(Radio Iowa) – A proposal under review in the Iowa legislature would let homeowners associations that govern property surrounding public lakes set speed limits and other rules for boating and other activities on the water. Last fall, a district court ruled the Sun Valley Lake Association had no authority to enforce boating rules on the southwest Iowa lake. That ruling has created problems for Lake Panorama near Panora.

John Rutledge is general manager of the Lake Panorama Association. He says homeowners who use the lake have agreed to limits on boat sizes and how many boats can be on the lake at once. Speed limits are also enforced, so boats don’t create a wake that would rock or swamp other boats nearby. “We have nothing that we believe is frivolous or overreaching,” he says. “It’s all in cooperation with (the Iowa Department of Natural Resources) and we believe we’ve demonstrated that over the last 50 years.”

Ducks Unlimited, the Sierra Club and the Iowa Conservation Alliance that represents hunting and fishing organizations argue the state should regulate activities on all public lakes. Small private vessels can access Lake Panorama from a dock upstream, but Rutledge says 99-point-nine percent of the boats on the lake are owned by Lake Panorama homeowners.

“It’s not our intent to overreach,” Rutledge says. “It’s our intent only to regulate our own members for safety.” A bill on the subject has cleared initial review in the Iowa House AND Senate and a senator who’s working on the bill says the primary goal is to ensure safe boating on Lake Panorama.

Lake Delhi in eastern Iowa is a private lake, but the Iowa Department of Natural Resources enforces boating rules on the lake.