The city of Cape Coral has been working to develop a mooring field in t he Bimini Basin. The city’s permitting and design consultant started work on this project in March 2024. The city projected it will take upwards of 18 months to obtain all the necessary permits and complete the design of all the project components. City of Cape Coral

The Lee County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the establishment an anchoring limitation area in Bimini Basin in Cape Coral.

The ordinance came at the request of the city which plans to regulate the length of time vessels are able to anchor in the river-access basin off Cape Coral Parkway near Four Freedom’s Park. An interlocal agreement has been established to detail the responsibilities of the anchoring limitation area.

According to county documents, “anchoring limitation areas prohibit the anchoring of a vessel for more than 45 consecutive days in any six-month period.” In addition, “Florida Statutes also require that anchoring limitation areas be less than 100 acres in size; the calculated size of an anchoring limitation area shall not include any portion of the marked channel of the Florida Intercoastal Waterway or any mooring field or marina.”

According to the interlocal agreement, “the city agrees to bear any and all costs and responsibilities related to the permits, including, but not limited to, the permit applications, installation, maintenance, monitoring/inspection, reporting, replacement and removal, if required, of the signs and buoys required by the permits.”

The city effort to establish a mooring field in the Bimini Basin has been years in the making. The permitting and design phase for the project began in March. Cape Coral officials projected it will take upwards of 18 months to obtain all the necessary permits and for the consultant to complete the design of all the project components.