Residents have been urging County Commission to take action, given eyewitness accounts of reckless jet ski operations
On a unanimous vote on Oct. 21, the Sarasota County Commission authorized staff to schedule a public hearing on a proposed 300-foot zone around Ted Sperling Park on South Lido Key where people could not operate motorboats — including jet skis — except under four specific types of circumstances.
The hearing will be scheduled for a regular board meeting in the latter part of November, Nicole Rissler, director of the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department (PRNR), told the commissioners.
The action follows years of complaints from South Lido residents about jet ski users, who — the residents have stressed — endanger people who are swimming, kayaking and pursuing other water activities offshore of the park.
Several of those residents — and others — appeared before the board members during the Oct. 21 Open to the Public comment period to urge them to proceed with what staff had designated as Option A for Ted Sperling Park.
Among those speakers was Jane Conrad, who said she lives on the ninth floor of a condominium complex on Ben Franklin Drive, with “a bird’s eye” view of park activities. She and her husband, she told the commissioners, “gasp constantly at the really reckless behavior of jet skiers, who are very close to the shore and play ‘chicken’ with each other.”
Following a presentation by Rissler later that morning, Commissioner Mark Smith told his colleagues, “Option A, I believe strongly, needs to be the one the board should consider.” Referencing the public comments, Smith noted, “Option B … [is] too tough a challenge for law enforcement …”
That option would restrict motorboat operations to idle speed within 300 feet of the boundary of Ted Sperling Park.
None of the commissioners expressed support for Option B. Commissioner Teresa Mast preferred A, she said, “just because It’s the only thing that has some teeth in it.”
Mast seconded Smith’s motion, though she did express concerns about the potential for unintended consequences if the regulation ultimately is approved.
Commissioner Tom Knight also expressed worry about the possibility that the agencies that would need to enforce such a regulation would not be included to do so.
Further Smith pointed out to Rissler that he had heard “some folks out there may not consider a jet ski a motorboat.” Should the amendment specify motorboats and jet skis, he asked her.
Rissler responded that Chapter 130 of the County Code defines jet skis as motorboats.
Knight then asked Rissler whether buoys would be placed in the water to alert boaters to the 300-foot zone, to facilitate enforcement of the regulation.
She and her staff had discussed that with law enforcement personnel, Rissler replied. It could be a combination of buoys and signs on pilings at the outset, she continued. The issue would be the focus of further discussion among staff, local law enforcement personnel and representatives of FWC, if the commission approves the new regulation, she added.
Referring to law enforcement officers, Knight, who is the former three-term county sheriff, asked her, “Will they enforce it?”
“I can’t speak to our law enforcement partners and their enforcement,” Rissler responded.
Knight indicated concern about the county’s spending money on the signage — and maintenance of the signs — without a guarantee that the 300-foot zone would be enforced. He pointed out that the County Commission has “no law enforcement arm” of its own.
Again, Rissler told him that she could not provide any comments about how enforcement will be handled by the applicable agencies.
If the changes in county regulations ultimately are approved, Rissler said, she and her staff would coordinate with the county Communications staff on efforts to inform the public about the new regulations. She likened that approach to the one staff pursued after the board members voted to prohibit smoking of cigarettes on county beaches in 2023.
“We worked very closely with Communications on a very extensive education program for that,” Rissler added.
Unique aspects of Ted Sperling Park
During the discussion, referring to part of Ted Sperling Park’s shoreline, Knight asked Rissler, “This is the only beach that’s not Gulfside [on the county coastline], correct?”
He indicated that by creating the exclusionary zone on South Lido, the County Commission could be opening up the figurative door to residents’ requests for similar action in other areas.
“This is a unique site, very much,” Rissler responded. “North Jetty [Park in Nokomis] is a little different,” she said, as it does have Gulf and bay access. However, she continued, it does not have “sand and beach on both sides.”
Then she pointed out that with Midnight Pass on South Siesta Key having been reopened by Hurricane Milton in October 2024, the situation at Palmer Point Beach Park on Siesta Key’s Blind Pass Road is becoming similar to the one on South Lido, “in the dynamics of the environment there …”
“I’m kind of a low regulation guy myself, honestly,” Knight told Rissler. “But they need some relief out there,” he added, referring to users of Sperling Park and the residents of that area.
When Knight asked County Attorney Joshua Moye his thoughts about the enforcement issue, Moye said that signage would make it clear whether a boater was in the 300-foot zone or outside it.
Moreover, Moye pointed out that the board members that day just were being asked whether they wanted to proceed with conducting a hearing on the proposed regulatory change. Prior to the hearing, Moye added, staff would have time to pursue more discussions with law enforcement personnel.
Commissioner Mast said she wanted to talk about “perhaps the unintended consequences that might occur” if the board chose Option A, as “there are very few locations currently [where] individuals can express themselves in these type of motor vehicles.”
Second, Mast asked Rissler, “Does this put us in a precarious situation,” with different rules for different parks?
Addressing both Mast and Knight, Rissler noted, “As both of you have said, [Ted Sperling Park] is a unique site,” where these different bodies of water come together … and we ultimately have sandy beach on both the bay and the Gulf side.”
With most other locations in the county, Rissler noted, the beaches are on the Gulf side and boat ramps “are on the Intracoastal [Waterway] side.” It is possible, she acknowledged, that if the commissioners end up approving Option A after the public hearing, people may relocate to other areas for their boating and jet ski activities — a situation that might have to be addressed in the future.
Commissioner Smith pointed out, “My understanding is before the dredging of Big Pass [to renourish South Lido Beach in 2021], a lot of boaters and such were actually using the shoal out in Big Pass to party and have a good time, and that option is still there. … So this may open up the shoal again for ’em.”
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger then noted, “The struggle I have is that recreational boating is so much fun,” and families have very few places in the county where they can moor their boats. “Because we have bad actors [on South Lido],” he continued, “good families who enjoy their day at the beach are going to be penalized.”
Yet another point Cutsinger made was about the potential that the agencies from which the county would need permits to create the boating exclusionary zone — the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) — might not be willing to issue them. “We have had that happen in the past, I believe, or something similar.”
“Right,” Rissler told him.
What would happen if the agencies declined to issue the permits, Cutsinger asked.
Rissler said she believed, in that situation, staff would work with the commission to repeal the regulation, though she acknowledged that County Attorney Moye would be the better person to address that question.
If the board members proceeded with the public hearing and approved the regulation, Moye pointed out, and the FWC, FDEP and the USACE preferred a smaller zone — 200 feet, for example, he said — the commission could amend the ordinance in accord with their decision.
“Signage is going to be a key issue here,” Cutsinger pointed out and then suggested that the signs might need to specify jet skis as well as motorboats.
He also asked Rissler whether the signs should specify the penalty for violations. “That might be nice,” he continued, to have the penalty information visible.
The County Code already has an applicable penalty, she told him. “It’s basically a citation,” she added. “There’s a first, second and subsequent offense.” Those can be made clear during the public hearing, she said.
Commissioner Smith also noted out that he had talked with Sarasota city commissioners about the county’s efforts to provide stronger regulations for Ted Sperling Park.
Then he told his colleagues that he understands that business people from out of town routinely rent jet skis at the city’s 10th Street Boat Ramp within Centennial Park, taking up public parking spaces in the process. Those rentals occur without any “proper training,” he added, indicating that that was a factor in the June death of Baltimore Orioles Minor League player Luis Guevara, who was killed in a jet ski collision off Ted Sperling Park.
“There’s rules and regulations when you rent jet skis,” he continued, “and, apparently, the folks at Ted Sperling Park are a little sketchy in that department.”
Given the City Commission’s discussion about better enforcement of the rules at Centennial Park, combined with county action at Ted Sperling Park, Smith told his colleagues, “We’ll maybe get some of the bad actors off the water, but the families will still be able to go to the [Big Pass] shoal and enjoy [that] as they have in the pass.”
Moreover, Smith noted, prior to and during the public hearing, the commissioners will learn “how unpopular” the regulation will be with boaters and jet ski users.
“That makes me feel better,” Commissioner Knight told Smith.
“Certainly,” Knight continued, “we don’t want to be ‘Debby downers,’ ” by stopping people from enjoying themselves on the water, “but we also need to give these [South Lido residents] some relief.”
The noise issue
After the commissioners voted 5-0 to authorize the public hearing on Option A, Rissler pointed out, “The other big piece of this, as you know, is noise …”
She reminded the commissioners about the board report that she and her staff undertook last year, which focused on safety in county parks. “Common violations were identified,” she said. Among those were littering, people allowing dogs to roam off-leash, illegal parking, and noise and sound complaints, she added.
As a result of that assignment, Rissler noted, staff still is having discussions with the Sheriff’s Office staff about the use of criminal instead of civil citations to address certain issues. “And we’ll continue to have those conversations, moving forward.”
In regard to noise, Rissler continued, “I just want to make sure that everyone is clear that Sarasota County does have two sound, or noise, regulations within [the] County Code.” However, she emphasized, “Neither one is applicable at South Lido,” because it is within the City of Sarasota’s jurisdiction. The city’s sound and noise ordinance applies there, she added.
Then she explained that that city ordinance exempts motor vehicles from enforcement options. The City Code, she pointed out, includes boats and jet skis as motor vehicles.
She understands that city staff is reviewing that ordinance, Rissler added.
She did offer details about sound and noise regulations in other Sarasota County municipalities.
Rissler showed the board members a slide regarding “Potential Next Steps,” noting, “We’re not asking for any action today.”
She pointed out that members of the Office of the County Attorney “do believe we could develop and post regulations” at parks that would limit the noise levels to a “plainly audible” standard. Those could be enforced through the City of Sarasota’s trespassing ordinance and the county’s interlocal agreement with the Sarasota Police Department regarding enforcement efforts on South Lido, she added.
“We don’t traditionally have rules that are specific for individual parks,” Rissler said, but that option “might be something to consider …”
Commissioner Smith told Rissler, “I think we should at least discuss it … so we can say we tried.”
He added that he has received complaints about noise on Siesta Public Beach, too. “Whenever you get a bunch of people together,” he acknowledged, “somebody’s noise is another person’s music.”
Perhaps Rissler and her staff could research how other county governments have dealt with noise on public beaches, Smith added.
Smith ended up making a motion to direct staff to explore potential noise regulations related to public beaches — and parks — and bring the findings back to the commission for discussion.
Chair Joe Neunder seconded it, and it passed 5-0.
The entire agenda item took about 40 minutes.