Working River Navigation & Safety Portal
A Path Forward

The Solutions Are
Clear and Actionable

This is not a complaint about growth. It is a proposal for planned growth that preserves a functional working waterway. Three specific actions, taken now, prevent this from becoming a courtroom correction under pressure.

"The issue is not growth versus no growth. It is planned growth versus geometric failure."

New River Navigation Corridor Review — Commissioner Briefing
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Official Municipal Progress: Approved October 1, 2026

Marine Advisory Board Transmits Formal Directive to City Commission

During its October 1, 2026 meeting, the City of Fort Lauderdale Marine Advisory Board (MAB) officially voted and approved a formal Communication to the City Commission recommending that the City Manager:

"Engage appropriate City staff (Marine Facilities, Police Marine Unit, Transportation & Mobility, and Planning & Zoning) in coordination with maritime stakeholders (including the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, commercial tow operators, and Florida Power & Light) to evaluate operational solutions to New River navigation congestion."

Status: Formally transmitted to Mayor and City Commission. Next Step: Commission direction to City Manager to convene interdepartmental working team.

The Action Plan & Roadmap

Action Items & Implementation Roadmap

These are the specific action items advancing through the City of Fort Lauderdale. Together, they protect the working river before physics makes the correction instead of policy.

01

Multi-Department Staff & Stakeholder Working Group

MAB Approved Oct 1, 2026

Direct the City Manager to convene an interdisciplinary municipal team (including Marine Facilities, Police Marine Unit, Transportation & Mobility, and Planning & Zoning) working directly with the Coalition for New River Preservation, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF), commercial tow operators, and Florida Power & Light to evaluate operational solutions, traffic data, and minimum required channel envelopes.

Formally Transmitted Multi-Department Coordination
02

Designate Special Navigation Sections and Amend Dock Code

Direct City staff to: (1) identify critical navigation corridor segments where minimum functional widths must be maintained, (2) establish those widths based on vessel class and infrastructure access requirements, not property line geometry, and (3) propose amendments to the dock extension code that reflect maneuvering reality. Special Navigation Section designations create the legal and regulatory basis for enforcement by City Police, FWC, and USCG. Without defined corridors, enforcement remains reactive and politically exposed.

Current Code vs. Required Standard
Current Measurement Basis
Upland Property Lines
Required Measurement Basis
Maneuvering Geometry
03

Form an Intergovernmental Enforcement Task Force

Convene a coordination group that crosses the jurisdictional boundaries currently preventing effective enforcement. Vessels on both sides of the river can each comply locally while jointly creating a navigational obstruction. Only an intergovernmental framework closes this gap.

Participating Authorities
  • City of Fort Lauderdale
  • Town of Davie
  • Florida FWC
  • U.S. Coast Guard
  • Marine Industry Stakeholders
Optional Fourth Step

Request a formal USCG Waterways Analysis and Management System (WAMS) review to evaluate traffic patterns, risk exposure, and channel restrictions based on field data.

Enforcement Does Not Have to Wait

Florida statutes governing navigation interference (§327.44 F.S.) and federal obstruction law (33 U.S.C. §403) give City Police and FWC enforcement authority right now, under existing law, while the corridor designation process is underway. The City does not need new law. It needs leadership to define the corridor and direct enforcement.

Authority: §327.70 F.S.; §327.44 F.S.; 14 U.S.C. §522; 33 U.S.C. §403/§409

The Message for Leadership

We are not asking the City to choose between residents and industry. We are asking the City to define predictable standards that protect everyone — before incremental compliance creates irreversible geometric constraint.

"It is better to define safe channel standards now than fix them in court later."
Commissioner-ready sound bite — New River Navigation Corridor Review
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Up Next

Common Objections, Answered Directly

Read the complete Q&A addressing the most common challenges to the navigational safety argument — answered plainly, without evasion, based on navigational physics and federal law.

Read the Q&A → Back to Home