Floridians to vote for water access?
WEST PALM BEACH – Residents of Palm Beach County will vote in November on a measure that would raise taxes to fund the public purchase of waterfront property, according to a story in today’s Palm Beach Post.
County commissioners approved a plan Tuesday allowing voters to decide whether higher property taxes should be levied to fund bonds that would be used to purchase waterfront property, with the goal of ensuring the boating public’s access to the water, the newspaper said.
The plan is nearly the same as a voter-approved bond issue floated 20 years ago to preserve beaches for public use, the Post reported.
“If they had not done that, today you probably could not get to the beach unless you owned a condo,” commissioner Warren Newell told the newspaper.
In late April, it was revealed that Sailfish Marina – one of nine marinas in Palm Beach County open to the public -– could be sold, demolished and replaced with condominiums, although the deal subsequently fell through, the newspaper said. This prompted the push to preserve the marinas though public funding.
- For more of the latest news, click here.
- To discuss this topic with other recreational marine industry professionals, click here.
