Reply With QuoteWhat other ramifications might occur from this possible action?__________________
The only thing I could think of is you wont rent my condo anymoreAll kidding aside good point.
Another channel closure discussion...
So if they do, for whatever mistaken reason close the channel to mooring/beaching boats what is really likely to happen?
The newly installed city officials complain about the rowdiness, drunkeness and general atmosphere down there. Perhaps they throw in the CO problem to make the closure argument seem more scientific. The trash, the loud music, the gangbanger types......there are some real issues there and I would agree that a family with little kids would be well advised to not go there on busy weekends. There are other beaches available. Rotary park is a no alcohol area and is rarely busy unless a regatta is using part of the beach.
However, all these problems are basically enforceable under current laws. We know stepped up enforcement is the answer. New laws aren't needed. Of course WE are not the problem...Well, not usually anyway. Its those other boaters.... I would think a handful of officers on foot patrol could recoup their cost just from issuing citations for littering, loud music, and idling motors...(nudity should only warrant a warning
)
But beyond that, where will the displaced boaters go? I have read a few posts by those claiming they won't go anymore. I find that hard to believe. There is a lot more to the lake than the channel. If it never existed Havasu would still be a great place to boat.
But back to my point.....There's a two dozen or so transient dock spaces for the store patrons to utilize. The wait for those is gonna be ridiculous. How else can you get your pizza, or run in to SteveO's....so boats will be clogging the waterway jockeying for space. The sandwich/ice cream shop across the way has access to a couple of spots too I think.
The drunks, which are the ones that are causing the main problems anyway will now be dispersed across the lake. So instead of being beached in the channel, They will likely end up at Copper Canyon or the sandbar. So after a day of drinking and rowdiness they will make a highspeed run up/down river and across the lake endangering all those around them.....instead of a low speed idle to the marina or over to the nearby launchramps.
The sandbar, which now borders on the obscene on occasion, (not that I mind :crossx: ) will get the majority of those no longer in the channel. Moabi, and Steamboat will get the rest. The little coves that we each may know will have pressure put on them by the hundreds of other boats that will be out on the lake.
Certainly there are many suggestions on what could be done, including permit parking, time limits, even meters. Perhaps just step up the enforcement of existing laws. My understanding is that the City does not have jurisdiction all over the lake, but only the beaches above a certain water line and over the channel. So if they push the boaters out, then enforcement becomes the problem of the counties, BLM and other agencies......I wonder what their thoughts on closing the channel will be?
My point here is not to berate the locals for trying to curtail what they see as rowdy behaviour but point out that pushing the problem onto other law enforcement agencies may not be the best thing either.
What other ramifications might occur from this possible action?
What other ramifications might occur from this possible action?__________________
The only thing I could think of is you wont rent my condo anymore
Great post Mandy. I agree with you 100%. Although I really don't hangout in the channel much (except during the week and on non-busy weekends) I really agree that if they just up the enforcement of the current laws it would probably scare away the crowd that they don't want there anyways. (Except for the occasional "flash" of course).
I couldn't agree more. Stepped up enforcement of the current laws is the answer, or at least a better alternative, increases in penalties as well. And sorry, that even includes the occassional flash, it's against the law, plain and simple. I know that may be a buzz-kill and is certainly not a popular stance on this board, but if there are laws, they need to be enforced otherwise anarchy prevails, which is what has prompted this potential action by the City Council. Closing the channel to all mooring is not the answer, increased enforcement of CURRENT laws is. The behavior will change within 1-2 summers, guaranteed.
Stand Bye,
Stepped up enforcement will occur and alot of you will not be happy.
There are alot of laws that will be enforced.
Im all for it, because it will get rid of all the gangbangers, wanna be tuff guys and girls and all out trash.
The last few times I was there, it was the knuckleheads without a boat (but have a big styrofoam cooler) that were causing the problems.
If you get rid of the boats, those guys will still be there.
If you close the channel, I'll bet $1 that the mini sandbar is where everyone will go to get wild. Once they close that, then it will be Steamboat...and so on, and so on...
It is my understanding that the LHC PD were the ones making the suggestion to cut down on mooring because they didn't have enough manpower to control the area?
Spend more money on enforcement, Mr. Mayor. This isn't rocket science...
The last few times I was there, it was the knuckleheads without a boat (but have a big styrofoam cooler) that were causing the problems.
If you get rid of the boats, those guys will still be there.
But aren't those the locals that the Mayor wants to be able to use the channel? Like them or not, those are the locals that the park and channel area are supposed to be available for. Us tourists crowd it all up and they can't get there....yes, I remember the piles of trash along the beaches that were closed to boats. But I see lots of trash from the boater's areas as well.
While it may not be HB members trashing the area, but we need to be honest, it IS boaters.
I also have to believe that if it weren't for all the hot chicks and badass boats to look at, those guys wouldn't be down there.......so if they kick us out, those guys will disappear as well. They probably will be out on the lake on old Baylliners....looking for us.
But aren't those the locals that the Mayor wants to be able to use the channel? Like them or not, those are the locals that the park and channel area are supposed to be available for. Us tourists crowd it all up and they can't get there....yes, I remember the piles of trash along the beaches that were closed to boats. But I see lots of trash from the boater's areas as well.
Huh?
I read that it was a recommendation from the LHC PD to close the channel due to enforcement issues? Just like they did to Copper Canyon...just like they did to the Sandbar.
For those with short memories...the Channel was the mellow place to hang out before they closed the Sandbar.
So let's see....if you can't fix the problem...send them somewhere else! I have news for everyone- unless they spend more money on law enforcement, closing a certain area will not stop the problem- just move it (again).
I read that it was a recommendation from the LHC PD to close the channel due to enforcement issues?
Not according to the following article:
Jackson defends mooring proposal
By Brian DiTullio
Thursday, January 5, 2006 7:55 PM MST
Mayor Harvey Jackson said his proposal to eliminate most of the mooring in the Bridgewater Channel is an attempt to reclaim the area for locals and attract more family-type tourists to the area.
I'm very pro-tourism, said Jackson in response to claims he was trying to run tourism out of Lake Havasu City. My vision of tourism is to attract the family-oriented tourist, the kind of tourism that was primarily here in the 1970s.
Jackson's contention is that bigger boats and rowdier crowds have ruined the area for the locals and that by removing the moorings, the rowdy, drunken crowds would move on.
The idea first was proposed at the Jan. 3 work session after the Lake Havasu City Police Department gave a presentation about the challenges they face enforcing the law during the height of the summer boating season and holiday weekends in particular.
Assistant Chief Randy McCaleb wanted to stress that the police department never requested that City Council shut down the Channel; they simply were looking to eliminate alcohol consumption in the manmade waterway.
McCaleb said their arrest statistics show that most of the problems they face stem from the over-consumption of alcohol, and that by removing that factor from the equation, the rowdy behavior should be reduced significantly.
Capt. Rich Sloma said most of the arrests in that area over the last few years were for disorderly conduct, OUI or underage drinking.
Once young people who don't handle their alcohol all that well are drinking under the sun for a few hours, common sense tends to go out the window, said Sloma.
Sloma added that the police did offer some alternative to City Council in April 2004 that included limiting mooring in the south end of the Channel, but they never recommended closing all of it.
Sloma also said that it wasn't until 1998 when the seawall was added and the beaches created that so many boats could be moored in the Channel. Prior to that, the natural landscape limited areas where boats could be beached.
You would have two or three here and two or three there, and then 50 feet of rock, said Sloma.
Business owners in the Channel area expressed anger and frustration upon hearing about the possibility of moorings being eliminated and vowed to fight it.
Jackson said there still is plenty of public debate to be had on the subject, but that he felt there already was a consensus by a majority of City Council on the issue, based on what he heard at the Jan. 3 work session.
The question is, said Jackson. Should that area be for us and our community, or should we turn it over to the out-of-towners. I can't use the lake anymore and I sold my boat last fall because of the congestion.
Jackson boiled the issue down to his campaign platforms of the Channel, the English Village, quality of life and his desire to protect all three.
The people that oppose my views have been in charge for 15 years, said Jackson on the opposition, and called their actions a failure, while stating his policies would bring tourism dollars back up.
Jackson has directed City Attorney Matt Podracky to draw up several ordinances on the issue for presentation at a future meeting.
You may contact the reporter at ditullio@havasunews.com.
The idea first was proposed at the Jan. 3 work session after the Lake Havasu City Police Department gave a presentation about the challenges they face enforcing the law during the height of the summer boating season and holiday weekends in particular.
Once again...
For those with short memories...the Channel was the mellow place to hang out before they closed the Sandbar.
....and that by removing the moorings, the rowdy, drunken crowds would move on...
Perfect solution! Move them somewhere else on the lake! :notam:
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