Boating Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee — Agenda packet

BOAHC Meeting Deck 6 February 2025 5:00 PM at Town Hall & via Zoom Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. About These Slides • The Boating Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee (BOAHC) is a working committee, assembled for the purpose of gathering data and information to inform decisions made by the Town of Spider Lake Board of Supervisors. The BOAHC has an advisory role; it has no decision-making authority of its own. • Information contained in this slide deck is intended for the sole purpose of education of the Committee members and to stimulate discussion among the members. • This information is part of an iterative process. The Committee’s understanding of it may evolve as new information is gathered, processed and assimilated. Agenda • Housekeeping items (~5 min) – Keil • Summary of Stakeholder Emails to date– Keil • Sub-team outstanding questions, proposed recommendations and discussion - Committee - Definitions - Environmental Impacts - Wake Boat Activity - Speed Limits - Water Activities Hours - Enforcement • Adjourn Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83151102119?pwd=yzKWMXZDZW42bKnd7aDkFOhq25jKmv.1 Meeting ID: 831 5110 2119 Passcode: 408690 Dedicated BOAHC committee email address: (BOAHC2024@gmail.com) BOAHC Email: Stakeholder Input Summary 4 • Total number of emails (as of 10PM on 2/5/25) = 66 • 12 pertained to the Listening Session (no opinions shared within)  54 emails from 46 unique senders contained opinions, questions or information • 8 individuals sent more than one email • No one person’s opinion on any issue counted twice • 10 of the 46 emails were signed as “husband and wife” • Email demographics • 21 from Quiet Lakes folks (Teal, LL, Ghost) • 20 from Spider Chain folks (North, Big Spider, Little Spider or “Spider”) • 3 from “off water” folks • 2 from other lakes within TOSL Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. Quiet Lakes, 21 Spider Chain, 20 Off Water, 3 Other Lakes, 2 Number of Emails BOAHC Email: General Stakeholder Comments 5 • Overall Environment • 21 out of 46 (46%) said the Town should preserve/protect the natural environment • 15 (33%) mentioned that they purchased property here because of the peaceful/quiet/calm/natural beauty/etc. of the lakes • 18 (39%) said the Town should “keep the Quiet Lakes quiet” • 3 (7%) said the Town should take specific steps to protect the Thoroughfare that runs between Lost Land and Teal Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. NOTE: Most stakeholders expressed opinions on more than one aspect of the Ordinance per email. Some mentioned some aspects (e.g Hours), but not others, so these numbers will NOT add up to 46 (or 54). Also, 46 stakeholders represent valuable input, but do NOT constitute a statistically representative sample of property owners or the public. BOAHC Email: Stakeholder Opinions On Specific Issues 6 • Speed Limits – 31 people out of 46 commented on Speed Limits • 21 out of 31 (68%) said keep the 10MPH limit • 6 (19%) said increase it to +/- 20mph to allow boats to get on plane • 4 (13%) said remove speed limit altogether or “follow WI state law” • Water Activities Hours – 28 people out of 46 commented on Hours • 19 out of 28 (68%) said to keep the Hours the same (11-3) • 7 (25%) said to expand the Hours somewhat (~ 2-4 hrs or “busy times”) • 1 (4%) said remove the Hours restriction altogether • 1 (4%) said to not allow fishing on the Spider Chain from 11-3 Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. BOAHC Email: Stakeholder Opinions On Specific Issues 7 • Wake Boating Activity – 7 people out of 46 commented on Wake Boats • 6 out of 7 (86%) said Wake Boats should be banned on all Town lakes • 1 (14%) felt Wake Boats were being unfairly “targeted” (see next slide) • Enforcement/Education – 19 people out of 46 commented on Enforcement/Education • 11 out of 19 (58%) said to enforce the ordinance (1 of these said “warnings only”) • 3 (16%) said no enforcement (all mentioned cost) • 5 (26%) said educate only (most of these mentioned renters) Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. BOAHC Email: Misc Inputs 8 • Process – • 1 person said the committee had “Lack of Representation, Exclusion of at-Risk Stakeholders, Predetermined Outcome, Subjective Data and Inconsistent Standards, Bias and Targeting” (Note: these observations pertained to the Wake Boat issue) • 1 said committee did not weigh WDNR response letter heavily enough • 2 people strongly advocated for decisions based on facts and objective data • Other – • 1 person sent the WSIA report • 1 person asked a question about committee makeup (demographic info) • 4 people encouraged Town to continue to fight the lawsuits and/or pursue experienced boating ordinance counsel • 1 person said the lawsuit“ must be considered” Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. BOAHC Email: Spiders Only 9 • Speed Limits – • 3 out of 20 said keep the 10MPH limit • 1 said increase speed limit somewhat to allow planing • 5 said remove speed limit altogether or “follow WI state law” • Water Activities Hours – • 11 out of 20 said to keep the Hours the same (11-3) • 6 said to expand the Hours somewhat (~ 2-4 hrs or “busy times”) • 1 (4%) said remove the Hours restriction altogether • 1 (4%) said to not allow fishing on the Spider Chain from 11-3 Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. BOAHC Email: Spiders Only 10 • Wake Boating Activity – • 3 said ban Wake Boats • 1 felt Wake Boats were being unfairly “targeted” • Enforcement/Education – • 2 said no enforcement • Overall Environment • 5 mentioned preserve/protect the natural environment • 2 mentioned that they purchased property here because of the peaceful/quiet/calm/natural beauty/etc. of the lakes • 2 said the Town should “keep the Quiet Lakes quiet” Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. Transition: Reaching Consensus Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. Process For Reaching Consensus Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. 1. Review outstanding questions within each category 2. Review each sub-team’s one-slider of proposed recommendations 3. Take each sub-team’s recommendations in turn… • Go through the recommendations • Go around the table for each committee member’s agreement/disagreement • Discuss to reach consensus • Reach consensus and move to the next category Proposed Recommendations Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. Definitions Bob Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. Definitions Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. • Include Ghost Lake within the designation of Quiet Lakes? • I.e. remove the 11-3 water sports hours window • Add verbiage to the Quiet Lakes regarding not allowing the use of PWCs? Lower Clam Lake Contour Map Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. < 10 ft 10’ 15’ 20’ 25’ >25’ • 214 Acres • 72% sand, 3% gravel, 15% rock, 10% muck ~ 320 feet Ghost Lake Contour Map Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. < 10 ft 10’ 15’ 20’ 25’ >25’ • 384 Acres • 10% sand, 10% gravel, 30% rock, 50% muck ~ 630 feet Environmental Impacts Michelle Environmental Impacts Proposed Recommendations • For final readout on Feb 26, use Environmental Impacts info to lay a factual (environmental) foundation for the rest of the recommendations, e.g. - ORW status of certain lakes - Quiet Lakes designation; WDNR’s Sensitive Areas study on Spider Chain - Fishery health (esp. Walleye & Muskie) - Loon populations • Sets solid foundation of data/info for what the ordinance is protecting • Saves time by allowing other presenters to anchor back to this info in each section as appropriate Wake Boats/Boating Ray & Dave M. Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. 1. Immediately enact a stand alone TOSL ordinance banning wake surfing and all activities that use “enhanced wakes”. - Do not wait for the state to take action. - Proposed regulations to date are influenced by the boating industry and are inadequate. 2. Enlist assistance from the “Last Wilderness Alliance” - They have assisted 20 WI towns with their wake surfing ordinances. - They have 4 attorneys and a PHD limnologist on their team. - They have time- tested templates for all documents needed. 21 Wake Boat Activity Proposed Recommendations Speed Limits Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. Tom & John Speed Limit Proposed Recommendation After independent research by both sub committee team members and then a collaborative review based on that research, it is the recommendation of this sub committee to retain the current 10 m.p.h. speed limit boating ordinance (as defined in Section 5a of TOSL Ordinance #02 – 2024) The exception would be during the time of 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on those lakes specified in the ordinance where the speed limit would be lifted. Lost Land Lake & Teal Lake Specific: The TOSL should recommend to Sawyer County / WDNR that “Slow No Wake” buoys be placed at the entrance points to the thoroughfare between Lost Land Lake and Teal Lake Water Activities Hours Tony Recommendations 1. Keep Lost Land Lake and Teal Lake Quiet Lakes. 2. Consider Lower Clam and Ghost Lakes Quiet Lakes as well. • Not sure of current water activities on these lakes. Check stakeholder letters to determine. 3. Expand water activity hours to 11AM-5PM on Spider Lake chain. 4. Recommend to town board a new specific boat survey and allow the aforementioned expansion on hours on Spider Lake for summer of 2025. 5. Ban wake surfing activity Water Activities Hours Proposed Recommendations Recommend survey to gather information 1. The number of boats of property owners -Ski/Fish boat and size of motor -kayak -canoe -Jet ski -paddle board -pontoon -row or John boat Water Activities Hours Proposed Recommendations 2. Ask what owners prefer A.Keep ordinance as is B. Modify ordinance to expand water activity hours on Spider lake C. Modify to remove speed limit and allow boats to get to plane. D.Ban wake surfing E. Eliminate ordinance 3. Boat landing monitors to check visiting vs. property owner boats. Record motor size on visiting boats. Enforcement Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee. Craig & Dave T. ENFORCEMENT: Proposed Recommendations #1) Place official slow no wake buoys in key locations on Lost Land and Teal Lakes, establish a committee to discuss potential placement areas. Consider additional buoys on the Spider Lake Chain. The TOSL would be required to apply for these permits. #2) If enforcement is considered, then we would need to partner with several neighboring towns to keep the cost as low as possible. If the towns of Spider Lake, Hayward, Bass Lake, Round Lake and Hunter each budgeted $15,000 for a total of $75,000 we believe this would cover the costs to implement our own shared enforcement agency. Funding could be offset by the “Intent To Patrol” program offered by the WDNR. #3) Signage could become mandatory at all rental properties, boat landing accesses both public and private, VRBO, Airbnb, short term rentals (STR’s) and resort cabins. Signage should be provided by the TOSL to help ensure uniformity. Signage would help educate the public on our town ordinances. #4) Maintain separate ordinances to address the specific needs between the Spider Lake Chain and Lost Land and Teal Lakes, Ghost Lake and Lower Clam Lake. Adjourn Information presented by the Boating Ordinance Ad-Hoc Committee is intended for the purpose of education and to stimulate discussion. The information is part of an iterative process and should not be construed as a recommendation or position statement of the Committee.