Taunton cracks down with Lake Sabbatia speed limit and a lot more. Will it work?
TAUNTON — Instigated by police reports and complaints from residents living on Lake Sabbatia, new measures and regulations are either being established or considered by city entities to curb unruly behavior and address access to the lake.
The Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills, at the Oct. 31 City Council meeting, approved the drafting and review of proposed ordinances that would establish speed limits for boaters and restrict parking on upper Bay Street.
Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh was present to provide details on each proposed ordinance and revision to current city ordinances.
Speed limit
The first new ordinance will establish 25 mph as the speed limit for all lakes and waterways located in the city.
The ordinance does not apply to horsepower for boats, which there is no proposal to limit.
What’s also proposed is a revision to a current ordinance which will replace the word “powerboat” with “watercraft” so that the regulations encompass every vessel and motor on the water. Walsh said “electric motors and jet skis didn’t exist” when the ordinance was drafted in the 1960s.
'Cowboying' jet skiers' Loud parties on island in Lake Sabbatia — What's Taunton doing?
Parking
The second new ordinance proposed is to effectively ban parking and establish tow away zones, year-round, on upper Bay Street, near and around the boat ramp lot for Lake Sabbatia.
Under the proposal, parking will be banned on the west side of Bay Street going all the way from Lakeview Avenue to the Norton town line, and on the east side of Bay Street from the Norton town line to Perra’s Lane.
Both ordinances were unanimously approved by the Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills to be referred to the city clerk for readings by Full Council. Three readings are required before an ordinance can be approved. For the speed limit ordinance, it will also need approval from the Massachusetts Environmental Police.
Lake Sabbatia's surprising past Did you know Taunton once had its own summer destination amusement park?
City response
Over this past summer, numerous complaints were lodged from Taunton residents residing on Lake Sabbatia to the Police Department and mayor’s office, of reckless, speeding jet-skiers on the lake, groups of people throwing loud parties on Sabbatia island, and illegal parking along Bay Street and the boat ramp parking lot.
Taunton Police responded by increasing its presence on the lake and Bay Street boat ramp and ticketing more vehicles parking on Bay Street or parked illegally in the boat ramp parking lot.
The ordinances proposed are long-term solutions.
Here's the plan Invasive weeds in Lake Sabbatia will soon get their reckoning
Concerns from fishermen?
Taunton resident and long-time High Street resident on Lake Sabbatia, Jason Roomes, expressed his concerns to the Council about the effect some of the proposed restrictions will have on the local fishermen, including himself, who utilize the lake regularly.
Roomes, representing The Bass Federation and Mass Bass Nation, said a restriction on horsepower will greatly hinder fishermen like him who engage in fishing tournaments on the lake.
“We have high horsepower boats, but we do not run them at high speeds. We respect the lake,” he said on Oct. 10, adding a horsepower limit will only penalize fishermen who live in Taunton and have been fishing at Lake Sabbatia for years.
Speaking during public input on Oct. 31, Roomes said he was grateful Taunton Police and the mayor’s office were not considering a horsepower limit for boats on the lake.
What else is being considered?
Speed limits for watercraft on the lake and no parking on upper Bay Street are the only two measures the Committee on Ordinances & Enrolled Bills has jurisdiction over.
A letter from Walsh to the Ordinance Committee, dated Oct. 11, laid out some of the other recommendations he and the mayor’s office are proposing:
Parking Passes – Annual passes to park at the Lake Sabbatia Boat Ramp. Jurisdiction falls under the purview of the Taunton Parking Commission. The recommendation from the mayor’s office is an annual rate of $50-$75 per pass, running from Jan.1 – Dec. 31, with pass purchases overseen by Taunton police.
Restricted access to Sabbatia Island – The letter from Walsh states authority over Sabbatia Island fall under the purview of the Conservation Commission. The following recommendations from the mayor's office were forwarded to the Conservation Commission for review and consideration: No alcoholic beverages (technically already illegal); No campfires; and the island is closed to public access between dusk and dawn.
Improving visibility of “no wake zones” near shore lines – Walsh wrote the police department and conservation agent will work on identifying the best locations on the lake for installing buoys. The current wake limits are 10 mph within 75 yards of a shore line and 5 mph within 100 yards of a beach.
Boat ramp gate closure – What’s being recommended by Walsh and the mayor’s office is for the gate to the Sabbatia boat ramp to open at 5 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., year-round.
Roomes said he and the local fishermen organizations he is a member of are lobbying for more hours, specifically opening the gates one hour before dawn and closing the gates one hour after dusk. Regarding dawn, he said in a letter dated Sept. 7 to the City Council, “It is not safe to be parked on the side of the road on Bay Street waiting for the gate to be open.”
Regarding dusk, Roomes explained to the Council during public input on Oct. 31 that fishing tournaments during the summertime “can go long,” and fishermen need extra time to get their boats out of the water and back on their trailers.
Establishing official gate closure hours doesn’t require approval from the Council, but does require approval from the state’s Office of Fishing and Boating Access.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton cracks down on Lake Sabbatia loud parties and jet skiers
