Illegal boat slips are popping near Palm Beach Gardens. Residents want regulators to act

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Residents of Paradise Port, a residential area near suburban Palm Beach Gardens, say the construction of illegal docks where boats are stored is making it difficult for them to safely navigate their way into and out of their canal to the Intracoastal Waterway.

That is because so many of the docks jut far out into the canal with large yachts as long as 55 feet attached to them. The Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Palm Beach County code enforcement officials are investigating complaints, and have begun citing violators for building without permits.

A lucrative marina market in 2019 prompted some waterfront property owners to lease their boat slips for as much as $800 a month in an area zoned residential that barred such boat slip rentals, The Post reported. Code enforcement succeeded in bringing several cases before a county magistrate that resulted in an order that halted the practice.

But Mitch Huhn, who lives on the 14000 block of Leeward Way, said the situation has become much worse since 2019. He took a photographer and a reporter on a tour of the area. Numerous boats are attached to docks that belong to single-family homes. The leasing of the slips is not permitted as the area is zoned residential.

"We have marinas that have popped up here," said Huhn, noting that the commercial activity has affected the quality of life at Paradise Point. Cars, trailers and even boats are parked on lawns.

"This is a real problem that needs to be addressed," he said. "It is getting worse and worse and we need to get the attention of regulators. It is not fair to the rest of us who comply with the law."

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Meanwhile, those who are renting out spaces could run into legal problems. Marine lawyers say that there is no way to enforce the leases because they are not legal, and then there is the issue of liability.

Huhn has been closely watching a multimillion-dollar home being built next to his house. The Army Corps of Engineers cited the property owner June 12 for expanding his bulkhead or seawall into the canal. Bulkheads are partially buried retaining structures that are designed to hold back water to protect waterfront homeowners from erosion and flooding.

Along most of Leeward Way, the bulkhead is one continuous line except for the home being built next to Huhn's home. That bulkhead was extended to 9 feet waterward of the original one in violation of the permit that was issued. It juts out into the canal. The Army Corps has warned the property owner, 14050 Leeward LLC, that it could face civil and criminal penalties if it does not remove the extended seawall.

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Huhn said the extended seawall will cause a water-flow issue in the canal, resulting in a sandbar forming on each end.

"This is all being done so a swimming pool can be built," Huhn said. "Not only is the seawall farther out than it should be but the property owner now wants to add a fifth dock and a 15-foot boat lift. If all this work is done, the dock will be in the middle of the canal."

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In another case that has caught the attention of regulators, county code enforcement officials cited Robert Gomes and Renee Morgan of Sewickley, Pa., for building a dock and a boatlift on the 14000 block of Harbor Lane without a building permit.

It can take months for a case in code enforcement to get before a county magistrate. And sometimes the person cited might accept whatever fine the county eventually imposes as a cost of doing business. It can take years for the Army Corps to develop its cases.

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Huhn said the problem is that the canal was never meant to handle the kind of boat traffic that exists. With the added slips, illegal leasing and docks that extend far out into the canal, the situation has become intolerable, he said.

"We have a piece of paradise here that we want to protect," he said. "The regulators need to act and they need to move much more quickly."

The area is in an unincorporated section of Palm Beach County, which means the county has jurisdiction.

Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Illegal boat docks on South Florida canal to Intracoastal Waterway