Dunedin city officials are scheduled to hold a second hearing Thursday on a proposal to permanently ban jet skis and other motorized watercraft from launching off the south side of the Dunedin Causeway — a move that would make a temporary hurricane closure into a lasting restriction on public access.

The Causeway has been closed since Hurricane Milton damaged it in 2024, and Pinellas County crews are still actively repairing it. But rather than simply reopening the popular launch site once repairs wrap up, city officials are moving to close off shoreline launching for good, citing environmental improvements observed during the closure.

Dunedin’s Director of Parks and Recreation, Tony Mulkey, said shoreline launching damages seagrass beds that can take a decade to recover from boat scarring, and that the beds are important to the surrounding ecosystem. City officials also point to safety concerns, arguing that banning motorized launches reduces the risk of collisions with kayakers and paddleboarders.

The proposal affects only launches from the south side of the Causeway and would not apply to vessels already on the water. Officials first advanced the plan in June, voting 4-0 to move forward after a round of public comment.

The measure has drawn backing from Pinellas County, the Causeway and Coastal Waterway Committee, and local sailing groups Dunedin Windlasses and Dunedin Youth Sailing, along with environmental organizations including the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Sierra Club.

But the plan isn’t without pushback. More than 1,500 people signed a Change.org petition opposing the closure as of June, with several telling Spectrum News the ban would deal a lasting blow to one of the area’s most popular recreation spots — a segment of the public whose access concerns have gotten comparatively less attention in official messaging than the environmental case for the ban.

The public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Dunedin City Hall.

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