The Hallandale Beach City Commission on first reading approved an ordinance to create an anchoring limitation area in Golden Isles Lake that would prohibit vessels from remaining anchored long term and allow for citation and removal.

City Attorney briefing explained the change follows a recent state statute amendment that now allows municipalities — rather than only counties — to establish anchoring limitation areas. “The state passed an amendment to the statute, which now allows municipalities to create their own, like, anchoring limitation areas,” the City Attorney said, noting the city coordinated with Broward County before drafting the ordinance.

The ordinance as introduced creates a new Section 28-12 in Chapter 28 of the city code to establish the limitation area; the text included a 30-day threshold for determining when a vessel may be cited or removed. The City Attorney said the measure is intended to balance short-term recreational anchoring with preventing boats from being used as long-term docking or becoming derelict in a lake that lacks waste-removal facilities. The attorney also said staff continues to work on a longer-term solution, including a possible mooring field, per prior commission direction.

Three residents who live on Golden Isles Lake told commissioners they support the measure and described long-term anchored and derelict boats. Arthur Rockland, who said he lives on Diana Drive on the north shore of the lake, told the commission some vessels “have been anchored in that lake and left unattended for literally 5 to 7 years.” Janice, a resident who did not provide a last name, described safety and quality-of-life concerns tied to people she said were using boats near residential docks: “They’ve made threats to people … it’s really an awful way to live,” she said. Tanya Miller, who also identified herself as a Golden Isles Lake resident, said she has observed what she believes to be illegal jet-ski and charter-boat operations near her building.

After public comment, the commission voted on the ordinance on first reading. The roll-call vote recorded Commissioners Adams, Butler and Le Matau, Vice Mayor Michelle Lazaro and Mayor Joyce Cooper voting yes. The motion carried on first reading 5-0; mover and seconder were not specified on the record.

City staff recommended residents report ongoing concerns through the city’s Hallandale Beach Connect app to help police and staff monitor activity on the lake. The City Attorney and staff indicated the proposed code section would be reviewed further before final adoption and that removal actions require evidence that a vessel has been left in violation of the new rule for the stated period.

The commission’s action was limited to a first reading; the ordinance and its final code language will return to the commission for further consideration before final adoption.