New Boca Raton Ordinance Limits Overnight Anchoring in Quest to Rid Abandoned Boats

A boat anchored at Lake Wyman, Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton city council members unanimously adopted an ordinance that will limit anchoring on waterways within the city limits, enabling officials to take advantage of a state statute that allows cities to tackle the plague of abandoned vessels that have left in waterways across Florida.

The ordinance establishes a new rule limiting nighttime anchoring on waterways to no more than 30 nights within any rolling 6-month period. The measure is intended to deter “long-term or repeated nighttime anchoring that can clutter waterways, create navigational and safety hazards, and contribute to the proliferation of derelict or abandoned vessels,” a memorandum from city staff said, recommending its adoption. To support the new rule, the ordinance updates existing sections of the city code to align with state law and strengthen related provisions governing “live-aboard” vessels and commercial activity on waterways.

Live-aboard vessels, under the code, were redefined to refer to vessels “used solely as a residence and not for navigation” and registered as a domicile with the state. Nighttime anchoring was redefined as “anchoring a vessel for one hour or more at any time during the period beginning one-half hour after sunset and ending one-half hour before sunrise.” Live-aboard vessels cannot be moored for more than 72 hours outside the marked boundaries of mooring fields.

The Florida legislature, earlier in 2025, gave municipal governments the power to regulate the mooring of vessels after concerns were raised as to the proliferation of abandoned vessels littering the state’s waterways and, at times, causing damage to marine infrastructure.

The restriction does not apply to vessels anchored within designated mooring fields, government-operated vessels, or boats “engaged in permitted marine construction or maintenance work.” Additionally, it does not affect residents or boat owners who lawfully dock, berth, or moor their vessels along their own seawalls, private docks, or within permitted marinas.

The ordinance will be enforced by member of the Boca Raton Police Department’s marine unit in cooperation with the city’s code enforcement office. Violations are subject to fines of $500 per day for a first offense and $750 per day for repeat offenses, with vessels subject to towing, impoundment, or disposal if noncompliance continues. Owners who receive citations for violating the ordinance will have 10 days to appeal the charge to a special magistrate, though fines will continue to accrue through the appeals process, the ordinance stipulates.

Vessels legally moored in Lake Boca, Dec. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

A chart showing the Lake Boca anchorage. (Credit: Argo Nav)

Boca Raton is home to one major public mooring field within Lake Boca, which runs south of the green “65” marker in about eight feet of water adjacent to the sandbar. Boaters cannot permanently anchor their boats within 150-feet of any marina or boat ramp, or 100-feet from the marked boundary. Another public anchorage is located in Pelican Harbor near Highland Beach, though it is within the jurisdiction of Delray Beach. At Pelican Harbor, located near the Tropic Isle residential development, though anchoring there is not permitted for more than 24 hours at a time.