Orange Lake, located in Alachua County, Florida, will now have strict enforcement for the current airboat curfew. Those who don’t abide by the curfew could find themselves in trouble with local law enforcement. Alachua County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputies possess a donated airboat and will be patrolling the lake from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly. Any violators will be fined $250.00 for the first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses, according to Gainesville.com.
“We’ve been working on this for over a year to try to get methods to respond to the complaints,” Sheriff Sadie Darnell said. “It’s low-cost because the reserves are volunteers and we got the donation of the airboat.”
The Sheriff gave credit the reserve unit Captain Steve Miller, who put together the program. Deputies have been speaking with locals and airboaters in order to inform them of the new curfew enforcement. Notices have been placed along boat ramps in both Alachua and Marion counties.
In 2010, Alachua County voters passed a referendum for the curfew. The County Commission had tried for years to institute a solution to the problem. Lakeside residents have been plagued with the nightly airboat noise for airboat enthusiasts that believe they should be able to ride on the lake at during the night.
While Wild Florida supports the airboat community, we believe the airboats should be used respectively so not to hinder the local residents. If you’re looking for an exclusive airboat tour in Orlando without having to worry about developments or businesses, contact us today.
