The head of a group proposing controls on watercraft on Payette Lake accepted a compromise last week on a 400-foot no-wake zone.
Cutler Umbach, president of the Payette Lake Protective League, agreed to a no-wake zone of 250 feet during negotiations held May 30 over the draft ordinance developed by the citizens group. The league wants the county to enact the rules for the sake of public safety and water quality.
Citizens will have a chance to respond to the changes at a public hearing slated for 6 p.m. next Thursday at McCall Donnelly High School. The count,, commission could render a decision that day.
Originally, the proposal would have imposed a 400-foot no-wake zone around most of the lake except for The Narrows and islands and within McCall city limits, where the city maintains a 300-foot zone.
Commissioners deferred to letters from citizens where the majority, or 70 percent, said 400 feet was too wide an area. Many letters favored a distance between 200 and 300 feet.
"What we're trying to do is satisfy the majority within reason," commission Chairman Jerry Winkle said. Umbach held to the 400-foot limit, but capitulated after Winkle pushed for resolution after talks stalled. Umbach said he would "agree to disagree" for the time being.
"This is going to be a very touchy subject at that meeting," Winkle said about next Thursday's hearing.
Umbach worried his group would react unfavorably to narrowing the zone.
Proposed rules regarding power boats with over the transom exhaust systems, day and night speed limits, and the expiration date for two-stroke engines were modified at the May 30 workshop.
Winkle reminded commissioners to remember the feasibility of enforcing the rules, and Umbach was willing to defer to law enforcement's opinion. Valley County Sheriff Patti Bolen, two deputies and county attorney Matt Williams took part in the proceedings.
Williams informed commissioners state law forbids over the transom exhaust without mufflers. The league wanted a ban on the boats. The proposed ordinance would be amended to reflect state law, and commissioners directed the sheriff's office to adhere to its enforcement.
Two-stroke ban date lifted
Daytime maximum allowable speed would be bumped from 40 mph to 50 mph during the day to accommodate some water sports like barefoot waterskiing, but the 20 mph nighttime speed limit in the proposed ordinance would not change. Kootenai County's has set its top daytime speed at 50 mph.
Originally, the league proposed to ban most two-stroke engines by 2010, but Umbach was willing to support whatever date commissioners deemed appropriate. Commissioner Frank Eld did not attend but recommended in a memo pushing back the ban 'date to 2020. Umbach agreed with Eld.
However, Winkle and Commissioner Gordon Cruickshank went with the majority opinion reflected in written comments which said not to institute a cut-off date.
New technology will eventually phase out the dirty-running two strokes that would be the subject of the ban, Cruickshank said. Manufacturers are building cleaner running two-strokes as well as four-stroke engines.
Eventually the older engines will "die naturally," Winkle said.
"I don't think we have to make a rule, law or anything else in order to prohibit these after a certain date," he said.
But Umbach didn't budge. "It could be a long, long slow death. We don't want Payette Lake to be the place where people bring up their non-fuel-injected two stroke engines to die. We think a date is an important thing to have for carbureted two strokes," he said.
A restriction on boats longer that 35 feet was changed to allow boats up to 40 feet long.
Because public opinion split on allowing power boats on the river channel north of Payette Lake, Winkle and Cruickshank opted not to ban their operation. Aggressive law enforcement of personal water craft racing on the North Fork of the Payette River should clear up that problem, Winkle said.
