Ellsworth is moving ahead with implementing rules for mooring boats and other floating structures in its lakes.
The City Council voted 4-2 Monday night in preliminary support of implementing rules that would prevent people from mooring boats or floats in local lakes and leaving them there for extended periods of time. The intent of the rules is to bar people from essentially claiming parts of the lakes for themselves by putting in moorings and tying up boats or floating docks for their private use.
The issue of setting moorings in local lakes became an issue in 2021, when a couple of local residents who are not lakefront property owners moored what they called a “house float” in Green Lake. They used the floating structure as a place to gather with their friends to enjoy the lake, but shorefront property owners objected, saying that the gatherings were noisy and hurt their enjoyment of their homes, many of which are seasonal summer camps.
People who own homes on the lake and others also raised concerns about people possibly mooring houseboats in the lake and then renting them out for days at a time through online vacation rental services such as Airbnb and VRBO. Currently, the city has no regulations to prevent someone or multiple people from mooring houseboats in a lake for an entire summer.
Jennifer Willey, who owns a house on Scotts Neck Way on Green Lake, told the council that, because Ellsworth currently does not have a municipal mooring ordinance, anyone can fill up as many 5-gallon buckets as they want with concrete and then set them where they want.
“This is littering,” Willey said. “It’s ruining our lakes and it’s only going to get worse as time goes on.”
Most members of the council seemed to agree. Councilor Michelle Beal said that the practice of setting a mooring or moorings in a lake and keeping boats or floats there that other boaters have to navigate around is akin to pitching a tent in a public park and leaving it there for days or weeks at a time.
“It shouldn’t be allowed,” Beal said. “It is a public place.”
City officials said that the proposed rules will help to maintain traditional public access to the city’s lakes. There will be no restrictions on people who bring their boats to any local lake to enjoy a day of fishing or recreation, they said. The proposed ordinance will not apply to the Union River, which already is subject to the city’s harbor ordinance and is regulated under federal marine access laws.
Councilor O’Halloran was hesitant about enacting a new ordinance, saying that enforcement of it would be difficult if someone wants to leave a bucket of concrete submerged in a lake for the summer. He said there are many issues that affect local lakes, such as leaky septic systems and people driving onto the ice in winter, and that he supports people being respectful and considerate of people on the lakes.
“A few people have annoyed a lot of people, and I am not sure we can ordinance our way out of that,” O’Halloran said. “There’s got to be a better way.”
The proposed rules are still being tweaked, so the council will have to take up the matter again to either approve or reject the final version. The mooring ordinance is expected to include measures that will bar anchoring in lakes overnight (as opposed to setting and using a mooring), and to make exceptions for shorefront property owners such as commercial camps or weekly rentals that include the use of boats as part of their business.
O’Halloran voted against the proposed ordinance. So did Councilor Casey Hanson, who said she was concerned about giving shorefront property owners special rights when it comes to using moorings in the lakes.
Councilors Beal, Dale Hamilton, Jon Stein and Tammy Mote voted in favor of moving forward with the restrictions. Councilor Gene Lyons was not at the meeting.