⚓ Destin capped its livery boat fleet at 490 vessels after years of debate over overcrowding.
🛟 New rules mandate extensive safety training for employees and renters, plus wristband IDs for operators.
📑 Permit transfers are now restricted to vessel-tied business sales to prevent profiteering.
DESTIN — After years of debate over how to rein in Destin’s booming pontoon and livery boat rental industry, the City Council has formally adopted new rules capping the number of vessels, tightening transfer restrictions, and imposing expanded training requirements on businesses and renters.
The ordinance, approved unanimously on second reading Monday, sets a hard limit of 490 livery vessels, essentially freezing the city’s fleet at its current size. The law also requires safety training for employees, mandatory customer briefings, and wristband identification for vessel operators.
Councilmembers had sparred for months over whether the cap should remain fixed, be gradually reduced, or fluctuate annually with renewals.
In August, Councilmember Torey Geile cited an Army Corps of Engineers study warning the harbor was over capacity.
“We are in a situation of imminent serious injury or death,” Geile said during earlier deliberations. “If we can start reducing those permits annually until we become a safer harbor, that’s what we should be working towards.”
Councilmember Jim Bagby pressed for a lower cap of 450 and stricter reissuance rules. “We’ve been told … we got too many boats out there, somebody’s gonna get killed,” he said.
Others, including Councilmember Kevin Schmidt, argued the city should allow the cap to adjust annually based on renewals. “Whatever that number is, 490 maybe 500 … I would like it to continue to fluctuate,” Schmidt said.
In the end, the council opted to fix the limit at 490, reflecting the number of active and pending permits on file.
The new rules require all livery employees to complete a suite of courses, including the Florida Boating Safety Education Course, an Okaloosa County boating safety video, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s online livery course, first aid training, and in-house instruction on equipment and contingency plans.
Renters must also watch a safety video, undergo equipment training, and carry emergency contact information. Operators will wear green or pink wristbands to indicate their license and training status. Businesses are required to keep records of customers’ IDs and provide maps, contact numbers, and communication devices such as radios or cell phones
City staff said code enforcement officers would conduct spot checks to ensure compliance.
Another contentious issue was how to regulate the transfer and resale of permits. The adopted ordinance bans speculative trading of permits, restricting transfers to cases where permits remain tied to specific vessels included in a business sale.
The new owner must notify the city within 10 days, or the permit will be revoked.
Councilmember Sandy Trammell, who supported a freeze, said in August that the measure was needed to prevent profiteering. “Just to be able to get a bunch of those and hold on to them and then turn around and try to sell them … I just think is gouging,” she said.
City Attorney Kimberly Kopp emphasized that the cap must be legally defensible, noting it was based on the number of businesses in place when a moratorium was first enacted.
Neighboring Fort Walton Beach has adopted its own livery rules, but without a moratorium, relying instead on parking restrictions to limit growth.
With no public speakers at the hearing, the council quickly approved the ordinance by a 7-0 vote. Mayor Bobby Wagner is expected to sign the measure, which takes effect immediately.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
Register or login with Mid Bay News and never get another pop up on our site!
