[Amended 5-14-2001 ATM by Art. 32; 5-12-2008 ATM by Art.
34; 5-14-2022 ATM
by Art. 43]
A. The following
words, for the purposes of this chapter of these bylaws, shall, unless
another meaning is clearly apparent for the way in which the word
is used, have the following meanings:
AGGRIEVED PERSON
Any person or entity whose mooring permit has been revoked
or not renewed; any person who leases a mooring from a recreational
boating facility and whose lease is cancelled or not renewed; any
person or entity whose name appears on a Town or private waiting list
and who was passed over when a mooring became available.
COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSEL MOORING/WAITLIST CLASSIFICATION
Any person or entity meeting the following criteria:
(1)
License issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department
of Marine Fisheries to sell and harvest seafood products;
(2)
Vessel must be documented or commercially registered in Massachusetts.
There shall be 220 commercial fishing mooring permits issued each
calendar year; and
(3)
Must be a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
DILIGENT SUPERVISION
Means that the supervising adult shall be sufficiently close
to the supervised person so as to visually oversee the operation of
the personal watercraft.
HEADWAY SPEED
Means the slowest speed at which all vessels and personal
watercraft may be operated and maintain steerage way. To be considered
operating at headway speed under this chapter, the operator shall
be either kneeling or sitting.
MOORING ADVISORY BOARD
Shall consist of the Waterways Advisory Committee along with
a designated member of the Select Board.
PERSONAL WATERCRAFT
Means a vessel propelled by a water-jet pump or other machinery
as its primary source of propulsion that is designed to be operated
by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel rather than
being operated in the conventional manner by a person sitting or standing
inside the vessel.
RECREATIONAL BOATING FACILITY
All marinas, boatyards and yacht clubs who have been assigned
multiple moorings by the Town for use by their patrons, customers
or members.
VESSEL
Means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane
on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation
on the water.
WATERSKIING
Means the towing or manipulating of a surfboard or other
similar device behind any vessel.
B. The definitions
found in MGL c. 91, § 1 and MGL c. 90B, § 1 are hereby incorporated
by reference. If any definition above conflicts with MGL c. 91, §
1 and MGL c. 90B, § 1, the above definition shall control.
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 55; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
In order to protect the purity of the water
and prevent the deterioration of the freshwater ponds, no one shall
operate or permit to be operated any vessel powered by any internal
combustion engine on any freshwater pond in the Town of Chatham except
under the direction of a law enforcement officer, fire or rescue officer,
or other authorized official for the purpose of aiding in rescue,
other emergency, or for a specified public need with the permission
of the Select Board.
[Amended 5-14-2001 ATM by Art. 32; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
A. The purpose and scope of this section is to protect
safety by establishing rules of conduct governing the operation of
personal watercraft, by promoting voluntary compliance with the rules
and, when necessary, by deterring, through fines and penalties, noncompliance
with the rules. The Town of Chatham intends to improve, through this
chapter, the safe and appropriate use of personal watercraft. The
following shall apply in addition to the requirements of MGL Chapter
91 and MGL Chapter 90B and their implementing regulations.
B. No person shall operate a personal watercraft if such
person is:
(2) Sixteen or 17 years of age without first having received
a safety certificate evidencing satisfactory completion of a training
course in safe operation conducted by the United States Power Squadron,
the Massachusetts Environmental Police, the Division of Law Enforcement
or such other entity approved in writing by the Director of the Division
of Law Enforcement.
C. No person shall operate a personal watercraft in a
negligent manner. The following are examples of negligent operation:
(1) Unreasonable jumping or attempting to jump the wake
of another vessel.
(2) Following within 150 feet of a water skier.
(3) Weaving through congested vessel traffic.
(4) Speeding in restricted areas.
(5) Crossing unreasonably close to another vessel.
(6) Operating a personal watercraft in such a manner that
it endangers the life, limb or property of any person.
D. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no person
shall operate a personal watercraft:
(1) Within the boundaries of the Cape Cod National Seashore
as set forth in Public Law 87-126, 7 August 1961, as most recently
surveyed by the U.S. Department of Interior, and on the tidal waters
of Pleasant Bay and Chatham Harbor contiguous to the Cape Cod National
Seashore to a line running westerly from the southernmost boundary
of the Cape Cod National Seashore at the southerly tip of Nauset (South)
Beach, west to Monomoy Island, including but not limited to Muddy
Creek (Monomoy River), Crows Pond, Bassing Harbor, Ryder's Cove, Aunt
Lydia's Cove, and any adjoining river, inlet, cove, pond, embayment
or harbor.
(2) On the tidal waters of Nantucket Sound southerly of
the Stage Harbor Channel (as most recently dredged by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers) to the "SH buoy" (LLN 138555 in position 41°
39.15'N/070° 00.0W'), then easterly of a line drawn from the "SH
buoy" along 70° 00'W south to 41° 36'N, then northerly of
a line drawn from 41° 36'N/70° east to Monomoy Island.
E. A personal watercraft may be operated in the areas described in Subsection
D above for search and rescue, or other emergency uses, provided it is under the direction of a duly authorized federal, state or local law enforcement or emergency response agency.
[Amended 5-11-2015 ATM
by Art. 36]
A. The use of sailboards, kiteboards and other similar watersport craft is prohibited in marked navigational channels, guarded swimming areas, and within 150 feet of bathers, divers, piers, docks, and moored/anchored vessels. Sailboarders, kiteboarders and other similar watersport craft are allowed to operate within the area of outer Stage Harbor as defined in §
265-20C.
B. If sailboarders, kiteboarders or other similar watersport craft must
cross a marked channel to gain access to another area, they shall
do so as nearly practicable at right angles to the vessel traffic
flow.
[Amended 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 44]
A. The discharge
or disposal of petroleum products, dead fish or shellfish, fish frames,
garbage, waste, rubbish or debris on the waters, shores or beaches
is prohibited.
B. The use
of bare foam flotation for constructing new floating docks or swim
floats or floats attached to a land-accessed structure (except floats
held in place with single point mooring anchors already regulated
by Consolidated Waterways Regulations § 1011 6.g.) is prohibited
in all tidal and fresh waters. New floats shall use plastic float
boxes or similar commercially manufactured flotation devices, or foam
flotation material designed specifically for in-water applications
encapsulated by high molecular weight polyethylene (hardshell) or
equivalent. Existing floats with bare foam flotation shall be brought
into compliance whenever repairs or maintenance to the foam flotation
is performed or when the foam flotation exhibits damage, fragmentation,
loss of beads, or other degradation resulting in loss of material
into the environment.
[Amended 5-12-2008 ATM by Art. 34; 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 555-14-2022 ATM
by Art. 43]
A. Before placing in the water or using any mooring,
the owner of a mooring tackle shall obtain from the Harbormaster or
an Assistant Harbormaster a mooring permit.
B. The Harbormaster shall adopt regulations regarding
the period of time that a mooring permit is valid, procedures for
renewal and the issuance of new permits.
C. A mooring permit may be revoked by the Harbormaster
at any time for failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter,
or regulations prescribed by the Harbormaster regarding moorings or
mooring permits.
D. When a mooring permit is revoked or expires, the permit
holder/owner shall, within 30 days, unless otherwise authorized by
the Harbormaster, surrender the mooring permit and remove or dispose
of the mooring.
E. When a permit holder/owner of a mooring no longer owns the vessel described in the mooring permit or another approved vessel, the permit holder may retain the mooring location for a period not to exceed two years from the date of disposition, transfer, or sale of the vessel described on the permit, and the mooring may be used by another vessel as prescribed in §
265-18. If after two years the permit holder/owner does not own a vessel requiring a mooring, the Harbormaster shall reassign the mooring permit.
F. The Select Board, in consultation with the Waterways
Advisory Committee, shall set the fees for mooring permits.
G. The Harbormaster shall annually, by May 1, publish
a list of active mooring permits including the permit number and mooring
category on the Town website.
In the event a mooring assigned to a commercial
fishing vessel under the commercial fishing vessel mooring/waitlist
classification is relinquished or converted by the mooring permit
holder to a recreational private status, the Harbormaster shall assign
the next available, suitable mooring to a commercial fishing vessel
applicant.
H. Mooring permits are temporary permits as defined in
MGL c. 91. The permits are not property rights and as such are only
transferable in strict conformity with this bylaw.
I. Subject
to federal, state, and local permitting requirements, no person shall
rent or lease a mooring permit or mooring location.
[Added 5-12-2008 ATM by Art. 34; 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 55amended 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
A. Mooring permits issued to recreational boating facilities
may, consistent with the provisions of this bylaw and the rules and
regulations of the Harbormaster, be assigned or leased to customers,
patrons and/or members of such facilities, and may be used by such
facilities for service or repair of vessels.
B. No recreational boating facility shall fail to renew
or revoke a mooring rental/assignment without having complied with
the applicable provisions of state and local regulations. Copies of
the notice shall be sent to the Harbormaster simultaneously with the
notice to the lessee/assignee. Any person aggrieved by such non-renewal
or revocation shall be entitled to pursue the appeal and local review
process. If an aggrieved person files an appeal/petition with the
Harbormaster, the mooring in question shall not be re-assigned until
all appeals and local review are fully adjudicated.
C. Failure of the recreational boating facility to conform
to the requirements of this bylaw and to the specific requirements
below may result in the non-renewal of some or all of its mooring
permits.
(1) Recreational
boating facilities shall provide safe and adequate access for their
customers which include parking, bathrooms, dinghy storage or launch
services, boat repair, boat maintenance and boat storage on or off
property or both. Adequate bathrooms shall not include porta-johns,
except on a temporary basis. Adequate parking is considered the amount
of parking available as of January 1, 2020.
(2) Each
recreational boating facility that offers the sale of gasoline as
of January 1, 2019, shall continue to offer gasoline to their customers
and the public.
(3) Recreational
boating facilities shall annually provide the Office of the Harbormaster
the current waiting list with names and contact information and list
of new and returning permit holders by March 1.
D. Upon the sale or transfer of the recreational boating
facility to a new owner, the mooring permits assigned to that recreational
boating facility may be transferred to the successor owner, provided
that:
(1) The facility continues to operate so as to meet the
requirements of § 265.15C(1), (2) and (3); and
(2) The Harbormaster approves such transfer, which approval
shall be based upon the facility's compliance with this Bylaw and
specific requirements of § 265.15C(1),(2) and (3).
|
Sale or transfer shall include any sale or transfer
of more than 51% of the stock of the recreational boating facility.
|
E. The sale or transfer to any person or entity that
ceases or fails to operate as set forth in this section will cause
the mooring permits to be revoked or not reissued and such permits
may be reassigned by the Harbormaster.
F. The Harbormaster, at his discretion, may issue "service
moorings" to boat/repair commercial facilities not qualified under
"recreational boating facilities" as required by them to facilitate
their normal operations.
G. Recreational
boating facilities shall cooperate with the Harbormaster to maximize
mooring use during storm events.
[Amended 5-12-2008 ATM by Art. 34]
A. In areas that have reached maximum mooring saturation,
the Harbormaster shall, in order to equitably assign mooring locations,
establish waiting lists and procedures for the administration of such
waiting lists.
B. Recreational boating facilities shall likewise establish waiting lists and procedures similar to the Harbormaster's for assignment of vacant moorings under their control for those willing to pay the rental fee for such moorings. In the event such facility has no one on its waiting list and no one is interested in renting its available moorings, it shall be offered to the owner of a suitable vessel who is listed first on the applicable Harbormaster Waiting List and is willing to enter into the mooring rental assignment agreement then offered by the recreational boating facility. Recreational boating facilities shall be required to submit to the Harbormaster the information set forth in Subsections
E and
F of this section.
C. In the establishment of the written waiting list procedures,
the Harbormaster or recreational boating facilities shall comply with
the provisions of 310 CMR 9.07(2)(a). The fair and equitable assignment
from a waiting list shall at a minimum include:
(2) Physical characteristics of vessels, e.g., size and
type;
(3) Purpose of vessel use, e.g. commercial vs. recreational
or public vs. private; and
(4) In the case of a recreational boating facility, renewal
of a mooring rental assignment or issuance of a mooring rental assignment
to individual patrons, members or customers of the facility.
D. A list of all mooring wait lists and assignment lists
shall be kept at the Harbormaster's office and posted on the Town
website. These lists will have the date an individual first appeared
on the wait list. The assignment list will have the date the mooring
was assigned to that individual. When the Harbormaster makes any changes
either by issuing new moorings or removing moorings then that change
will be reflected on the respective list within 15 days of said change.
The Harbormaster's office shall maintain these records as public documents
in paper and electronic form and shall keep these records for public
review indefinitely or until otherwise instructed by the Select Board/Town
Manager.
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 55; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
E. The Harbormaster shall publish the mooring wait lists
on the Town website.
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 55; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
F. When a new mooring is established and assigned or
added to the Harbormaster's own inventory of available Town moorings,
the notification shall be posted at the Town Clerk's office and on
the official Town website.
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 55; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
G. All new assignments of the moorings shall be taken
from the first suitable vessel on the waiting list. If the vessel
selected for a mooring is not the next in line on the wait list then
the Harbormaster shall provide by electronic mail a written reason
for such a selection to the Select Board/Town Manager, the Waterways
Advisory Committee, and to all individuals on the waiting list who
have been passed over within 15 days of such an assignment.
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 55; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
[Amended 5-12-2008 ATM by Art. 34; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43.]
A. Moorings shall not be moved from an approved location
without the prior approval of the Harbormaster or an Assistant Harbormaster.
B. Lost moorings. In the event that a mooring is lost
it shall be the responsibility of the permit holder/owner to, at the
earliest possible opportunity, locate, mark and properly identify
said lost mooring. If, during a period not to exceed six months, the
permit holder/owner fails to locate, mark and properly identify a
lost mooring, the permit holder/owner may request permission from
the Harbormaster to install a new mooring and tackle at their approved
location.
C. The Harbormaster or an Assistant Harbormaster may,
at any time, inspect any mooring and may remove or cause to be removed
any mooring that fails to meet mooring regulations or specifications.
D. The Harbormaster or an Assistant Harbormaster may
relocate, remove or cause to be removed or relocated any mooring whenever,
in their judgment, the safety of other vessels or the maximum use
of the area requires such action.
E. All moorings shall pass an inspection by a qualified
person before being placed in service.
F. Any expense of such inspection, removal or relocation
and any liability incurred therefor shall be the responsibility of
the permit holder/owner of said mooring.
[Amended 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
At times when a mooring is not being used by
the mooring permit holder/owner, the mooring may be used by another
vessel, provided prior approval is obtained from both the permit holder/owner
of the mooring and the Harbormaster or an Assistant Harbormaster,
subject to the following provisions:
A. When a mooring is used by a vessel owned and operated
by an individual who is not the permit holder/owner of the mooring,
it shall be the responsibility of the owner/operator of said vessel
to maintain the mooring and leave it in the same condition as when
first used by them.
B. If during the period of use by another vessel the
mooring is lost, dislocated or damaged, the owner/operator of the
vessel using the mooring shall be liable to the permit holder/owner
of the mooring for a sum of money sufficient to recover, restore,
renew or relocate the mooring to the approved location, and to the
condition it was first used by them.
[Amended 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
The Harbormaster shall have the authority to
sell at public auction on behalf of the Town any mooring and associated
equipment removed under the authority of this bylaw if the mooring
has not been identified and claimed by its owner within six months
of its removal.
[Added 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
A. Statutory
appeals. Any individual or entity aggrieved by a decision of the Harbormaster
shall have the right to pursue and appeal to the Division of Waterways
as more fully set forth in MGL c. 91, § 10A, and 310 CMR 9.07(5).
B. Local
review.
(1) A
person or entity aggrieved by a decision of the Harbormaster pursuant
to MGL c. 91 § 10A, 310 CMR 9.07(5)(a), this bylaw and/or any
regulations pursuant to this bylaw may file a petition with the Mooring
Advisory Board for a recommendation within seven days of notice of
the Harbormaster's decision. Upon the filing of a petition, the Mooring
Advisory Board shall render a recommendation in writing within 21
days.
(2) Either
party of a dispute between a recreational boating facility and a lessee
of a rental mooring may appeal any written decision to the Harbormaster.
The decision of the Harbormaster may be further reviewed by filing
a petition with the Mooring Advisory Board for a recommendation within
seven days of notice of the Harbormaster's decision. Upon the filing
of a petition, the Mooring Advisory Board Select Board shall render
a recommendation in writing within 21 days.
(3) Failure
to abide by time frames for renewal of waitlist or moorings is not
grounds for local review.
(4) In
rendering its recommendation, the Mooring Advisory Board shall determine
if the Harbormaster's decision:
(a) Is arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion;
(b) Conflicts with an overriding state, regional, or federal public interest;
(c) Fails to meet any requirement contained in 310 CMR 9.07;
(d) Was based on plans or other documentation submitted with the application
which contained substantially inaccurate or incomplete depictions
of the structure and its surroundings; or
(e) Allows floats, rafts, or small structures which significantly interfere
with public rights to use waterways for fishing, fowling, and navigation
or for other lawful purposes.
[Amended 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held
or construed to supersede or conflict with or interfere with or limit
jurisdiction of the United States government with respect to the enforcement
of the navigation, shipping, anchorage or other associated federal
laws, or regulations, or any laws or regulations of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
[Amended 6-12-2021 ATM by Art. 55; 5-14-2022 ATM by Art. 43]
If any section, paragraph or part of this bylaw is for any reason
declared invalid or unconstitutional by any court, every other section,
paragraph, and part shall continue in full force.