The recreational use of the American River Parkway includes the use of the American River by rafts, kayaks and other floating devices. Based on watercraft counts taken in August 1981, there are approximately 46,550 rafts and 2,450 canoes and kayaks that use the American River each season. This represents approximately 237,650 small watercraft recreation visits per year or 4.8% of total American River Parkway visits.
The use of the American River by persons on rafts, kayaks and other floating devices poses a serious threat to the health, safety and welfare of such persons, to property owners adjoining the American River, and to the riparian environment. The popularity of river rafting on the American River has resulted in traffic congestion, parking violations, environmental pollution, increased need for law enforcement, increased need for search and rescue assistance, and additional repair, maintenance and operational costs to the County.
At least 50% of the rafts, kayaks and canoes used on the American River are owned by private businesses and rented to the public. Licensing of commercial users of the American River Parkway for rafting and other floating devices is necessary to ensure that necessary public resources are provided to preserve the safety, health and welfare of the community and that the Licensee bears the responsibility for collecting such Countyimposed fees as are deemed necessary to provide such public resources.
As a result of County's budget crisis, the County lacks sufficient revenue to pay for an adequate level of beach maintenance, supervision, ranger assistance and other services necessary to ensure the safety, health and welfare of the community on the American River Parkway. The establishment of a fee structure is necessary to pay for such costs as are attributable to usage of the American River Parkway by rafters.
The County has imposed such fees pursuant to Resolution No. 92-1000. Those fees are collected at the same time as parking fees from those members of the public who use County parking facilities to access the American River Parkway.
A significant number of rafts (as many as 600 rafts per weekend day or 30% of total raft use on the Parkway) are carried into the American River Parkway by walk-ins who do not use County parking facilities. The majority of the walk-ins rent or lease rafts from private businesses located at or near access points to the American River Parkway.
In order to collect any fees directly from such walk-in users, the County would have to install, at substantial expense, fee collection booths and fencing in order to direct walk-ins to a collection point. Even with walk-in collection booths, it would be difficult to cover all walk-in access points to the American River Parkway for purposes of collecting fees from walk-in rafters. Requiring Licensees to collect such fees from their patrons at the same time as raft rental fees or charges are collected ensures that the County can offset its costs of maintenance, ranger assistance in emergencies and non-emergencies, and such other services as are necessitated by the use of the American River Parkway by rafters.
(SCC 0920 § 1, 1993)