Picture this: a nice kayak paddle down Bayou St. John in New Orleans on a beautiful fall afternoon, enjoying the serenity of the water as well as the scenery around you. Once you’re finished, you get out of the water onto the banks of the Bayou and haul in your kayak. Without a truck, you call a friend or haul your boat over to your house where you can dock it. New Orleans will no longer allow you to tie up your boat along the Bayou, nor keep it on public property.
The New Laws at Bayou St. John
A city ordinance passed in September 2014 that is supposed to protect residents from health issues: mosquitos, snakes and the “possibility” that boats become a missile during high winds, according to Councilwoman Guidry. As of September, the Mosquito Control Board gained the power to place stickers on all boats in the Bayou, including canoes, kayaks, and barges, indicating that they must be removed within two calendar days or hauled off by the New Orleans Police Department.
Fines for first offenders are $150, with an additional fine of $10 per day for every day the boat sits in the “impound.” The maximum fine is $250, but at that point, the boat will probably be disposed of if it’s out in the impound for five months or longer.
What about Bayou Boogaloo?
Every May, for an entire three day weekend, local music, food, artists, vendors and boaters come out to do what New Orleanians like to do: listen to music and have a great time. Bayou Boogaloo always brings out the best in boaters. Not only do people bring their kayaks, canoes, boats – both homemade or store bought – out onto the Bayou to listen to the sweet music, but we leave our boats out in the bayou for the whole weekend. Is New Orleans going to crack down on boats in the water during Bayou Boogaloo, too?
How Are We Supposed to Enjoy Bayou St. John?
It’s hard to believe, but at one time Bayou St. John was a navigable water way that connected Lake Pontchartrain with the city. As neighborhoods developed parts of the bayou were filled in, and after years of non-use, the bayou was an eyesore. After years of neglect, residents surrounding the Bayou St. John area decided clean up and invite people to enjoy the Bayou so they could enjoy the serene waterscape. The banks were cleaned as part of a WPA project and the bayou took the shape we know today. Slowly the waters were cleaned, sidewalks laid, the neighborhood developed. There are even stories of the city’s ability to drain the bayou entirely.
Today, Bayou Saint John is a perfect spot to have a leisurely afternoon and it has definitely increased property values to the neighboring communities. About a year ago, the city even discussed making the allowing lake water to flow into the bayou in order to create a naturally sustainable aquaculture.
But now New Orleans wants to eliminate the option of keeping boats in the water and it is unclear whether boats will be permitted on the banks. Sadly, this leaves many boat owners without a place to store them. At this time there are no boat houses, docks, or alternative. There also has been no proof that the boats will be more dangerous in storms or will become hot-beds for mosquitoes, and there have been no deaths as a result of children playing on boats in recent history. This ordinance is not good for the Mid-City neighborhood and will hurt our community in the long run.
If your boat or kayak was impounded by the city and you believe you have a case against the city because your boat was illegally impounded, please contact me or call (504) 264-9492.
Update:
If your boat, kayak, or barge was impounded by the city, please contact New Orleans Police Department’s Central Evidence and Property Division at (504) 658-5550 or go to UNO’s Research and Technology Building 1, Suite 200 in New Orleans, Louisiana 70122 to retrieve your boat. They’re open from 8am-2pm on weekdays.
