, part I or II; by civil action, including petitions to
enjoin persons violating this article; or by any other means available by law.
SECTION 3: CONFLICT
All ordinances or parts of ordinances, all City Code sections or parts of City Code sections, and
all resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the
extent of such conflict.
SECTION 4: SEVERABILITY
If any portion of this Ordinance is declared invalid, the invalidated portion shall be severed from
the remainder of the Ordinance, and the remainder of the Ordinance shall continue in full force
and effect as if enacted without the invalidated portion, except in cases where such continued
validity of the remainder would clearly and without doubt contradict or frustrate the intent of the
Ordinance as a whole.
SECTION 5: CODIFICATION
The text of Section 2 of this Ordinance shall be codified as a part of the Clermont City Code. The
codifier is authorized to make editorial changes not effecting the substance of this Ordinance by
the substitution of "article" for "ordinance," "section" for "paragraph," or otherwise to take such
editorial license.
SECTION 6: ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTION
Regardless of whether such inclusion in the Code as described in Section 5 is accomplished, this
section of the Ordinance may be re -numbered or re -lettered and the correction of typographical
and/or scrivener's errors which do not affect the intent may be authorized by the City Manager or
designee, without need of public hearing, by filing a corrected or re -codified copy of same with
the City Clerk.
Page 5 of 7
CITY OF CLERMONT
ORDINANCE NO.2021-016
SECTION 7: PUBLICATION & EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall be published as provided by law and it shall become law and shall take effect
immediately upon its Second Reading and Final Passage.
First Reading this 25th day of May, 2021.
Second Reading this 8th day of June, 2021.
Page 6 of 7
(9;.
CITY OF CLERMONT
ORDINANCE NO.2021-016
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Clermont, Lake County, Florida
on this 8th day of June, 2021.
�X'Vti
Tim Murry, Mayhr
City Clerk
LEGAL 1N FORM AND VALID AS ADOPTED:
D e ' , ity Attorney
Page 7 of 7