Proposed Sarasota Access

[ricki]

Here is an update from Laurel Kaiser. Sounds like she has made some solid in roads today in discussions with authorities.

"Hi Rick, for you and everyone else who is wondering what went on today; the wording and definition of the beach as we read it is to pertain to many of the other activities that are included in the ordinances but will probably not now pertain to kiteboarding. Apparently the history of this amending of the ordinances goes something like this; the Casey Key and North Manasota Key beachfront property owners have petitioned the County Commission to reduce and revise some of the restrictions on their beaches. The County Commission has agreed to do this and the "push through" of these changes was seen by the Siesta Key Association and they have "coat tailed" on this opportunity. Many or most of the changes they want pertain to glass, dogs, chairs, etc. being allowed on their beachfront property. Defining the areas where dogs are allowed has been problematic for law enforcement. The proposed changes as you have seen them are preliminary drafts of the actual changes that will be proposed. As I understand it now; staff has no intention of "banning" kitebaording at all public beaches. In fact the wording that we agreed upon today that is subject to the weighing in of the Audubon and Fish and Wildlife officials states that

Kiteboarding on public beach parks and beaches waterward thereof:

200' setback (extension of no kite area) from edges of swim zones for launching activities

Kite deployed away from pedestrian foot traffic and bird nesting areas

kites give way to swimmers/pedestrian traffic


Landboarding

Banned from public beach parks and beaches waterward thereof

our revisions in the meeting today also set restrictions on the closeness of parasailing to the beach and prohibits parachuting and paragliding

In other words, we have successfully separated ourselves as Kiteboarders from the other air sports that will be prohibited and distinguished ourselves from the landboarding activity that has the residents and beach goers complaining of bird habitat destruction, nesting interference and the public's quiet enjoyment of the beach. There is no negotiation on landboarding as I see it, nor are any of the local landboarding participants that have recently been active in disagreement with this concession for the sake of maintaining and assuring our beach access for kiteboarding.

I think that it will also be conceded that the 300' distance from the shore to the perimeter of the swim zone seaward, is adequate restriction for a kiter doing a coast run.

I am absolutely ecstatic about the reception and the understanding that we were able to achieve in two hours. I will be meeting with staff again on Wednesday prior to the report that will be made to the head of the parks department on Wednesday afternoon. The timing of the demands that have been placed upon staff is very tight and our immediate action has been most beneficial in helping to get this redirected early. In my experience this is far easier to do while the draft is in progress than after it has been agreed upon by staff and presented to the Commissioners. I will go over the particulars of the history in more detail later. Suffice to say: on behalf of kiteboarders and the Coalition of Kiteboarders I represented to staff the following themes and factual history;

Contrary to their perception after having visited many websites and researched Kiteboarding; kiteboarding is NOT usually done on beaches where there are no people. I explained that I have traveled extensively doing this sport and only in Venezuela have I seen it done on a remote beach and that was not dictated by anything other than the wind conditons.

Evidence of Sarasota kiteboarding communities respectful use of the public beaches for access is that we have been doing this for more than twelve years on the Sarasota County beaches, without notable injury or incident to any beachgoer. I explained that we are a VERY active group that polices ourselves and innapropriate behavior or practices are quickly stopped by local kiters who are determined to preserve their privileges at all costs.

I demonstrated the launch and land methods that we have been implementing on Lido Beach and explained that we can and will abide by low launch and land procedures that will eliminate the threat to nesting birds on the beach. I will be doing a demonstration at the beach for the Audubon and FWC on Wednesday with or without wind permitting.

I was quick to allay the fears of staff that because this is a fast growing sport our beaches will be more and more vulnerable to irresponsible and untrained individuals entering the sport. I told them that we don't sell kites to customers under circumstances where they are either untrained or are not also purchasing a lesson package. They asked; what about the other store and I answered that when scrutiny of this nature is brought to bear on a sport that creates such passionate enjoyment, everyone involved will rise to or maintain a level of care that will assure all of our continuing priviliges.

Our limited season and the conditions in which we actually use the beach for kiteboarding were discussed.

The evolution of the kiteboarding equipment and the inherent safety that has been built into the kite equipment was thoroughly explained.

My county license and insurance coverage for the County Parks Department that has been in place for six years was mentioned and acknowledged.

I was presented with an ordinance that they staff members mistakenly thought, did, already prohibit kiteboading on Lido Beach. They had also been informed by a Police official that this was the case; however this ordinance upon further examination turns out to be not about Kiteboarding at all. That point I did not discover until after the meeting and winning a lot in this meeting I think this was better left for another time.

I hope that this helps. I have a diagram and copies of the wording that staff members wrote on the whiteboard and gave me copies of.

This is by no means a done deal. Staff will have to go to bat for US now with Audubon and FWC to help us protect our access. I look forward to meeting with them on Wednesday and to further success.

Many, many thanks for your support, interest and advice. I will be updating very soon.

Please if you are in receipt of this update pass it on. Your participation by becoming a counted member of this Coalition is the meat of it's success. If you cannot join us on Saturday, you can send an e-mail stating your commitment to membership in the Coalition whose sole purpose is to promote safety and assure access for kiteboarding. Kind regards to all, Laurel"

[ricki]

Another email from Laurel:

"Hi again, another thought. I was told this morning at 8 o'clock by the Commissioners' Secretary Jody that because a public hearing has already been set to review the proposed changes (even though they are not in their final stage), the Commissioners are not allowed to discuss publicly or privately the issue at hand. The sunshine law prohibits discussion prior to the public hearing as this and all discourse is considered testimony. That is why I was referred to staff members. Staff members, working by the seat of their pants to bring this together, perusing the internet found god awful evidence of the mayhem and danger that surrounds kiteboarding in other places. NOT HERE OF COURSE.

As most of the Commissioners have not weighed in on this nor had the facts or final wording presented to them. Staff members will have the most clout with shaping the opinions of the Commissioners as the Commissioners rely upon them to advise them. I believe that it is crucial to our success that we NOT muddy the water by asking for their views on group of Kiteboarders can help by e-mailing and telephoning the Commissioners. For now, I am hopeful that you can spread the information about our progress and direct questions to me for answers that haven't yet been provided. Like why and how did the initial wording look so bad. Let's not dwell on that. If I don't know I will do my best to find out through the inroads that are established.

As you may have gleaned, I am guardedly optimistic, if not joyful at the progress that has been made. PLEASE, let's get everyone together and exchange ideas and establish ourselves more fully with County Staff. You are the Sarasota Kiteboarders' Coalition.

Sincerely, Laurel"

[ricki]

Last email post for tonight I hope. A lot has happened today, some of it quite positive in aspect compared to where things seemed to be yesterday. I firmly believe in give and take in these things as long as the main goals of maintaining access aren't compromised. Laurel would like to maintain the current venue for the meeting, apparently opening things up to other locations in the future. I would ask that parties consider the greater good of getting the kiting community past issues with the county and participating in this first meeting.

"Hi Rick, This is a labor of love and an invitation. I am not moved by the perception of one individual and our cause is not threatened by anything as much as by dissension. I firmly believe that changing the venue of this meeting, would be damaging to the cause; if, later meetings are held elsewhere it is of no consequence to me, period. If I didn't believe in right and wrong and were not willing to stand by my convictions and to stand alone, I would not be doing this, would I? I do sincerely appreciate and accept the wisdom of your suggestion. My reasoning, however and my motivation are sound.

Sincerely and with kind regards and respect, Laurel

From: Rick Iossi <flkitesurfer@hotmail.com>
To: kitesurfher@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, May 17, 2010 9:30:29 PM
Subject: RE: Sarasota Kiteboarders Coalition/ SKC

Hello Laurel,

Me too (hope there will be wide participation in the opening meeting). Perhaps picking a more neutral location? It is a pain but having a divided front with such a small community is something to be avoided. It may take some yielding from all parties involved to build a common base to work from. If everyone is lobbying public officials from the same position, showing up unified at hearings it carries more weight. I need to spend more time reviewing the documents to try to identify all the types of people that might be impacted by the proposed regulations. Making them aware of the proposed changes and asking them to join in could effectively swell our numbers. What type of folks do you think the regulations may impact?

Our beaches aren't suitable for landboarding, too soft, narrow and crowded. If they make themselves vocal and numbers felt, try to row them aboard. If not, well we've got our hands full with just fighting for kiteboarding on the water.

Excellent measures regarding kite launch and handling. I would add to it, staying on land for as short a time as possible. Perhaps exercising particular care during peak nesting times between March and August. The wind fizzles by mid May as a rule, in theory taking viable kiting off the table for much of the remaining time. We had the same problem with powered paragliders being confused with kiters. We took in some photos with a quick comparison of impacts of each in handout form to set them straight. Sometimes submitting these materials for review prior to meetings can be helpful as long as it seems they won't try to form rocks out of it to throw at us.

If they stick to there guns, redefining private to effective "public" beach, I am afraid there are serious legal overtones that warrant challenging. The good news is there will be a lot of people impacted by this potentially beyond kiters. Think of all the rich folks with beach front houses, that paid heavily to be there to have privileges restricted after the fact while still paying high taxes. They would make nice allies. Do you see windsurfers being impacted by any of this?

Thanks for your efforts in this!
Rick

"

[jetpack]

However, parasailing and kite-surfing were another matter. "Kite-surfing is a very, very dangerous sport," said Commissioner Jon Thaxton. "Not only for the participant but for anybody who gets in the way."

I would hope someone asks a very direct question to this person.
"On what data or experience are you forming that statement from?"

I would expect crickets.

[ricki]

Fortunately, it seems things are improving. Just put up some more updates at: http://fksa.org/showthread.php?p=45473#post45473 I suspect you may be right about the crickets.