Picketers gathered on the courthouse steps Wednesday to publicly voice their opinions on a proposed airboat curfew.
The fate of late-night airboaters rests in the hands of Alachua County voters, who will vote on Initiative Ordinance 1 on this year’s election ballot. The proposed ordinance would set a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew for airboats.
Supporters of the proposed curfew said they are concerned about how much noise the airboats make, which they claimed disturbs residents and local wildlife.
Bill Halback, chairman of Quiet Lakes of Alachua County, led the “Vote Yes” picketers at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza. Quiet Lakes is responsible for getting the curfew on the 2010 ballot.
“The ordinance is a fair compromise since airboats can still operate while everyone else gets their 12 hours of peace and quiet,” Halback said. “No rights are denied; no one is discriminated against. Just noise is discriminated against.”
Opponents of the ordinance said it is too discriminatory and will negatively impact those who make a living from their airboats.
The United Sportsmen & Airboater’s Alliance led the opposition rally.
“We’re going to fight with everything we got,” said Jerry Wetherington, president of the alliance.
Wetherington said the ordinance would require a sheriff’s officer to enforce the curfew, which would cost taxpayers more money.
He also said that airboaters are environmentally conscious and hold lake cleanups.
However, Halback feels that the noise ordinance in place is ineffective because it’s unenforceable.
“The cost for the proper noise level-measuring equipment is not in the sheriff’s budget, and paying for it would actually cause a rise in taxes,” Halback said.
Halback added that the curfew would allow the operation of airboats for emergency, research and official government use, and that locals who make a livelihood from their airboats still have different ways to access the waterways.
The proposed curfew is the latest attempt at solving the conflict over airboat noise. Similar curfew ordinances have been proposed and defeated in Alachua County.
