New Boating Law Enforced
By: Ashley Zilka
Updated: June 16, 2012
There's a new law that takes effect Saturday to help curb loud parties happening near homes along Lake Ontario. The enforcement has drawn some mixed reviews.
"Today is day one and as you can see, there is no boating activity out in the water, so it looks like it's taking effect,"said Steve Ipacs.
Steve Ipacs lives along the Lake Ontario shore in Irondequoit. He likes peace in his backyard. It's something he says this new law brings him after years of noise.
"All summer long this would be filled with boats all the way from the pier all the way down to the West. They would be bumper to bumper all tied, a lot of activity, a lot of music, a lot of trespassing," said Ipacs.
Back in May, the Irondequoit Town Board passed a new boating ordinance. The new law starting Saturday requires all boats to be at least 300 feet off shore to drop anchor.
The town says enforcement will ticket boaters not following the law. Some boaters are upset about the new rule.
"People are just trying to hang out. Nobody is doing anything. They are just trying to dock, go have a dinner," said Geoff Bieber.
The law stretches from the Irondequoit Bay outlet pier to Bluff Road. The town says the courts will decide on the ticket amount.
Boaters already see the enforcement. Bieber said he noticed a change.
"There was a boat that was docked probably about 200 yards away and they were just letting people off and they were going to take off after they let the people off their boat. People came out. Told them to leave and they couldn't dock about 200 yards away. It just seems very petty."
Ipacs says boaters have other spots to anchor instead of in front of his home; spots like near public beaches.
"I think there is plenty of other areas to congregate. A good example is down at Durand. There may be some off shoreline in Webster and certainly in Irondequoit Bay, so there are other areas," said Ipacs.
