[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Westerly as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-13-1991 by Ch. No. 983 as §§ 4-1
through 4-5 of the 1991 Code (as amended through Ch. No. 1403)]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or
drive a motor vehicle above mean high tide upon any public bathing
beach, or semipublic beach, or any beach used by the public at large,
within the Town, whether with or without fee, from the first day of
May of each year to the Saturday after Labor Day or during the period
when such beaches are in operation and protected by lifeguards.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or
drive a motor vehicle on sand dunes adjacent to beaches within the
Town, except on traditional accessways.
C.
The operation of motor vehicles on barrier beaches
is permitted in compliance with state regulations.
D.
The operation of motorcycles, minibikes, snowmobiles,
all-terrain motorized cycles, and tricycles is prohibited at any time
on all beaches and sand dunes adjacent to same within the Town.
E.
These prohibitions shall not apply to police or other
emergency vehicles and vehicles used solely for the purpose of sanitation,
conservation or construction in such mentioned areas, or other authorized
management-related vehicles as regulated and allowed by state law.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
It shall be unlawful, between May 2 and Labor
Day of each year, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., for any person to walk,
ride or otherwise permit any horse upon any public bathing beach,
or semipublic beach, or upon any beach used by the public at large
whether with or without fee, or upon the sand dunes adjacent to the
same within the Town.
All surfing and the use of surfboards are prohibited
on waters within the Town and at the beaches in the Town between 10:00
a.m. and 6:00 p.m. during the period of June 1 to October 1 of each
year except in such areas as the Town Council may designate and mark
out with appropriate safeguards and except those waters adjacent to
rocky shores within the Town.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 81-4, Use
of beaches by nonresidents restricted, was repealed 10-15-2007 by
Ch. No. 1617.
[Added 11-19-2007 by Ch. No. 1622; amended 5-11-2020 by Ch. No.
1985]
Smoking, tobacco products and electronic nicotine
delivery systems, or vaping are prohibited at the Westerly Town Beach,
Wuskenau Beach and all Town recreational facilities, except in areas
to be designated by the Town Manager, provided that, at the beach
facilities, the designated areas shall be within or immediately adjacent
to the parking area.
[Adopted 8-13-1991 by Ch. No. 983 as §§ 7-21 through 7-27 of
the 1991 Code; amended in its entirety 9-27-2010 by Ch. No. 1727]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Construed to mean and include any place where facilities
for bathing in the waters within the Town are offered to the public.
Every person operating a bathing beach in the Town shall, upon application in proper form, obtain a license from the Town Clerk in accordance with § 158-6, authorizing said person to operate a bathing beach in conformity with the provisions of this article and in conformity with any requirements of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. The fee for such license shall be as specified in Chapter 121, Fee Schedule. Such license shall not be transferable.
In addition to the requisite information, the application for
said license shall indicate the location, the number of bathhouses,
the number of feet of shore frontage within the bathing beach, the
number of lifeguards designated by the State of Rhode Island Department
of Environmental Management to be employed by the licensee, and the
days and hours of operation of said bathing beach.
All licenses issued hereunder shall expire in accordance with § 158-8.
Every person operating a bathing beach shall at all times cause
the shores of said bathing beach to be patrolled during the days and
the hours of operation by the number of lifeguards designated by the
State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
The license required by this article, when issued, shall specify
the number of lifeguards to be employed by the licensee and the days
and hours of each day during which the shores of the bathing beach
shall be patrolled, and said license shall be kept posted in a conspicuous
position on the premises.
