OK, So with my listing at 14208 Harbor Lane in the unincorporated area of Palm Beach Gardens this question comes up. How many boats can I keep here? The short answer is that it’s most likely 2 boats.
OK, so I did a post on how big and how many docks I can have and it depends upon the answer to the question of is this riparian water to some extent. It depends on the municipality as well as most cities and towns have local ordinance which restricts what one may do with their waterfront. And, on any restrictions of the HOA if the property is in an association.
The answer most likely is 2 boats if the land below the water is owned by the state of Florida (riparian waterfront) where a jet ski is 1/2 a boat. So, 2 jet skis and 1 boat is OK but NOT 2 boats and 1 jet ski. UNLESS one applies for a multi slip dock permit from DEP but there had better be a good reason for asking for this as they do not qualify for the approval by stated exemption “rubber stamp” approvals.
If the land below the water is NOT owned by the state then the state does NOT limit the number of vessels. BUT the county, municipality or HOA MAY and pretty much universally the boats must be owned by the property owner, or the tenant if the property is leased out. If the boats at the property are not owned by the folks living there then the County considers this a marina use which are not allowed in the residential zoning district. The folks on Harbor Lane found this out as reported in the Palm Beach Post. Although the county does NOT limit the number of vessels at a residential property.
The municipalities like North Palm Beach has in the code:
” Private dock, pier, mooring buoy and floating anchor mean those that shall only be used by the occupant and his family and shall be constructed only in R-1 and R-2 Zoning Districts. A private dock, pier, mooring buoy or floating anchor shall not be rented or leased. ” But they do NOT limit the number of vessels.
And, in Jupiter they are explicit on the 2 boats rule and that the boat must belong to the occupant:
“Individual private docks, for the exclusive use of an adjacent residential unit, are permitted as an accessory use in all residential districts. The mooring of commercial vessels is prohibited in all residential districts. A single private dock for the exclusive use of a commercial building may be permitted as an accessory structure in all commercial districts provided the dock serves only the occupants of the commercial building. A dock that has more than two boat mooring spaces shall be considered a marina.”
