San Diego is stepping up its crackdown on unlicensed rentals of boats and personal watercraft with higher fines, easier-to-enforce rules and new requirements that licensed rental companies agree to pay damages in injury crashes.
The moves come just over a year after a 12-year-old girl was killed paddle-boarding in Mission Bay by an 18-year-old on a personal watercraft — one-person recreational vehicles commonly known by the brand name Jet Ski.
The death came just one month after the city’s Lifeguard Division announced in June 2023 that it had stepped up enforcement of illegal rentals with help from the county district attorney.
Lifeguards say crashes are more common when people rent from illegal operators, because those operators typically focus less on explaining safety protocols and how to avoid hazards in the bay.
The new rules make it easier for the city to cite illegal rental companies by clearly describing how they operate, which often includes attracting clients with smartphone apps to attract business away from licensed operators on the bay.
The rules also increase the fine for a first offense from $50 to $250 and that for a second offense from $300 to $500. A third offense, which had incurred a $700 fine, could now result in a misdemeanor.
“I urge the city attorney’s office to use its full prosecutorial authority to crack down on these illegal vendors,” Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, chair of the council’s Public Safety Committee, said Wednesday.
The third element of the revisions is requiring legal rental companies to indemnify the city against liability for damages or injuries.
The family of the paddle-boarder killed last summer, Savannah Peterson, sued the city in June for damages, contending officials knew of the dangers and didn’t do enough to keep people safe. No trial date has been set.
The 18-year-old who killed Peterson, Arsanyous Refat Ghaly, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and was sentenced last week to to 230 days in custody and two years of probation.
Police said he was traveling between 47 mph and 53 mph in an area within 100 feet of shore where watercraft operators aren’t allowed to go more than 5 mph.
Von Wilpert said it’s crucial for San Diego to prioritize safety in the city’s bays and ocean water.
“When people come to San Diego and want to be out in our waterways, they want to be able to boat safely or paddle-board safely and expect that they’re not going to be hit or struck by someone on a Jet Ski rented off an app,” she told her committee colleagues Wednesday.
The Lifeguard Division said the new rules are modeled after a crackdown by harbor police on San Diego Bay.
Lifeguard Chief James Gartland said the new rules would be coupled with an increase in enforcement operations.
Last summer, he said the illegal rentals were the No. 1 concern.
“People don’t know,” Gartland said. “They get on an app, they rent a vessel, they show up at a public boat launch, they get on it, and they go 70 miles an hour within 2 to 3 minutes.”
Local leaders and owners of Mission Bay businesses have praised lifeguards and police for dramatically reducing illegal boating activity since it ramped up during the pandemic. But problems have persisted, requiring more dramatic action, officials said.
Originally Published:
