UPDATE: Jupiter council has voted 4-0 to pass a resolution privatizing the dock behind the U-Tiki restaurant.
EARLIER STORY:
JUPITER, Fla. — A battle of the docks in Jupiter could be coming to a resolution.
The town council is expected to make a final decision at their meeting Tuesday night on whether a popular public dock for boaters will become private.
The area is a very popular spot, where boaters can pull up to grab a bite to eat or hang out.
The owner of U-Tiki restaurant and the docks behind it wants the town to make the docks private due to safety concerns.
During a Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on June 11, Jim Taube asked officials to consider privatizing 14 slips on the dock that are currently considered public.
He claimed he saw underage girls carried out of boats passed out on busy weekends.
“We are trying to protect people,” said Taube.
U-Tiki currently pays more than $120,000 a year to Jupiter police for extra detail to help control the security.
“We are paying two Jupiter police officers our dollars to come and patrol what we think is their problem. They are requiring us to do it,” said Taube.
Philip Caputo with Sea Candy Sport Fishing has been in business for the past five years from the docks. He says he’s seen the same type of issues.
“There’s a lot of foot traffic here at night, a lot of underage people here at night,” he said. “They’ve been drinking somewhere else. They come here, they slip and fall, then it’s the owner’s responsibility because it’s his property. So I guess really the only way to stop the riff raff and underage kids who are drunk and drinking is just to privatize it.”
Businesses who already rent their own space there wouldn’t be affected.
But if the docks are made private, other businesses like Sundance Marine are hopeful their exposure won’t be affected.
They specialize in boat sales and are relatively new to the area.
“We are hoping are working on advertising our location,” said Donald Harris of Sundance Marine. “I just hope it does not affect our business. We’re at a new location here. We have been here closer to a year and we just want new people coming in.”
Some residents and boaters are against the proposal because there are few other options for boaters in the area when it comes to docking.
“There’s very little dockage down here open to the public in Jupiter and I would like to see it remain that way,” said Jupiter resident Allan Tiburzi. “I reviewed the police reports from the last two months including Memorial Day weekend, and there were no incidents. There were six and half of them were in the parking lot that’s south of here which has nothing to do with the docks.”
With differing opinions, town council will make their final decision at their regularly scheduled council meeting, set to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall.
“I hope everyone’s happy on both sides so there’s no more conflict,” said Caputo. “I hope everyone just gets along and has a good time. That’s what we’re here for living in South Florida.”
U-Tiki’s owner — who brought the issue up to the town — could not be reached on Tuesday for comment.