"private" Boat Ramps

[Lund Explorer]

Thats not entirely true. One dock is allowed as long as it is for public use as they consider that an aid to access. Overnight mooring, partying, swimming, etc are not. I have never seen a case where they even upheld the access rights when the road parallels the lake in this state, I know they've overturned some rulings on that lately.

I feel I should qualify that statement. At the lower court levels the decisions will be far more varied depending on the leanings of the presiding judge. If the case works its way up the appellate court system there is fairly clear precedent which so far has been followed. You will also see people frequently arguing or trying to change the law on access to the Great Lakes, where currently anything below the mean high water mark is public, simply because some people don't like watching others walk up and down the beach. It only takes one person with the audacity to go far a walk on public land to launch a court case spanning years and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

As far as your last statement, well some people have problems if they can so much as see a person, boat, or dock out their window, so just saying he had problems with it doesn't mean a thing without some legitimate documentation. Particularly if he recently purchased the property, he may not have performed due diligence and realized what was there, or he may have had plans of revoking others access at the time of purchase. Not like he'd admit it, though.

If you wanted to see those large community docks you would have to visit Higgins Lake prior to the court cases I mentioned. They were used for seasonal mooring of boats and often spread out in front of the lakefront properties next to them. As far as shoreline right of ways, a great example is Lake Cadillac which has several strips (up to 3/4 mile in length) of this type of land. The city government allows anyone to place a dock along these shorelines and even sets a date/time for when people can place them on a first come, first served basis. It can be a real dog fight watching these folks trying to stake out a spot.

With regards to the property owner being discussed in this thread, I can't find any reason why he can decide to do what he wishes with that property. It doesn't and shouldn't matter how long he has owned it, nor what he paid for it. I know of no law that says that only certain people are allowed to purchase property in this country. If someone doesn't make enough money to afford such a place, it should be used as incentive to get a better education/job to be able to do so, not as an excuse to trespass.

[MagicMoment]

Well I guess there should be a law against any person that has money and expects their private property being private. I suppose it should also be a crime that taxpayer money is used on a lake surrounded by properties like the one you describe. If I guy only spent $1.3 Million in this lousy parcel, he and the others that can afford to live there probably don't pay any taxes.

By the way, you didn't mention how many times that you thanked this property owner for the use of his land.

The landowner does not live on the lake or in the area. I never thanked him because nobody knew it was private land since at one point in time the county claimed it as a "public assess ramp". I've never even seen the guy in question but had I known of his generousity at time I would have told him thanks.

[MagicMoment]

With regards to the property owner being discussed in this thread, I can't find any reason why he can decide to do what he wishes with that property. It doesn't and shouldn't matter how long he has owned it, nor what he paid for it. I know of no law that says that only certain people are allowed to purchase property in this country. If someone doesn't make enough money to afford such a place, it should be used as incentive to get a better education/job to be able to do so, not as an excuse to trespass.

Its beginning to seem to me like you think I despise this landowner or the homeowners for being wealthy. Let me tell you that this is not the case. I never stated that I was upset with the guy for blocking off the ramp, i'm grateful he even had it opened to begin with. My only complaint with the homeowners is that they used taxpayer monies for their own private use and demanded that the public access be taken away.

Him spending his money on such a small property is his business and he is entitled to everything he has earned.

[Lund Explorer]

When I said "the landowner recently stopped people from fishing due to problems he was having with boaters" that really meant "the homeowners bugged him into blocking it off". This lake will remain blocked from public access most likely, too many homeowners with big money. The landowner in question payed $1.3 million for this piece of land which is basically just a small strip of the side of the road. Needless to say, this guy is loaded.

I don't condone trespassing but I see why guys sneak into lakes at night and wreck havoc on bass, because as long as you have tons of money you can get away with immoral things like this. I also discovered that taxpayer money may have been used in the upkeep of this lake at one point in time as well. Sickening in all aspects.

Its beginning to seem to me like you think I despise this landowner or the homeowners for being wealthy. Let me tell you that this is not the case. I never stated that I was upset with the guy for blocking off the ramp, i'm grateful he even had it opened to begin with. My only complaint with the homeowners is that they used taxpayer monies for their own private use and demanded that the public access be taken away.

Him spending his money on such a small property is his business and he is entitled to everything he has earned.

I can only read the words you type and make judgements accordingly.

[MagicMoment]

I can only read the words you type and make judgements accordingly.

I'm talking about the homeowners, not the landowner. Stop making a fool of yourself please. I already told you I have no problem with the landowner.

[NoBassPro]

The one question I do have is where are the landowners now launching their boats? Its not like you can launch in your backyard for the most part, so do they have a deeded launch site somewhere? I doubt any one person is going to voluntarily open his land up for others to use. If so, find it and read the dedication.

I'm not at all familiar with Florida law, but here in Michigan the scope of dedication and area of land dedicated make a huge impact on what is allowed.

[MagicMoment]

The one question I do have is where are the landowners now launching their boats? Its not like you can launch in your backyard for the most part, so do they have a deeded launch site somewhere? I doubt any one person is going to voluntarily open his land up for others to use. If so, find it and read the dedication.

I'm not at all familiar with Florida law, but here in Michigan the scope of dedication and area of land dedicated make a huge impact on what is allowed.

One of the biggest travesties of it all is that probably only 4 homeowners actually have boats and probably only one them actually fishes.