EUSTIS, Fla. – Eustis city leaders are considering repealing a 20-year-old ordinance that bans gas-powered boats on Lake Gracie, a move residents say could threaten years of work to protect the small lake and its wildlife.
The possible change comes after Florida passed the Boaters Freedom Act last year. The law prevents local governments from banning boats based on the type of fuel or energy they use.
Residents who live around Lake Gracie said the state law is unfair and frustrating, especially because they believe the existing ordinance has helped preserve the lake for two decades.
“It’s a private lake,” Eustis resident Harry Crook said. “Now you get Tallahassee telling us how to run our lake. And we’ve been doing a pretty good job of it.”
Lake Gracie is not the only waterway affected. The new law also impacts the Pine Meadows Conservation Area in Eustis, Lake Elsie in Tavares, and Lake Yale and Blue Lake in Lake County, along with other waterways across Central Florida.
Dennis Kirst, a Eustis resident who helped push for the Lake Gracie ban in 2003, said the ordinance was created after a resident put a jet ski on the lake, causing noise and disruption.
“It was just creating chaos out there with the noise,” Kirst said.
Since then, residents said they have worked to restore the lake by clearing cattails, improving water quality and protecting wildlife. They worry allowing gas-powered boats again could harm those efforts.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for the size of the lake,” Kirst said. “Plus the fact that it’s basically a wildlife sanctuary.”
Residents also raised concerns about noise and the potential impact of larger engines on the lake.
“Having an unlimited-size engine on the lake would impact water quality,” Kirst said. “But the noise it would generate would disrupt the tranquility of the lake that we have now.”
Kirst and other residents plan to attend the Eustis City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday to share their concerns before city leaders make a decision.